Category: Action

COVID-19 Relief Legislation Stalled- Keep Up Your Advocacy Efforts to Include HTC Provisions

As you have probably seen in the news, congressional leaders and the White House failed to reach an agreement on the next round of COVID-19 relief and recovery legislation before departing for the August recess. The Senate released a more narrowly focused proposal in July, which centered around liability protection, adequately funding healthcare needs, and safely reopening schools. The two sides remain far apart on top line spending numbers, but both have priorities they want accomplished and face continued political forces which should keep pressure on them to return to the negotiating table. The timeline for action remains uncertain. Congress is slated to be on recess until after the Labor Day weekend, but they could be called back sooner. Preservation Action will continue to monitor the negotiations taking place and keep you posted in the latest developments. While the talks are currently stalled, it’s critical we keep up our efforts.

Join us in continuing to urge your Senators to incorporate the HTC provisions in the next round of COVID-19 relief and recovery legislation. We’re asking Senators to include the HTC changes called for in the House passed infrastructure package, the Moving Forward Act (H.R 2).  This includes enhancements from the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act to strengthen the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) and temporary provisions aimed specifically at addressing the challenges that rehabilitation projects are facing during the pandemic. Additionally, these changes will aid economic recovery, benefiting struggling communities across the country. Specifically, we’re urging Congress to incorporate the following HTC provisions:

• A temporary increase of the Historic Tax Credit from 20% to 30% for 5 years.
• Establishes a permanent 30% Historic Tax Credit for projects $2.5 million and less
• Eliminates the HTC Basis Adjustment, bringing more value to HTCs
• Reduces the Historic Rehab Test to 50% of a building’s basis instead of 100%
• Makes the credit easier to use by non-profits
• A provision for communities to rehabilitate existing public schools using the HTC
• Temporary extension of period for completing rehabilitation

We need your help! Continue to reach out to your Senators and urge them to include these much-needed Historic Tax Credit provisions in the next COVID-19 relief and recovery bill.

How to Take Action:

Preservation Action has made it easy for you take action. Use our new action campaign to easily edit and send a letter to your Senator’s office today! If you have a personal contact in your Senators office, reach out to them directly. You can also share our Action Alert with your networks and on social media. Also be sure to share any responses you receive with Preservation Action at mail@preservationaction.org to help inform our advocacy efforts.

Site Visits

Members of Congress are currently back home during the August recess, this is a great time to invite your members to safely tour a Historic Tax Credit project in their state/district. They can see first hand the impact the HTC has on their communities, the challenges many of these rehabilitation projects are facing due to the pandemic, and how the proposed changes to the HTC will help to stimulate the local economy. We hear time and again from congressional staff about the importance of congressional site visits to show the tangible impact of programs like the Historic Tax Credit.

Check out our In-District Lobbying Guide or the Arranging a Congressional Site Visit guide from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to learn more about scheduling a site visit. If you need any assistance, feel free to contact us mail@preservationaction.org.

Additional Resources

Historic Tax Credit Economic Stimulus Talking Points
Historic Tax Credit Project Maps by State 2002-2019
Virtual Preservation Month Briefing: Historic Preservation’s Role in Recover

Thanks Your Members for Supporting the Great American Outdoors Act

The House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422, H.R 7092) with strong, bipartisan support and this week the President signed it into law. This important bill will fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually and provide dedicated funding to address the deferred maintenance backlog at the National Park Service and on other public lands. Thank you for reaching out to your members of Congress in support of this important bill!

The Great American Outdoors Act not only supports continued public access and enjoyment of our nation’s public lands, but also helps support and protect cultural and historic sites across the country. The LWCF has been used to preserve battlefields like Gettysburg National Military Park and iconic sites like the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. The bill also addresses the nearly $12 billion backlog at the National Park Service, an estimated 43% is attributed to historic resources.  Preservation Action included this important bill in  our request to Congress to support historic preservation priorities in future stimulus legislation.

Thank Your Members of Congress

Preservation Action made it easy for you to take action. Send a letter directly to your members of Congress thanking them supporting the Great American Outdoors Act today!

Urge Congress to Include Historic Preservation Programs in Future Coronavirus Stimulus and Relief Legislation

Update: 7-01-2020

This week, the House passed the Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill. This bill includes several provisions and temporary measures to expand and enhance the Historic Tax Credit. The bill includes the following Historic Tax Credit provisions:

• A temporary increase of the Historic Tax Credit from 20% to 30% for 5 years.
• Establishes a permanent 30% Historic Tax Credit for projects $2.5 million and less
• Eliminates the HTC Basis Adjustment, bringing more value to HTCs
• Reduces the Historic Rehab Test to 50% of a building’s basis instead of 100%
• Makes the credit easier to use by non-profits
• A provision for communities to rehabilitate existing public schools using the HTC
• Temporary extension of period for completing rehabilitation

Several of these provisions were included in the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (S.2615 / H.R. 2825) and in the request that Preservation Action and our partners sent to Congress.

Take Action!

Attention now turns to the Senate. Urge your Senators to support the Historic Tax Credit provisions included in the Moving Forward Act. If you have a personal contact in your Senator’s Washington D.C or District office, contact that person directly. Encourage them to support the Historic Tax Credit provisions included in the Moving Forward Act (H.R 2) and forward them the Historic Tax Credit Economic Stimulus Request Talking Points. Also be sure to thank your Representative for their support. You can also use this easy to use tool from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

As Congress is considering future relief efforts in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Preservation Action along with our partners are advocating to make sure the historic preservation community is part of that conversation. Preservation Action joined our partners at the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers along with more than 30 organizations and businesses in a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committee requesting $120 million for the Historic Preservation Fund.

• $30 million to support survey and digitization for State Historic Preservation Officers and $15 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.
• $75 million for Certified Local Governments to support brick and mortar projects.

We also joined for the National Trust for Historic Preservation along with more than 375 organizations and businesses in sending a preservation community letter to House and Senate leaders requesting support for preservation programs that would help to stimulate the economy. The letter calls for:

• Including the provisions of the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (S.2615 / H.R. 2825) and additional changes including a temporary increase in the value of the HTC from 20% to 30%.
• $30 million to support survey and digitization for State Historic Preservation Officers and $15 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.
• $75 million for Certified Local Governments to support brick and mortar projects.
• $300 million to support existing Historic Preservation Fund grant programs ($75 million each for Civil Rights grants, Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants, Save America’s Treasures, and HBCU Preservation program).
• Enactment of the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422).
• Additional provisions supporting charitable giving and the non-profit community
• Urging opposition to legislative exemptions for the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Protection Act.

Thank you to everyone that joined us by signing on to these letters.

Take Action! Urge your Representatives and Senators to support historic preservation programs that help to stimulate the economy as part of future coronavirus relief and recovery efforts.

If you have a personal contact in your Representative or Senator’s Washington D.C or District office, contact that person directly. Or you can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative or Senator’s DC office. Please keep in mind that most congressional staff are working remotely at this time.

Share the historic preservation assistance request letter, preservation community letter, and Historic Tax Credit Economic Economic Stimulus Request Talking Points with your members. Ask them to support historic preservation programs that help stimulate the economy as part of future coronavirus relief and recovery efforts. This includes additional funding for the Historic Preservation Fund which would support programs that help local economies, while preserving irreplaceable historic resources. And support enhancements to the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) that would increase rehabilitation activities, create jobs, and spur economic development in local economies.

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Additional Resources

• Virtual Preservation Month Briefing: Historic Preservation’s Role in Recovery
• Historic Preservation Community Letter sent to Congressional Leaders
• Historic Preservation Assistance Request Letter sent to House and Senate Appropriations Committee
• Historic Tax Credit Economic Economic Stimulus Request Talking Points
• Historic Tax Credit Project Maps by State 2002-2019 
• Letter Template for HTC Request in Economic Recovery
• Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Legislative Exemptions Letter
• Preservation Action Effective Lobbying Guide

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. 

FY21 House HPF Letter Signers

FY21 House HPF Dear Colleague Letter

Find Your Senators

FY21 Senate HPF Dear Colleague Letter

“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”

Preservation Action, Action Alert
Urge Your Senators to Cosponsor the HTC-GO Act: October 17, 2019

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced the Senate version of the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (S. 2615, H.R 2825). Similar to the House version of the HTC-GO Act, the Senate legislation would bring more value to Historic Tax Credit projects, improve access to the credit, and encourage investment in smaller rehabilitation projects.

The HTC Growth and Opportunity Act would eliminate the tax credit basis adjustment, which decreases the value of the HTC. This change would make the HTC more in line with the other tax credit programs and help restore some of the value lost by changes made during tax reform. Additionally, the bill would increase the credit from 20% to 30% for projects under $2.5 million. This would make the credit more appealing and improve access for smaller projects. The House version of the bill is up to 50 cosponsors. 

Action Alert: Urge Your Senators to Cosponsor S. 2615 Today →