This week President Biden released his administration's FY25 budget request, laying out their priorities for the year ahead. The request isn't binding, but can serve as a marker to kick-off debates on spending levels. This includes specific funding requests for the Department of Interior and the National Park Service. Overall the budget requests $3.58 billion for the National Park Service, an increase of $101 million over FY24 enacted levels. The request includes $151.4 million for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). This is a $37.16 million decrease from the FY24 enacted levels of $188.66 million, which was already a nearly $16 million decrease over FY23 levels. The decrease is largely due to the budget not including Congressionally Directed Spending for HPF projects, a $15.5 million cut to the Save America's Treasures program, and not funding the Semiquincentennial grant program. Notably, the budget requested an additional $2.5 million for Tribal Heritage Grants, which was also included in the President's FY24 request. A full breakdown of the HPF is below:

FY25 Administration Request: Historic Preservation Fund

• $62.15 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (same as FY24)
• $23 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (same as FY24)
• $2.5 million for Tribal Heritage Grants *new*
• $10 million for Save America's Treasures ($15.5M below FY24)
• $24 million for the African American Civil Rights grant program (same as FY24)
• $12.5 million for Paul Bruhn grants ($2.5M over FY24)
• $11 million for HBCU preservation grants (same as FY24)
• $5 million for the History of Equal Rights Grants (same as FY24)
• $1.25 million for Underrepresented Communities Grants (same as FY24)
• Congressionally Directed Spending for HPF Projects- Not Included ($19.766M below FY24)
• Semiquincentennial grant program- not included ($7M below FY24)

Total: $151.4 million ($37.16 million below FY24)

Additionally, the budget included $3 million for the African American Burial Ground Preservation program, which will help identify, document, preserve, research, and interpret African American Burial Ground sites whose protection and documentation has too often been neglected or forgotten.

Also included in the request was $18.09 million for the Heritage Partnership Program, which supports National Heritage Areas, $11.167 million below FY24 enacted levels.

We were very pleased to see the budget request include a 2 year authorization for the Historic Preservation Fund, which would authorize the program through September 30, 2026. The FY24 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which just passed Congress and was signed into law last week, reauthorized the HPF through September of this year. We continue to advocate for a longer term authorization of the HPF to provide more certainty and stability for the program.

While the President's budget was limited by strict spending caps included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, we are disappointed by the significant cuts to the HPF included in the request. During Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, attendees advocated for $225 million for the Historic Preservation Fund. This is the same amount Preservation Action will include in our testimony to House and Senate appropriators. Check out our HPF Appropriations one-pager to learn more.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) recently released their report and recommendations on the Department of Interior's federal historic preservation standards. The report follows a public comment period last summer, which received hundreds of responses. The report examines standards developed by the Department of Interior addressing changes to historic properties.

As the report notes, the historic preservation standards have a far reaching impact as they are now embedded in key federal, state, and local regulatory processes. Annually, the standards impact more than 120,000 federal agency actions, $8.8 billion in federal historic tax credits, and thousands of projects reviewed by local historic commissions. The report looks at and summarizes several past analysis of the federal preservation standards, includes more than 300 pages of comments submitted during the public comment period, and makes recommendations on improving the application and interpretation of the standards. The recommendations are centered on three key areas: economic growth and housing, environmental sustainability, and equity.

ACHP Chair Sara Bronin said she views the report as a start of the conversation and welcomes new and different perspectives. Check out the full report to learn more!

Two recently released reports highlight the success of the federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) and the continued economic impact.

The National Park Service released the Federal Tax Incentives for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings Annual Report for FY 2023, which shows the continued success of the HTC program. In 2023 the Historic Tax Credit leveraged $8.18 billion in private investment in historic preservation and issued nearly 1,000 certifications of completed work (part 3). The report highlights both big and small projects benefitted from the HTC, noting that 46% of all projects were less than $1 million. Since inception, the HTC has completed 49,262 projects, created more than 356,000 new housing units, and generated $131.71 billion in estimated rehabilitation investment. The report shows that HTC activity increased from 2022 to 2023, with a 13% increase in completed projects and 34% increase in private investment.

In partnership with Rutgers University's Center for Urban Policy Research, the National Park Service also released the "Annual Report on the Economic Impact of the Federal Historic Tax Credits for Fiscal Year 2022" which shows the continued economic impact from the HTC. According to the report, the HTC contributed $13.7 billion in economic output, added $7 billion in GDP, and created approximately 122,000 jobs in fiscal year 2022. The report also highlights the significant economic impact the HTC has in smaller communities and underserved communities. According to the report, 29% of HTC projects were in communities with less than 50,000 people, 50% of projects were located in low and moderate income areas, and 78% of projects were in economically distressed areas.

Since inception, the HTC has contributed $503.8 billion in economic output and created more than 3.2 million jobs. Additionally, the HTC has costs the U.S. Treasury approximately $44.3 billion since 1976, while generating $50.3 billion in federal tax receipts. Overall the HTC continues to demonstrate a substantial economic benefit, all while preserving our historic resources and generating more in tax revenue than the cost of the program.

On behalf of Preservation Action and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, thanks to all of our attendees, speakers, and everyone for helping to make National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week a huge success! We welcomed over 160 attendees, from 44 states and territories, and conducted more than 200 congressional office visits.

We'd also like to give a special thank you to our sponsors Respec, GBX Group, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Campo Architecture and Interior Design, the National Trust Community Investment Corporation, Ryan, CAW Architects, Marvin, and Ray Ellis and LaBrie Consulting, for helping to make this year's Advocacy Week possible.

Hill Report Forms/Follow-up

For Advocacy Week attendees, now is the time for the important follow-up from your congressional office visits. Be sure to thank offices and to follow-up with any promised information or materials. Additionally,  please complete a hill report form online for each of your meetings. Knowing who you met with and how those meetings went is essential for our continued advocacy. Please complete your hill report forms by March 31st.

Washington Post: "As Threats to Black Cemeteries Persist, a Movement to Preserve Their Sacred Heritage Gains Strength"

Historic Hotels of America: "The 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Where Woman Made History"

Georgia: "Georgia Seeks to Extend and Expand Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program"

Kentucky: "Kentucky Legislation Would Allow Taxpayers to Carry Forward Transferred State HTC"