PRESERVATION ACTION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 


LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 09
MARCH 19, 2021
Urge Your Representative to Sign-on to the FY22 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter

Congress is starting the appropriations process which will determine Fiscal Year 2022 funding levels for historic preservation. The co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH), are leading the bipartisan FY22 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Dear Colleague Letter in the House. The letter request $150 million in funding for the HPF, the same level Preservation Action advocated for during Advocacy Week and represents full funding for the HPF. The request includes significant increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and increases to critically important competitive grant programs. The letter requests:
  • $60 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)
  • $24 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs)
  • $20 million for the Save America's Treasures grant program
  • $10 million for competitive grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • $9 million for the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants
  • $1 million for a competitive grant program to survey and document historic resources
  • $19 million for African American Civil Rights Initiative Competitive Grants
  • $7 million for the newly established competitive grants programs to preserve the sites and stories associated with securing civil rights for All Americans.
The letter also supports funding the semiquincentennial grant program to preserve historical sites commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the United States.

The letter will be submitted to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and marks a strong commitment to the HPF. Preservation Action is currently working with our Senate champions and we expect a similar letter to be circulated in the Senate in coming days. Stay tuned for more.

We've made it easy for you take action. Check out our action campaign to easily edit and send a letter to your Representative today! If you have a personal contact in your Representative's office, contact that person directly. The deadline for signatures is April 14th.
Senate Votes to Confirm Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior

This week the Senate voted to confirm Deb Haaland (D-NM) to be Secretary for the Department of Interior. She was confirmed by a vote of 51-40 and was sworn-in the next day. Secretary Haaland is now the first Native American to lead the Department of Interior and the first to serve as a Cabinet Secretary. She was nominated by President Biden in December. Preservation Action strongly supported Deb Haaland's nomination to be Interior Secretary. Along with our preservation partners, we submitted a letter to the committee in support of her nomination. 

During her time in Congress, Secretary Haaland served as Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and quickly became one of the biggest champions for protecting historic and cultural resources. She joined the Historic Preservation Caucus and signed on to the Historic Preservation Fund dear colleague letter in 2019 and 2020, which each year called for a record level of funding for the program. In October, she provided a special message during Preservation Action Foundation's All in for Advocacy Virtual Event and Auction where she spoke on the importance of the federal historic preservation program in telling the full story of our country.

As one of her first trips as Interior Secretary, Secretary Haaland plans to visit the Bear's Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah in April. As both sites are currently under review by the Biden Administration, after President Trump dramatically reduced the size of both monuments by more than 2 million acres. President Biden announced he would extend the 60 day review, which was set to end on March 21st, to give Secretary Haaland a chance to visit the monuments.
New Reports Show Continued Success of the Historic Tax Credit and Historic Preservation Fund

The National Park Service released the Federal Tax Incentives for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings Annual Report for FY 2020. The report once again shows the continued success of the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program. In 2020 alone the Historic Tax Credit leveraged over $6.54 billion in private investment and created 10,894 new housing units. Since inception, the Historic Tax Credit has completed 46,372 projects, created more than 323,000 new housing units, and leveraged $109.18 billion in private investment. The Historic Tax Credit has rehabilitated historic structures in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S Virgin Islands. Check out the full HTC Annual Report to learn more!

The National Park Service also released the Historic Preservation Fund 2020 Annual Report, which highlights the great work that the Historic Preservation Fund makes possible. According to the report State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices administered more 1,100 new listings on the National Register of Historic Places. The report also cited the success of many SHPOs in implementing new technology and reaching new constituents as they responded to the restrictions caused by the pandemic. The report also breaks down the $52.25 million provided through competitive grant grant programs in FY20, including the Civil Rights Grant Program, Save America's Treasures, Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants, HBCU preservation grants, and grants for Underrepresented Communities, which helped fund 150 preservation and history projects across the country. Check out the full HPF Annual Report to learn more!
Thank You for a Successful Virtual Historic Preservation Advocacy Week!

Preservation Action along with our partners at the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers just concluded our first ever Virtual Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. While we missed being in person with everyone, we were thrilled to have a record number nearly 300 attendees (including several first time advocates) representing 42 states, allowing us to reach more than 200 congressional offices and have an even greater impact!

To kick Advocacy Week off we heard a recorded message from one of preservation's biggest supporters in Congress, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Preservation advocates were then fortunate to hear from national preservation leaders and policy experts on the current legislative landscape and future of historic preservation policy. We were honored to be joined by Rep. Teresa Leger-Fernandez (D-NM), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), all who shared their unique perspectives on why historic preservation is important and how we could all be better preservation advocates. In the afternoon we heard from another panel of preservation and federal policy experts on conducting successful virtual congressional office visits. 

The next day Preservation Action hosted our Congressional Reception and Townhall featuring Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) who co-chairs the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), who is helping to lead efforts the expand the Historic Tax Credit, and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) who is the new Chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. Attendees engaged with the Members on current historic preservation efforts in Congress.

Thank you to everyone that helped make Advocacy Week 2021 a huge success!


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.

Preservation Action
2020 Pennsylvania Ave NW #313
Washington, DC 20006
p. 202-463-0970

Preservation Action is the only national non-profit dedicated exclusively to lobbying for the best preservation policies at the federal level. We seek to make historic preservation a national priority by advocating to all branches of government through a grassroots constituency empowered with information and training.