Preservation Action

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.