Update: The FY21 House HPF Dear Colleague Letter received 120 signatures and was submitted to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. Thanks everyone for reaching out to your Representatives. There’s still time to reach out to your Senators!
Ask Your Members of Congress To Sign-on in Support of Historic Preservation Funding in Congress
Congress is starting the appropriations process which will determine Fiscal Year 2021 funding levels for historic preservation. The co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH), are leading the bipartisan FY21 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Dear Colleague Letter in the House. The letter request $150 million in funding for the HPF, the same level Preservation Action is advocating for during Advocacy Week and represents full funding for the HPF. The request includes significant increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and increases to critically important competitive grant programs. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand are leading the FY21 HPF Dear Colleague Letter in the Senate. The letters will be submitted to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. This marks a strong commitment to the HPF and we can’t thank Representatives Blumenauer and Turner and Senators Cassidy and Gillibrand enough for their continued support and leadership of historic preservation.
Congress needs to hear from preservationists.
To maximize the impact of the letter, we need as many Representatives and Senators to sign-on as possible. Urge your Representative and Senators to sign-on to the FY21 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter today! Time is of the essence, the deadline for signatures for the House letter is Tuesday, March 17th at 5:00pm. ET and the deadline for the Senate letter is Monday, March 23rd at 5:00pm.
How to Contact your Members of Congress
If you have a personal contact in your member’s Washington D.C. or District/State office, contact that person directly. If they do not handle Interior Appropriations please ask that they pass the message along to the Interior Appropriations staffer.
If you don’t have a personal contact you can call the representative’s DC office and ask to speak with the Interior Appropriations staffer or email your message through the “Contact” section of the member’s website. If you are emailing through the Member’s website please select “Environment” in the Message Subject drop-down menu.
Reach out and let them know who you are and why historic preservation is important to you. Ask your Representative or Senators to sign-on to the FY21 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter, being circulated by Representatives Turner and Blumenauer in the House or Senators Cassidy and Gillibrand in the Senate. Below is a sample message to send to your Members of Congress that you can make your own and include local examples from their district or state. Representatives can sign-on by contacting Jon Bosworth in Rep. Blumenauer’s office or Dan Hare in Rep. Turner’s office. Senators can sign-on by contacting Ron Anderson in Sen. Cassidy’s office and Caitlin Rooney in Sen. Gillibrand’s office. The deadline for signatures is Tuesday, March 17th at 5pm ET for the House letter and Monday, March 23rd at 5pm ET for the Senate letter.
FY21 House HPF Dear Colleague Letter
FY21 Senate HPF Dear Colleague Letter
Sample Letter to Your Senators
“I request that you sign-on to the FY21 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), in support of funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. The requested amount supports the important work of State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers to administer the federal historic preservation program and continues to support competitive grant programs that are helping preserve the sites and stories of underrepresented communities, revitalize historic buildings in rural communities, and helping to preserve nationally significant properties and collections that help to tell America’s rich history.The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) uses non-tax payer dollars to partner with States and Tribes to help save important places in your community and brings local voices to federal decision-making. Adequate funding for the HPF is essential for recognizing, preserving and utilizing our Nation’s historic resources for all Americans”