Category: Action

The August congressional recess is just around the corner. Preservation Action encourages you to ramp up your advocacy efforts around the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) Growth and Opportunity Act (H.R. 1785), S. 639) and Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3350) by encouraging your members of Congress to visit a HTC project, HPF project, or historic site. Members of Congress are scheduled to be back in-district/state from July 29th to Sept. 4th. We’re asking members and supporters to reach out to your Representative and Senators and invite them to tour a Historic Tax Credit project or other historic site in their district/state. Be sure to encourage them to support and cosponsor the HTC-GO Act and HPF Reauthorization Act.

Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) touring the Old City Hall in Tacoma, WA

The August recess is the best opportunity for lawmakers to see the incredible benefits of the Historic Tax Credit and Historic Preservation Fund first-hand. If your Representative or Senators serve on the House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee, House Natural Resources Committee or Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, these members are especially important to contact. Reach out to your members of Congress today!

Take Action!

• Reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act and Historic Preservation Fund Reauthorization Act. Preservation Action has made it easy for you to take action. Check out our HTC-GO Action Alert and HPF Reauthorization Action Alert to learn more!
• Invite your members of Congress to tour a completed, in-progress, or potential HTC project or other historic site in their district/state. This is one of most effective ways to demonstrate the value of the HTC and HPF. Be sure to also discuss how the HTC-GO could further benefit communities across their district/state and how HPF helps to administer these programs. Be flexible with possible dates to meet, but if your member of Congress is unavailable, offer to meet with their staff. Be persistent. Sometimes it will take multiple touches.
• Review the Congressional site-visit guide put together by our partners at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Trust Community Investment Corporation to make it easy for advocates to reach out to their lawmakers.

If you need any assistance arranging a site visit or meeting contact Rob Naylor at Preservation Action (rnaylor@preservationaction.org). Also be sure share stories and photos from your site visits with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Resources:

• Historic Tax Credit One Pager- Preservation Month
• Historic Preservation Fund One Pager- Preservation Month
• HTC State Maps and Project Lists
• National Preservation Organizations Release in Support
• Preservation Action HTC-GO Action Alert
• Preservation Action HPF Reauthorization Action Alert

Congress is in the appropriations process, which will determine Fiscal Year 2024 funding levels for historic preservation. We need your help! FY24 Dear Colleague letters in support of the Historic Preservation Fund are currently circulating in the Senate. 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 dear colleague letter includes much-needed increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, which are facing increased workloads as the infrastructure bill is implemented, and increases to critically important competitive grant programs. Check out our Historic Preservation Fund Appropriations 1-Pager to learn more.

To maximize the impact of the letter, we need as many Senators to sign-on as possible. We’ve made it easy for you to take action, click-on the Action Alert below to easily personalize and send a letter to your Senators.

Deadlines for signatures are quickly approaching, so reach out to your U.S Senators TODAY!

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Senate

• The Senate letter is being led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
• Signatures due: Thursday March 30, 2023
• If you have a personal contact in your Senator’s office, contact that person directly, especially if you just 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 Senators today!

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House

• Thank you for reaching out to your Representatives!
• The House letter received 86 bipartisan cosigners and was submitted to the House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee.
• Thank you to the co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) for leading the letter!
• Did your Representative sign-on? Be sure to thank them!

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The letters will be submitted to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee respectively and marks a strong commitment to protecting our historic resources for future generations.

Thank you for your advocacy!

The appropriations process is in full swing in Congress, which will determine Fiscal Year 2023 funding levels for historic preservation and we need your help! Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are leading the bipartisan FY23 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Dear Colleague Letter in the Senate. The Senate letter, like the House letter, requests $200 million in funding for the HPF, the same level Preservation Action advocated for during Historic Preservation Advocacy Week and would be a record level of funding for the program. The request includes much-needed increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, which are expected to face increased workloads from federally mandated project reviews associated with the recently passed infrastructure bill, and increases to critically important competitive grant programs. The letter requests:

• $65 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)
• $34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs)
• $35 million for the Save America’s Treasures Grant Program
• $24 million for African American Civil Rights Initiative Competitive Grants
• $12 million for competitive grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• $12 million for the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants
• $10 million for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program
• $5 million for the History of Equal Rights Competitive Grant Program
• $3 million for Underrepresented Communities Grants

The letter will be submitted to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies and marks a strong commitment to protecting our historic resources for future generations. Congress needs to hear from preservation advocates.

Reach out to your Senators and urge them to sign-on to the bipartisan FY2023 Historic Preservation Fund dear colleague letter being circulated by Senators Gillibrand and Cassidy. The more support we can demonstrate for the HPF, the better positioned it will be in the appropriations process.

If you have a personal contact in your Senator’s office, contact that person directly, especially if you just 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 edit and send a letter to your Senators today! Also be sure to share this alert with your networks. The deadline for signatures is COB, Monday, May 23rd. Take action today!

Urge Your Representative to Sign-on to the Bipartisan FY23 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter Today!

Congress is starting the appropriations process which will determine Fiscal Year 2023 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 FY23 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) Dear Colleague Letter in the House. The letter request $200 million in funding for the HPF, the same level Preservation Action advocated for during Advocacy Week and would be a record level of funding for the program. The request includes much-needed increases for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, which are expected to face increased workloads from federally mandated project reviews associated with the recently passed infrastructure bill, and increases to critically important competitive grant programs. The letter requests:

• $65 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)
• $34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs)
• $35 million for the Save America’s Treasures Grant Program
• $24 million for African American Civil Rights Initiative Competitive Grants
• $12 million for competitive grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• $12 million for the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants
• $10 million for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program
• $5 million for the History of Equal Rights Competitive Grant Program
• $3 million for Underrepresented Communities Grants

The letter will be submitted to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and marks a strong commitment to protecting our historic resources for future generations. Congress needs to hear from preservation advocates.

To maximize the impact of the letter, we need as many Representatives to sign-on as possible. Urge your Representative to sign-on to the bipartisan FY23 HPF Dear Colleague Letter being circulated by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Mike Turner (R-OH) today! The deadline for signatures is COB, Friday, April 22.

If you have a personal contact in your Representative’s office, contact that person directly, 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 the link below to easily edit and send a letter to your Representative today! Also be sure to share this alert with your networks.

Take action to Protect African American Burial Grounds!

Help us take action on the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, by reaching out to your members of Congress and urging them to co-sponsor this important bill!

Introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in the Senate, Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) and Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) in the House, the bipartisan African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act (S. 3667/H.R. 6805) authorizes the National Park Service to establish a $3 million grant program to identify and protect African American Burial Grounds.

The protection and documentation of African American burial grounds have long been neglected. Many African American burial grounds are in a state of disrepair, inaccessible, or their locations are unknown. Providing federal resources helps ensure that these sites are preserved, documented, and maintained for future generations.

Urge your U.S Representative and U.S Senators to support and co-sponsor the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act (S. 3667/H.R. 6805) TODAY!

If you have a personal contact in your Representative’s office, contact that person directly and urge them to co-sponsor the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act (S.3667/H.R. 6805). Preservation Action has also made it easy for you to take action, use the link below to easily edit and send a letter to your Representative today! Also be sure to share this alert with your networks.