Preservation Action Legislative Update
Legislative Update
Volume 25. Number 06
March 11, 2022
1. SPENDING BILL FUNDS HPF AT $173M
2. REPORTS SHOW HPF & HTC SUCCESS
3. VIRTUAL ADVOCACY WEEK A SUCCESS!
4. STORIES FROM AROUND THE STATES
Congress Passes Omnibus Spending Bill Including Record Funding for the Historic Preservation Fund
This week, the House and Senate passed an FY22 Omnibus Appropriations package that included a record level $173.072 million for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), marking the first time the HPF has exceeded the program's $150 million authorized level. After a series of continuing resolutions funded the government since Sept. 30th, appropriators were able to reach an agreement to avoid a potential government shutdown or year long CR. The bill also included $14 billion in emergency support for Ukraine.

The HPF funding in the bill includes much-needed increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, increases for competitive grant programs, and establishes a new line item for congressionally directed spending for historic preservation fund projects. The full breakdown is below.

Historic Preservation Fund FY22 Levels

  • $57.675 million for State Historic Preservation Offices
  • $16 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices
  • $26.5 million for Save America's Treasures
  • $21.75 million for the African American Civil Rights grant program
  • $4.625 million for the History of Equal Rights Grant program
  • $10 million for HBCU preservation grants
  • $10 million for the Semiquincentennial grant program
  • $10 million for Paul Bruhn grants
  • $1.25 million for Underrepresented Communities Grants
  • $15.272 million in Congressionally Directed Spending for HPF Projects (*NEW* in FY22)

Total: $173.072 million ($28.772 million over FY20)

The congressionally directed HPF funds will support 36 projects, a full list is available here. The bill also included $27.144 million, a $3.255 million increase, for the Heritage Partnership Program which supports National Heritage Areas across the country. $20 million was included for the American Battlefield Protection program and $8.255 million for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a $855,000 increase over FY21 enacted levels.

Preservation Action can't thank appropriators and members of Congress enough for the strong support for the historic preservation shown in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill. Thank you to everyone for your tireless advocacy for the HPF on reaching this significant milestone. Keep up your efforts. The record level of funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, exceeding $150 million, underscores the need for an increased authorized level and permanent authorization. Urge your Representative to cosponsor the Historic Preservation Enhancement Act (H.R 6589) today! This important bill would permanently fund the Historic Preservation Fund at $300 million annually. Learn more and take action!
Annual NPS Reports Show Continued Success of Historic Tax Credit and Historic Preservation Fund
The National Park Service released the Federal Tax Incentives for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings Annual Report for FY 2021. The report once again shows the continued success of the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program and in fact showed 2021 was a record breaking year for the program. In 2021 the Historic Tax Credit leveraged over $7.16 billion in private investment in historic preservation and community revitalization. That is the most recorded in a single year in the history of the program. According to the report, the NPS reported 1,063 Part 3 certifications of completed work and created 11,297 new housing units in 2021, 7,220 for low and moderate income residents. Since inception, the Historic Tax Credit has completed 47,435 projects, created more than 334,000 new housing units, and leveraged $116.34 billion in private investment. Check out the full HTC Annual Report to learn more!

The National Park Service also released the Historic Preservation Fund 2021 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 1,167 new listings on the National Register of Historic Places, and reviewed more than 124,300 federal undertakings. The report also breaks down the $73.625 million provided through competitive grant grant programs , specifically highlighting how diverse communities have benefitted from HPF funding. In FY21, grant programs including the Civil Rights Grant Program, History of Equal Rights Grants, Save America's Treasures, Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants, HBCU preservation grants, and grants for Underrepresented Communities, helped support 168 preservation and history projects across the country. Check out the full HPF Annual Report to learn more!
Thanks 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 2022 National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, held virtually earlier this week. While we missed being in person with everyone, we were thrilled to have a nearly 250 attendees (including several first time advocates) representing 46 states, allowing us to reach more than 200 congressional offices!

To kick off our programing this week, preservation advocates were 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 the new Director of the National Park Service, Charles Sams. We also heard live remarks from Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Rep. Teresa Leger-Fernandez (D-NM), who are leading efforts to permanently reauthorize and fully fund the Historic Preservation Fund at $300 million annually. In the afternoon we heard from another panel of preservation and federal policy experts and congressional staff on how to successfully advocate for historic preservation. To close out the program we heard from one of historic preservation's biggest champions in Congress, and co-chair of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).

The next day Preservation Action hosted our Virtual Congressional Reception, where we heard remarks from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee has helped lead efforts to achieve a record level of funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), who are leading legislation too expand the Historic Tax Credit, and Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) who recently introduced the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act (H.R 6805).

Thank you to everyone that helped make Advocacy Week 2022 a huge success! Also, a special thank you to sponsors this year GBX Group, Unico, National Trust Community Investment Corporation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, CAW Architects, Marvin Windows, Ryan, Historic Tax Credit Group, and Tom Moriarity.

Hill Report Forms/Follow-up

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.
National News
Stories From Around the States
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.