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PRESERVATION ACTION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 22
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House Passes Interior-Environment Funding Bill that Includes Record Level of Support for Historic Preservation
This week the House passed the FY20 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill. The bill includes strong support for historic preservation priorities, including $121.66 million for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). This marks a record-level of funding for the program and is a $19 million increase over FY19 levels and $89 million above the President's request. This includes important increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, increases for the African American Civil Rights Movement and the Save America's Treasures grant programs, and the establishment of a new grant program to recognize and preserve sites associated with civil rights for all Americans. A full breakdown of the HPF funding is below.
SHPOs: $53.675 Million ($4 Million above FY9 Levels)
THPOs: $13.735 Million ($2 Million above FY19 Levels)
African American Civil Rights Grants: $17.5 Million ($3 Million above FY19 Levels)
Civil Rights Movement Grants for All Americans: $5 Million (New Program)
Save America's Treasures: $16 Million ($3 Million above FY19 Levels)
HBCU Preservation Program: $10 Million ($2 Million above FY19 Enacted Levels)
Historic Revitalization Grants: $5 Million (Equal to FY19 Enacted Levels)
Underrepresented Communities Grants: $750,000 (Equal to FY19 Enacted Levels)
Total: $121.66 Million ($19 Million above FY19 Enacted Levels)
Additionally, the bill included strong report language expressing concerns over the proposed rule changes to the National Register, particularly objecting to the lack of consultation with tribes and other affected parties. The bill also includes $21.998 million for the Heritage Partnership program, which supports National Heritage Areas.
The bill includes several of the requests Preservation Action made during National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week and represents a strong commitment to historic preservation, especially considering the extreme cuts proposed in the administration's budget request. We expect the Senate to begin work on their FY20 Interior-Environment funding bill in July, which will likely be lower than the funding levels included in the House bill.
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Senate Confirms Aimee Jorjani to be the First Full Time Chairman of the ACHP
This week the Senate voted to confirm Aimee Jorjani, by voice vote, to be Chairman of the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation (ACHP). She becomes the first full time Chairman of the ACHP since an amendment was approved in the 2016 National Park Service Centennial Act which converted the part-time Chairman to a full-time position. Ms. Jorjani will serve out the remainder of a 4 year term ending in 2021 and replaces current ACHP Chairman Milford Wayne Donaldson FAIA.
It's been a long process, Ms. Jorjani was first nominated for the position by President Trump and approved by the Senate Energy Natural Resources Committee during the last Congress. She was renominated and again approved by committee earlier this year.
"I am honored to be confirmed as the first full-time chairman of the ACHP and look forward to working with Congress, the Administration, Indian tribes, preservation partners, and state and local governments to further stewardship of historic properties while encouraging economic development and heritage tourism," Ms. Jorjani said. "I will work to ensure historic preservation considerations are efficient, effective, and that early consultation contributes to a better process."
Ms. Jorjani has a strong background in historic preservation. During her
confirmation hearing she spoke about her interest and fascination in historic preservation starting at an early age while growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
She held several positions at the Department of the Interior (DOI), including serving as the Deputy Secretary's Special Assistant for Historic Preservation and as DOI's first Department-wide Historic Preservation Officer. She has a masters in historic preservation from Goucher College. Check out the press release from the ACHP to learn more.
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House Committee Approves the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act
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Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) during Advocacy Week 2016 with former Utah SHPO, Brad Westwood
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The House Natural Resources Committee held the full committee markup of the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act (H.R 1225) this week. The committee approved the bill by a vote of 36-2, sending it to the full House for consideration. This important legislation has strong support and is up 292 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, surpassing a two-thirds majority.
H.R 1225 establishes a dedicated fund, using revenue from energy development leases, to address the nearly $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog at the National Pack Service, an estimated 47% of which is attributed to historic resources. The bill goes further by also addressing the deferred maintenance backlog on other public lands owned by federal agencies, which totals over $19 billion.
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Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools Study Act Introduced in the House and Senate
Earlier this month, legislation was introduced that would require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine how best to commemorate the incredible life and work of Julius Rosendwald and Rosenwald schools. The Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools Study Act (S. 1863 / H.R. 3250) was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) in the House.
A campaign with the goal of establishing a Rosenwald National Historical Park launched last year. The campaign envisions a multi-site park aimed at recognizing and interpreting the life and philanthropy efforts of Julius Rosenwald with a visitor center in Chicago and a number of restored Rosenwald schools across the south. The park would commemorate the special contribution of Rosenwald schools to African American education in the United States. In the early 20th century, businessman and philanthropist, Julius Rosenwald partnered with African American communities across the South to build schoolhouses for children who otherwise would have had extremely limited access to public education.
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