This week the House Appropriations Committee approved top line subcommittee allocations for FY24 spending bills that sets funding at FY22 levels. This represents a significant cut for domestic discretionary spending and is well below the spending levels agreed to in the debt ceiling negotiations. The allocations passed along a 33-27 party line vote. Under the allocations, the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, which includes the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and several other preservation priorities, would receive a 34.6% cut below current enacted levels. The HPF is currently funded at $204.5 million and in FY22 was funded at $173.072 million.

The House Appropriations Committee started holding markups for their spending bills this week and could hold a markup on an Interior and Environment bill in the next few weeks. While the proposed cuts are concerning, the Senate Appropriations Committee have said they plan to release bipartisan spending bills using the limits agreed to in the debt ceiling negotiations.

Preservation Action is urging Congress to fund the HPF at $225 million, which includes much needed increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and critically important grant program. We recently submitted written testimony to the House and Senate Appropriations Committee outlining our support for several programs important to preservation and will continue to track the appropriations process.

This week the Biden Administration reached an agreement with the United Nation's Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the United States to rejoin the organization in July. The U.S stopped paying their UNESCO membership dues in 2011 and withdrew from UNESCO in 2019 citing an anti-Israel bias. In December, lawmakers included provisions in the year end omnibus spending bill that the United States would pay back dues to UNESCO and cited specific plans to reengage with UNESCO. Preservation Action joined a letter led by World Heritage USA urging support for this waiver.

Among many initiatives, UNESCO oversees the World Heritage Committee, which is responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention and the inscription of sites to the World Heritage List. The US withdrawal from UNESCO and inability of the US to pay their annual dues, put future US World Heritage Site nominations in jeopardy. This includes the 2022 nomination of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Ohio, which set to be considered by the World Heritage Committee this summer, and sites currently on the US Tentative List, such as the Moravian Bethlehem in Pennsylvania and Civil Rights Movement Sites. The decision of the U.S to rejoin UNESCO and pay it's back dues takes an important step in ensuring the US is once again in good standing and better positions future US nominations to the World Heritage List.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is currently seeking feedback from the public on the Secretary on the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The ACHP says these comments will help provide a snapshot of the public's views on the application and interpretation of the Secretary's Standards.

The Secretary's Standards identifies four treatments: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction. While comments will be accepted on all four treatments, the ACHP is particularly interested in the application and interpretation of the Secretary's Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Properties. Major themes that emerge from the comments will be shared with the Department of Interior and the National Park Service.

Comments must be submitted by July, 20th at 5pm ET and can be emailed to dnull@achp.gov. Learn more about this request for comments!

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