Historic Preservation Caucus Co-Chairs Lead Dear Colleague Letter in Support of the Historic Preservation Fund
As Congress begins work on the FY21 budget and appropriations, the bipartisan co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), are leading the FY21 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter. The letter calls for appropriating the fully authorized $150 million in funding for the HPF for the first time, and will match our Advocacy Week request. This includes increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and increases to critically important competitive grant programs.The letter will be submitted to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. See the full breakdown below.
State Historic Preservation Offices: $61 million
Tribal Historic Preservation Offices: $22 million
African-American Civil Rights Movement Grants: $20 million
Civil Rights Grants for All Americans: $8 million
Historically Black Colleges and Universities: $10 million
Survey Grants for Underrepresented Communities: $1 million
Save America's Treasures Grants: $18 million
Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants: $10 million
This marks a strong commitment to the HPF and we can't thank Representatives Blumenauer and Turner enough for their continued support and leadership on the HPF.
Urge your Representative to sign-on to the FY21 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter. Members can sign-on by contacting Jon Bosworth in Rep. Blumenauer's office or Dan Hare in Rep. Turner's office. The deadline for signatures is
Tuesday, March 17th.
If you already have a contact in your Representative's office, reach out to them directly. If not, call your
Representative's office and ask to speak to the staff person in charge of historic preservation issues. Let them know who you are and why historic preservation matters to you. Urge them to sign-on to the Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter being circulated by Representatives Blumenauer and Turner.
To maximize the impact of the letter, we need as many members of Congress to sign-on as possible. Stay tuned for details regarding the Senate HPF dear colleague letter.
Proposed Changes to National Environmental Policy Act Threatens Historic Resources. Submit Comments Today!
Last month, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) announced proposed revisions to the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). These proposed changes would have a dramatic impact on historic and cultural resources. NEPA regulations require federal agencies to consider a projects impact on the human environment, which includes historic and cultural resources. NEPA requires public engagement and for federal agencies to consider alternatives before proceeding with a project that could impact historic resources, but does not mandate a particular outcome.
The proposed changes would make it easier for a federal agency to move forward with a project without public engagement by expanding the use of categorical exclusions and disregarding non-technical public comments. These changes would limit the ability of the public to express concerns about a federal project. Additionally, the proposed changes would remove or reduce the requirements of federal agencies to consider "cumulative" and "indirect" impacts of a project, and instead focus on effects that have a "close causal relationship". Limiting the consideration of indirect impacts, like changes to a setting, tourism and traffic would have a huge impact on historic resources.
Preservation Action is deeply concerned about the proposed changes to NEPA and the harmful impact these changes would have. We urge everyone to join us in submitting comments to CEQ by the March 10th deadline. Learn more about the negative impact these changes will have on historic and cultural resources by checking out the links below. Submit your comments today!
National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week Sold Out!
Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) speaking at Advocacy Week 2019
We're excited to announce that National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week 2020 has officially sold out! We've seen an unprecedented interest in Advocacy Week this year and have officially sold out. We're excited to welcome advocates from across the country to Washington, DC to meet directly with their members of Congress in support of preservation-positive legislation. Together we can ensure a strong future for the federal historic preservation program.
Get Ready for Advocacy Week
Are you planning to attend Advocacy Week? As you're getting ready, be sure to check out our issue briefing papers, the Advocacy Week Guide and Briefing Packet, and our 2020 agenda.
Can't make it to Washington? That doesn't mean you can't lobby your lawmakers from home. Take a look at our
Action Alerts and be sure to check out our
Lobby from Home guide to learn more about how you can effectively advocate for historic preservation in your state.
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.
