Legislative Update
Volume 25. Number 13
April 29, 2022
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1. MORE THAN 100 REPS SIGN HPF LETTER
2. HEARING HELD ON HPF ENHANCEMENT
3. BROWN V BOARD BILL PASSES HOUSE
4. JOIN PRESERVATION MONTH BRIEFING
5. STORIES FROM AROUND THE STATES
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More Than 100 Representatives Sign-on for Record Funding for the Historic Preservation Fund |
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This week, 109 Representatives signed on to the FY23 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter. The bipartisan letter, circulated by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), requested a record level $200 million in funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. The letter matched the request preservation advocates made during Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, and for the first time exceeded the program's $150 million authorization. This included significant increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and continued support for important competitive grant programs.
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$65 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)
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$34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs)
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$35 million for the Save America’s Treasures Grant Program
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$24 million for African American Civil Rights Initiative Competitive Grants
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$12 million for competitive grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
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$12 million for the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants
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$10 million for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program
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$5 million for the History of Equal Rights Competitive Grant Program
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$3 million for Underrepresented Communities Grants
Total: $200 million.
Thank you to everyone that reached out to their Representatives over the last few weeks and urged them to sign-on in support of a record funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. Preservation Action would especially like to thank Reps. Blumenauer and Turner for their efforts on these letters and continued leadership on historic preservation!
Thank Your Members of Congress!
Did your Representative sign-on to the FY23 HPF Dear Colleague Letter? Be sure to thank them for their vocal support of historic preservation funding!
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Legislative Hearing Held on HPF Enhancement and African American Burial Grounds Bills |
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This week a legislative hearing was held in the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands on several important bills including the Historic Preservation Enhancement Act (H.R. 6589) and the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act (H.R. 6805). The Historic Preservation Enhancement Act would fully fund and permanently reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund at $300 million annually. Rep. Teresa Leger-Fernandez (D-NM), spoke in strong support of H.R. 6589, describing the program's chronic underfunding, the important role of State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (S/THPOs), the jobs and revenue made possible by the HPF through the Historic Tax Credit, and the great work HPF grant programs like African American Civil Rights grant program and the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grant program help support. Rep. Leger-Fernandez also highlighted the strong need for an increased authorization and permanent funding, especially as SHPOs and THPOs face an increased workload as they work to implement the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
During the first panel of the hearing, Joy Beasley, Associate Director of Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science at the National Park Service, testified to the Administration's support for both the HPF enhancement bill and the African American Burial Grounds bill. Ms. Beasley described the important work SHPOs and THPOs do to carry out project reviews and implement the National Historic Preservation Act.
While most members noted the good work the HPF does, some Republican members expressed concern over H.R. 6589's provision that makes the HPF funding mandatory. Specifically, many noted the funding source for the HPF, which comes from revenue associated with Outer Continental Shelf oil leases, expressing their frustrations with the Biden Administration's pause on new oil leases. However, as Rep. Leger Fernandez pointed out, the Land Water Conservation Fund which was permanently authorized with mandatory funding on a bipartisan basis. She also pointed out that $6.3 billion has been deposited into the HPF account, but only $2.5 billion has ever gone out. Subcommittee Chairman Joe Neguse (D-CO) also expressed his support for this important bill.
During the 2nd panel, Reno Keoni Franklin, Chairman of the Kashia Pomo Tribe testified in strong support of the Historic Preservation Enhancement Act. He specifically highlighted the program's chronic underfunding over the years, especially for THPOs, noting that the number of THPOs have increased every year, while funding has not kept pace, leaving THPOs drastically underfunded.
Angela M. Thorpe, Director of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission testified in support of the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, which would establish a new $3 million grant program to help identify and protect African American Burial Grounds. In her testimony, Ms. Thorpe, described how the protection and documentation of African American Burials Grounds have long been neglected, and a comprehensive, streamlined, and clear strategy is needed to preserve these sites.
Preservation Action supports both of these important bills and urges quick passage by the House. We're asking you to reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor the Historic Preservation Enhancement Act and the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act today! We expect a Senate version of the HPF Enhancement bill to be introduced soon. Watch the full hearing and take action today!
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Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Expansion Act Heads to President's Desk |
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This week the U.S House unanimously passed the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Expansion Act (S. 270, H.R. 920). The bill already passed the Senate earlier this month, so is now headed to the President's desk. This important bill, led by Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) in the House and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) in the Senate would expand the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site to include additional sites in South Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, Kansas and the District of Columbia that contributed to the 1954 landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka.
The Brown v. Board of Education decision is most associated with the case from Kansas, but was actually the compilation of 5 important court cases. This bill establishes National Park Service Affiliated Areas in Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia and expands the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site to include two historic sites in Summerton, S.C, the Summerton School and the Scott's Branch School. By recognizing the communities and sites associated with these cases, we help to tell a more complete story of the landmark decision that ordered desegregation of American schools.
Thanks to everyone that reached out to your members of Congress in support of this important bill. We especially appreciate the leadership of Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and others to get this bill across the finish line.
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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.
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