Federal Preservation Funding: Key Updates

/in /by

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its Fiscal Year 2021 bill to fund the Department of the Interior. Several provisions of the Senate bill are important to note since they could have big impacts on preservation policy.

Strong Support for Preservation Programs in Both House and Senate:

  • The Senate bill includes a big increase for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) — $19.34 million over last year’s level, for a total of $138 million. This increase is even more generous than the House of Representatives proposal of $136.425 million.
  • Both chambers continue supporting increases for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), programs which the President’s budget had proposed cutting entirely. The Senate bill provides $162.25 million for each (the same amount as last year), and the House bill provides $170 million for each.
  • Save America’s Treasures, funding for which was suspended from 2011 until 2016, received strong support from the Senate Appropriations Committee. They provided $16.5 million, an increase of $.5 million over last year. In contrast, the House bill provided $25 million. The Save America’s Treasures program, established in 1998, is managed by the National Park Service in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the NEA, and the NEH, with the objective of preserving nationally significant historic properties and museum collections for future generations of Americans.
  • In preparation for the country’s upcoming Semiquincentennial celebration, the Committee is creating a new, $10 million competitive grant program within the HPF to support restoration of State-owned historic sites and structures that honor and interpret the country’s founding, including Revolutionary War battle and commemorative monuments.
  • The House and Senate Appropriations Committees allocated $7.4 million to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an increase of $22,000.

Cautionary Notes on Actions Taken By the Trump Administration:

  • The Senate Appropriations Committee expressed its concern with the National Park Service’s plan to modify the rule governing how properties are nominated for inclusion on the National Register. They noted that the Department failed to complete meaningful government-to-government consultation with tribes. Before implementing the rule, the Committee said that it expects the National Park Service to consult with tribes, Federal land management agencies, State and tribal historic preservation offices, and other stakeholders. The Coalition expressed these same concerns in our comment letter to the NPS and in subsequent meetings with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
  • The Senate Appropriators noted the Trump Administration’s failure to provide a list of land acquisition projects. This list is required by the Great American Outdoors Act, a new law that permanently provides $900 million in annual funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The monies help the federal government acquire new land for parks and trails, which often include historic resources.
  • The Senate Appropriations Committee issued a reminder that oil and gas leasing within the 10-miles radius of Chaco Canyon should wait until tribes complete their investigations into culturally and historically significant areas and sites in places with high energy development potential. The Coalition for American Heritage signed a letter supporting legislation that would provide permanent withdrawal of 316,000 acres of federal lands surrounding Chaco Canyon.

Ongoing Efforts to Promote Diversity in the Sites and Stories We Honor:

  • Strong support continues in both chambers for grants to protect and preserve the history and sites associated with the Civil Rights movement. The Senate bill provides $20.75 million in FY 21 and the House bill provides $22.25 million.
  • In its Explanatory Statement, the Senate Appropriations Committee notes that the Civil Rights grant monies can also be used for recently discovered sites and stories of the transatlantic slave trade.
  • The Committee encouraged NEH to provide support to projects that focus on our Nation’s history and culture, including Russian orthodox sacred sites and churches listed on the National Register of Historic places in need of restoration. The Committee also urged the Endowment to consider applications which focus on the complex and historically significant narratives of communities tied to recently discovered sites of the transatlantic slave trade, such as the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the United States. Earlier this year, the Coalition for American Heritage submitted a letter in support of legislation recognizing the importance of the Clotilda.

Next, representatives from each chamber will negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill. A final version of the bill will need to pass both chambers before it can be signed into law by the President.