Author: Rob Naylor

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Urge Congress to Stand Up for the Historic Preservation Fund!

The Historic Preservation Fund is under direct threat and Congress needs to hear from you! Despite Congress appropriating funds for the HPF in March, funding has not been released. This provides funding for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (S/THPOs), and competitive grant programs. These funds are critical for SHPOs and THPOs to carry out their federally mandated duties.

The delay’s impact continues to grow more dire as multiple SHPOs have now been forced lay off staff. This means National Register nominations, Determinations of Eligibility, Federal Agency consultation, Section 106 review, and Historic Tax Credit projects are all at risk of slowing down or ending entirely. This puts historic places at risk and threatens to halt preservation projects nationwide.

Further compounding the immediate threat, President Trump’s proposed FY26 budget nearly eliminates the HPF entirely. As we prepare to recognize the 250th anniversary of the nation in 2026, we should be recommitting to preserving the places that tell America’s story- this proposal does the opposite.

We need your help!

Congress needs to hear from preservation advocates! We urge you to keep up your advocacy and reach out to your members of Congress .Ask them to:

  • Help facilitate the immediate disbursement of congressionally-approved FY25 Historic Preservation Fund funding.
  • Support necessary and robust funding for the Historic Preservation Fund in FY26.

If you have a contact in your Representative or Senator’s office, use the sample letter and one-pager to reach out to them directly. If you need any help finding staff contacts, feel free to reach out to Rob Naylor at Preservation Action (rnaylor@preservationaction.org). 

We’ve also made it easy for you to take action! Easily personalize and send a letter to your members of Congress today! Please also share this alert with your networks.

Take Action!

Additional Resources:

NCSHPO: Historic Preservation Under Threat

Coalition Letter to Secretary Burgum on HPF Funding Delay

FY26 House HPF Dear Colleague Letter

FY26 Senate HPF Dear Colleague Letter

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Congress Demonstrates Bipartisan Support for the Historic Preservation Fund

In the face of proposed cuts to the Historic Preservation Fund, 80 bipartisan Representatives and Senators — representing 29 different states and territories — signed on to the FY2026 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Dear Colleague letters. Scroll down to see the names of each signer, and be sure to thank them if your Representative or Senators is one of them!

The House letter and Senate letter both requested $225 million in funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, the same level Preservation Action advocated for during Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. $225M includes much-needed increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices as well as critically important competitive grant programs. Specifically, the requested funding levels for the HPF include:

  • $70 million for State Historic Preservation Offices
  • $40 million for Save America’s Treasures
  • $34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices
  • $28 million for the African American Civil Rights grant program
  • $17 million for Paul Bruhn grants
  • $13 million for HBCU preservation grants
  • $11 million for the Semiquincentennial grant program
  • $7 million for the History of Equal Rights Grant program
  • $5 million for Underrepresented Communities Grants

The letters also noted the urgent need to reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund. The House letter was led by the co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), while the Senate letter was again led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The letters were submitted to the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee last month and show substantial support for the Historic Preservation Fund.

Thank you to everyone that reached out to their members of Congress 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. Turner and Leger Fernandez and Sens. Gillibrand and Cassidy for their efforts on these letters and continued leadership on historic preservation!

Did your Representative and Senators sign-on? Be sure to thank them for their vocal support of historic preservation! Below are the list of signers organized by state.

U.S House Members

  • Mark DeSaulnier (CA)
  • Judy Chu (CA)
  • Jimmy Gomez (CA)
  • Jared Huffman (CA)
  • Mike Thompson (CA)
  • Diana DeGette (CO)
  • Joe Neguse (CO)
  • Brittany Pettersen (CO)
  • Joe Courtney (CT)
  • Jim Himes (CT)
  • Jahana Hayes (CT)
  • John Larson (CT)
  • Darren Soto (FL)
  • Sanford Bishop (GA)
  • Earl ‘Buddy’ Carter (GA)
  • Lucy McBath (GA)
  • Bill Foster (IL)
  • Nikki Budzinski (IL)
  • Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia (IL)
  • Darin LaHood (IL)
  • Danny Davis (IL)
  • Jan Schakowsky (IL)
  • André Carson (IN)
  • Sharice Davids (KS)
  • Stephen Lynch (MA)
  • James McGovern (MA)
  • Richard Neal (MA)
  • William Keating (MA)
  • Jamie Raskin (MD)
  • Angie Craig (MN)
  • Kelly Morrison (MN)
  • Ilhan Omar (MN)
  • Kimberlyn King-Hinds (MP)
  • Teresa Leger Fernández (NM) | co-lead
  • Dan Goldman (NY)
  • Paul Tonko (NY)
  • Ritchie Torres (NY)
  • Jerrold Nadler (NY)
  • Michael Turner (OH) | co-lead
  • Mike Carey (OH)
  • Greg Landsman (OH)
  • Summer Lee (PA)
  • Brendan Boyle (PA)
  • Rob Bresnahan (PA)
  • Brian Fitzpatrick (PA)
  • Chrissy Houlahan (PA)
  • Greg Casar (TX)
  • Lloyd Doggett (TX)
  • Joaquin Castro (TX)
  • Gerald Connolly (VA)
  • Jennifer McClellan (VA)
  • Robert ‘Bobby’ Scott (VA)
  • Don Beyer (VA)
  • Stacey Plaskett (VI)
  • Rick Larsen (WA)
  • Adam Smith (WA)
  • Suzan Delbene (WA)
  • Kim Schrier (WA)
  • Marilyn Strickland (WA)
  • Gwen Moore (WI)

U.S Senators

  • Alex Padilla (CA)
  • Michael Bennet (CO)
  • Richard Blumenthal (CT)
  • Tammy Duckworth (IL)
  • Bill Cassidy, M.D. (LA) | co-lead
  • Edward J. Markey (MA)
  • Chris Van Hollen (MD)
  • Angus King (ME)
  • Elissa Slotkin (MI)
  • Tina Smith (MN)
  • Amy Klobuchar (MN)
  • Cory Booker (NJ)
  • Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) | co-lead
  • Ron Wyden (OR)
  • Jack Reed (RI)
  • Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
  • Mark Warner (VA)
  • Tim Kaine (VA)
  • Bernie Sanders (VT)
  • Peter Welch (VT)

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4 Actions to Protect Historic Preservation You Can Take Right Now

Federal historic preservation programs are in crisis. From funding delays, cuts, and staff reductions at NPS to the Historic Preservation Fund being nearly eliminated in the President’s budget request, we need your help!

Here are four things you can do right now that make a difference.

  1. Invite Congressional staff to attend the Historic Preservation Month Congressional Briefing on May 13th at 12pm in 2168 Rayburn House Office Building. The briefing, hosted by Preservation Action, in cooperation with the House Historic Preservation Caucus, will feature a panel of national preservation experts and is a great opportunity to educate staff on the federal historic preservation program.
  • Help us spread the word! Please share the Preservation Month Briefing Flyer with your Congressional offices. Offices can RSVP for briefing at http://bit.ly/MayBriefing2025. 
  • We’ve put together a sample invite to make it easy. If you have personal contact in your Representative or Senator’s office, reach out to them directly. If you need any help finding staff contacts, feel free to reach out to Rob Naylor at Preservation Action (rnaylor@preservationaction.org). 
  • Live nearby? Join us in person. 
Learn More and Take Action

2. Reach out to your members of Congress and ask them to help facilitate the immediate approval of the FY25 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Historic Preservation Fund and subsequent review and approval of applications.

  • These funds are urgently needed to ensure the work of SHPOs and THPOs continues to aid in the preservation of our nation’s heritage
  • Without prompt funding State and Tribes will be forced to eliminate federally-required staff – jeopardizing billions in investment
  • Share the Historic Preservation Under Threat one-pagers with your members of Congress and let them know how these funding delays are impacting your state and community! This is especially important if your members are on the House or Senate Appropriations Committee.
  • If you have personal contact in your Representative or Senator’s office, reach out to them directly. If you need any help finding staff contacts, feel free to reach out to Rob Naylor at Preservation Action (rnaylor@preservationaction.org). 

3. Ask your Representatives to sign onto the FY26 House Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter. This bipartisan letter is being circulated by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Teresa Leger Ferrnandez (D-NM), and requests $225 million for the HPF – the same amount advocated for during Advocacy Week. The deadline for signatures is COB Thursday, May 15th.

Take Action

4. Encourage your Representatives and Senators to co-sponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 2941, S. 1459) and include provisions in emerging tax legislation. This newly-introduced bill includes provisions we advocated for during Advocacy Week to restore value to the credit, improve access to the credit, make more projects eligible, and boost the credit for smaller and rural projects.

  • We expect the House and Senate to move very quickly on tax legislation. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to vote on their portion of the budget reconciliation bill by next week. Now is the time to reach out. This is especially important if any of your members serve on the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee. 
  • More information and additional resources are available here.
  • Check out our action campaign to easily personalize and send a letter to your members of Congress today!
Take Action
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Urge Your Members of Congress to Sign-on to the FY26 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter

In the face of proposed cuts, we need your help to ensure historic preservation priorities receive necessary funding! The appropriations process is getting underway in Congress which will determine funding levels for historic preservation priorities for the next fiscal year. The Trump Administration released their skinny budget earlier this month which proposed nearly eliminating the Historic Preservation Fund entirely. Thankfully bipartisan majorities in Congress have consistently shown strong support for historic preservation, but they need to hear from you.

Champions in the House are currently circulating the FY26 Dear Colleague Letter in support of the Historic Preservation Fund. The co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) are leading the House letter. Stay tuned for details on a Senate letter coming soon!

The letter request $225 million in funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, the same level Preservation Action advocated for during Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. The letters note the important work that State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices do across the country, and highlight preservation projects that are made possible through seven existing preservation grant programs.

To maximize the impact of the letter, we need as many members of Congress to sign-on as possible. We’ve made it easy for you to take action, check out our Action Alert below to learn more and easily reach out to your members of Congress TODAY!

House

  • The House letter is being led by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM).
  • Signatures due: COB Thursday May 15, 2025
  • If you have a personal contact in your Representative’s office, contact that person directly, especially if you recently met with their office during Advocacy Week, and urge them to sign-on to the HPF dear colleague letter. If they do not handle Interior Appropriations please ask that they pass the message along to the Interior Appropriations staffer. Preservation Action has also made it easy for you take action. Check out our action campaign to easily personalize and send a letter to your Representative today!
Take Action!

Details on a Senate letter are expected soon. Stay tuned for more.

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Advocacy Alert: Urge Your Members of Congress to Cosponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act and Include Provisions in Emerging Tax Legislation

*Update* May 13, 2025

Historic Tax Credit provisions were not included in the House version of the tax reconciliation package. We’re urging advocates to focus their attention on Senate offices, especially Republican Senators and Senators on the Senate Finance Committee.

Ask your Senators to cosponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act and include provisions in emerging tax legislation.

Senate and House champions have introduced the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 2941, S.1459). Led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) in the Senate and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) in the House, these bills include several provisions that will restore value to the Historic Tax Credit (HTC), improve access to the credit, make more projects eligible to use the credit, and boost the credit for smaller and rural rehabilitation projects. The bill includes the following provisions:

HTC-GO Provisions

  • Returns to a 1-year delivery of Historic Tax Credits for all projects
  • Eliminates the HTC Basis Adjustment, bringing more value to HTCs and making it easier to pair with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
  • Reduces the substantial rehabilitation threshold from 100% to 50%, making more buildings eligible to use the HTC
  • Modifies Tax Exempt Use Rules, making the credit easier to use by non-profits
  • Increases the credit from 20% to 30% for small projects below $3.75 million
  • Increases the credit from 20% to 30% for projects below $5 million in rural areas
  • All small/rural projects are eligible for direct transfer

The federal HTC is the largest federal investment in historic preservation and a critical economic development tool used to revitalize our communities, create jobs, and preserve our heritage. Unfortunately, the HTC has not kept pace with other federal incentives and needs to be modernized. Additionally, over the past decade, HTCs have lost 25% of their investment value due to unfavorable IRS rulings, administrative burdens, and changes in the credit structure. The provisions in the HTC-GO Act would help restore the credit’s lost value and make the credit easier to use.

With a series of tax provisions expiring at the end of the year, one of the top priorities of Congress and the White House will be passing a large tax package. This provides a huge opportunity to ensure HTC provisions are included in the emerging tax bill. The House and Senate passed budget resolutions that clear the way to pass budget reconciliation bills, which could move early this summer. Advocates will also be paying close attention to any attempts to weaken the HTC as lawmakers seek cost-saving measures.

The voice of preservation advocates will be absolutely essential to make the case for enhancing the HTC, ensuring it is included as part of emerging tax legislation, and fending off any potential threats to diminish the credit.

We need your help!

Urge your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the bipartisan Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 2941, S. 1459) and include HTC provisions in emerging tax legislation

If you have a personal contact in your Representative or Senators’ office, contact that person directly, especially if you just met with their office during Advocacy Week. Urge them to co-sponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 2941, S. 1459). If they do not handle tax issues please ask that they pass the message along to the appropriate staff person. Preservation Action has also made it easy for you take action. Check out our action campaign to easily personalize and send a letter to your members of Congress and share this alert with your networks!

TAKE ACTION

Additional Resources