Earlier this week, the Senate voted 73-25 to advance and open debate on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA, S. 5653, H.R 2347). This vote is extremely disappointing, but the fight is not over. While the bill’s lead sponsors negotiated some modest changes to the bill’s historic preservation title ahead of that vote, these changes did not go nearly far enough and left the bill’s central flaws in place.
A group of Senators led by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has proposed an amendment that would remove the harmful historic preservation title entirely.
This bill presents the biggest threat to the National Historic Preservation Act in the law’s 60 year history.
The Senate is expected to hold a final vote on the bill as soon as next week, Congress needs to hear from you!
TAKE ACTION TODAY!
1. Call your Senators. Dial 202-224-3121, ask for your Senator’s office, and say you’re a constituent. Urge them to support Sen. Schiff’s amendment to strike harmful historic preservation provisions from the permitting bill. If the amendment is not adopted, ask them to VOTE NO on the final bill!
Script: “Hello, my name is [NAME], and I’m a constituent from [CITY/TOWN]. I’m calling to urge [SENATOR NAME] to support Sen. Schiff’s amendment to strike Title III, the historic preservation title, from the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, and to VOTE NO on the final bill if the amendment is not adopted. These dangerous provisions would decimate preservation reviews, shut out state, Tribal, and local voices, and put historic places in our community directly in harms way.
This bill will lead to more conflict and more delay, while having devastating consequences on the historic places that power tourism and local economies. The bill was written behind closed doors and is being rushed to a vote without hearings.
I urge the Senator to support Sen. Schiff’s amendment to strike Title III from the permitting bill and VOTE NO on the final bill if the amendment is not adopted. Thank you for your consideration”
2. Send an email. Preservation Action has made it easy for you to edit and send a letter to your members of Congress TODAY. It only takes a couple of minutes. If you have personal contact in your Senator or Representative’s office, reach out to that person directly.
3. Thank Senators who voted no. If your Senator voted no on the motion to proceed to BAAJA, be sure to thank them! [See the list →]
4. Forward this alert to your members and partners.
Additional talking points
- It shuts communities out. It weakens consultation with State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and lets federal agencies override preservation concerns on their own.
- It means less review. Nearly all federally funded projects would be exempt, and many visual, atmospheric, and audible impacts wouldn’t count as harm.
- It won’t make permitting faster. Cutting out the people who know these places best means more conflict and more delay.
- It was rushed. It was written behind closed doors, with no committee hearing and no input from the preservation community.
The Senate is moving fast, and so must we. If the lines are busy, keep calling. If you’ve already reached out, reach out again. Every call and email counts before next week’s vote!