Preservation Action is excited announce the launch of our 2022 Congressional Candidate Historic Preservation Survey. For the fourth time, Preservation Action is surveying U.S House and Senate candidates across the country to gauge support of key national preservation programs and policies. We plan to share the results of the survey widely before the Midterm elections in November. We conducted a candidate survey prior to the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections and received hundreds of responses. We are excited to hear from even more candidates this year and will be working with our network of state and local preservation organizations to help spread the word.

The goal of the survey is multi-faceted; to educate congressional candidates on the federal historic preservation program, gauge their level of support for critically important preservation programs and policies, educate PA members and supporters on the candidates positions and gain useful insights into congressional candidates background with historic preservation. Using the results of our Grassroots Survey as a guide, the survey asks the following questions:

1. Do you support stable and robust funding for the Historic Preservation Fund?
2. Would you support efforts to permanently reauthorize and enhance the Historic Preservation Fund?
3. Would you support efforts to update the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) program?
4. Would you support policies that assure the impact to historic and cultural resources continue to be considered in the federal project planning process?
5. Does historic preservation play an important role in your state/district? How so? Describe any personal connections to historic preservation or historic sites. Is there a specific historic place in your district that is important to you and your constituents?

Check out our 2022 Historic Preservation Congressional Candidate Survey to learn more and stay tuned, as we plan to have the results of the survey ready to review prior to the midterm elections.

Preservation Action is launching an initiative to ramp up advocacy efforts around the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 2294, S. 2266) by inviting members of Congress to visit a Historic Tax Credit project during an upcoming in-district work period. We're asking members and supporters to join us by reaching out to your Representative and Senators and urge them to co-sponsor the bipartisan Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act and invite them to tour a Historic Tax Credit project in their district/state, especially projects that would be made easier to complete if the HTC-GO Act is enacted.

This is a critical time to reach members of Congress. The enhancements to the Historic Tax Credit included in the HTC-GO Act are needed now, more than ever. Recent National Park Service statistics show that HTC Part 2 applications were down in FY2021 by almost 20% compared to FY2019. The passage of HTC-GO provisions would enable projects to address financing challenges prolonged by a diminished credit value as well as skyrocketing material and labor costs.

Take Action!

• Reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act. If your Representative or Senators have already cosponsored, be sure to thank them! Preservation Action has made it easy for you to take action through our online advocacy tool! 
• Invite your members of Congress to tour a completed, in-progress, or potential HTC project in their district/state, prior to the November midterm elections. This is one of most effective ways to demonstrate the value of the HTC. Be sure to also discuss how the HTC-GO could further benefit communities across their district/state. Be flexible with possible dates to meet, but if your member of Congress is unavailable, offer to meet with their staff.
• Review the Congressional site-visit guide put together by our partners at the National Trust Community Investment Corporation and the Historic Tax Credit Coalition to make it easy for advocates to reach out to their lawmakers.

If you need any assistance arranging a site visit or meeting contact Rob Naylor at Preservation Action (rnaylor@preservationaction.org). Also be sure share stories and photos from your site visits with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Resources:

• Historic Tax Credit Advocacy Week One Pager
• HTC State Maps and Project Lists
• State of the Historic Rehabilitation Industry 2022
• Preservation Action HTC-GO Action Alert

The National Park Service announced they awarded $7 million in grants for the Semiquincentennial grant program. This marks the inaugural round of funding for the grant program that was established by Congress in 2020 to commemorate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The program is funded through the Historic Preservation Fund.

This round of Semiquincentennial Grants will support 17 cultural resources preservation projects in 12 states. This includes the rehabilitation of the Colburn House in Pittston Maine, the Tubac Presidio in Tubac, AZ, and the preservation of the Colonial Brunswick Town in Raleigh, NC, just to name a few.

Preservation Action supports this important grant program and is urging Congress to support $10 million in funding for FY23. Learn more about the Semiquncentennial grant program and check out the complete list of grant recipients.