Preservation Action Releases Statement in Solidarity as Protests Continue Across the Country
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL, the site of the 1965 Civil Rights march, received HPF restoration funds in FY18 as part of the African American Civil Rights subgrants.
This week Preservation Action, led by Board Chairwoman,
Briana Grosicki, and our Board's Executive Committee, released a
statement of solidarity condemning racial injustices and supporting the demands to dismantle America's culture of white supremacy.
"We are reminded that communities are first made of people, and only second of buildings and sites. We stand in solidarity with Black Americans across the country and denounce the systematic destruction of their properties, communities, and lives."
Preservation Action is committed to working toward the goal of assuring that historic preservation policy and practice reflect and embrace all our people and the places that tell their stories. We all benefit from more diverse voices and perspectives and we invite you to join us in the important work of allocating resources for equity, rebuilding communities, and preserving the stories that are unfolding today.
Action Alert: Urge Congress to Support Historic Preservation Easements
Hotel Trundle/Powell Furniture Store in Columbia, SC used Historic Preservation Easements. Photo Credit: GBX Group
We need your help in urging your members of Congress to work with the IRS and other agencies to end the unfair targeting of historic preservation easements.
The Federal Historic Preservation Easement program is a tax incentive that promotes the preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings by allowing deductions for charitable contribution of historic preservation easements. Unfortunately this important program has been been undercut by an aggressive IRS campaign aimed at ending abusive conservation easement transactions. The campaign has resulted in denying nearly all conservation and historic easement deductions and thus deterring investments in historic preservation. The impact of this campaign on the historic preservation community is amplified as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely impact historic rehabilitation projects.
We're asking Congress to work with the IRS, Treasury, the White House Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and other agencies across the Administration on the following initiatives:
Exempt Historic Preservation Easements from the IRS enforcement campaign.
Provide clear regulations for historic property owners seeking to utilize this important program.
Reach out your members of Congress today! Preservation Action along with our partners at GBX Group have put together a sample letter you can use to write your members of Congress and urge them to work with the IRS to support historic preservation easements. Check out our Action Alert to learn more!
Senate Moves Closer to Final Passage on Bill to Fully Fund the LWCF and Address the Maintenance Backlog on Public Lands
Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon National Park
Late last night, legislation to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and address the deferred maintenance backlog at the National Park Service and on other public lands, moved closer to final passage in the Senate. Senators began considering The Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422, H.R 7092) this week and voted to advance the bill late last night, setting up the bill for final passage next week. Identical legislation was introduced by Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC), Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) and 10 other bipartisan members of Congress in the House and could be voted on by the end of June.
The Great American Outdoors Act would fully fund the LWCF at $900 million annually and address the deferred maintenance backlog at the National Park Service and other federal agencies by providing up to $9.5 billion in dedicated funding. An estimated 43% of the maintenance backlog is attributed to historic resources. Preservation Action, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and others included this important bill in our request to Congress to support historic preservation priorities in future stimulus legislation.
Take Action
Help us get this bill across the finish line. Urge your Senators to vote YES on the Great American Outdoors Act today! Reach out to your Senators directly by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking to be connected to your Senators' offices or use the tool below.
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.
