Updated February 2025

Request

We urge Congress to:

• give due consideration to federal proposals that have the potential to significantly impact the field of historic preservation.
• support the reauthorization of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and increase the program authorization to $250 million annually; and provide interim support of a short term (1 year) HPF reauthorization, until a full reauthorization is negotiated.
• support HPF appropriations for FY 2026 at no less than $225 million of which at least $70 million will go toward funding State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) and $34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs), and minimum funding amounts for competitive grant programs under the HPF:
  • $40 million for Save America’s Treasures
  • $28 million for African American Civil Rights
  • $17 million for Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants for the rehabilitation of historic properties and economic development of rural communities
  • $13 million for Historically Black Colleges/Universities
  • $11 million for U.S. Semiquincentennial celebration grants for our nation’s 250^th commemoration
  • $7 million for Equal Rights grants
  • $5 million for Underrepresented Community grants
• support provisions in the emerging tax bill to make the federal Historic Tax Credit more valuable and easier to use by:
  • Returning the HTC to a one-year credit
  • Eliminating the basis adjustment
  • Expanding eligibility for the credit
  • Enhancing the credit for smaller projects
• include museums in, and provide robust funding for, programs for federal agencies tasked with carrying out America 250 programming and commemorations in the FY 2025 appropriations process.

Introduction

State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs) carry out the work of the federal government in the states and Tribal communities – surveying America’s historic places, making nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, reviewing impacts of federal projects, providing assistance to developers seeking a rehabilitation tax credit, creating alliances with local government preservation commissions, and conducting preservation education and planning. This federal/state/local partnership reflects America’s historic preservation program as established by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

Established in 1998, Save America’s Treasures is a public-private partnership that includes the National Park Service, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and other federal cultural agencies. The grant program helps preserve nationally significant historic properties and collections that convey our nation’s rich heritage to future generations of Americans. Since 1999, there have been almost 4,000 requests for funding totaling $1.54 billion. In response to these requests, $340 million was awarded to more than 1,300 recipients creating more than 16,000 jobs across the country. The projects include iconic objects such as the Star-Spangled Banner and major historical structures such as the office of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program, created in fiscal year 2018, supports the rehabilitation of historic properties and fosters economic development of rural communities through subgrants. This program funds physical preservation projects for historic sites, including architectural and engineering services through subgrants to rural communities.

The federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) was permanently written into the tax code over three decades ago and has been a widely used redevelopment tool for cities, towns, and rural communities across the country. The HTC has a proven track record of stimulating economic growth and creating jobs through public-private leveraging opportunities.

To date, the HTC has preserved more than 50,000 properties in every state leveraging more than $235 billion in private investment and has created more than 3 million well-paying, local jobs. The federal HTC is a model credit that has led 39 states to create similar tax incentive programs, helping form the historic fabric of our nation.

Talking Points

• The 2005 Heritage Health Index (HHI) of archives, libraries, historical societies, and museums concluded that action is needed to prevent the loss of 190 million artifacts that are in need of conservation treatment: 59 percent have collections damaged by light, 56 percent have insufficient security to protect their collections, 80 percent do not have an emergency plan that includes collections, 71 percent need additional training and expertise for staff caring for collections, and only 13 percent have access to endowment funds for preservation.
• A 2019 Institute of Museum and Library Services report on data from a 10-year follow-up survey on the HHI concluded that preservation is part of the mission for a vast majority of US collecting institutions. Yet many, especially small institutions, have not yet prepared for emergencies and have faced challenges in many actions related to preservation, including conservation practices with digital content.
• Historic preservation programs, including the Historic Tax Credit, protect our national heritage, while at the same time serving as economic development engines and job creators in communities nationwide. Funds invested in building rehabilitation have been shown to create more jobs and more retail activity than those spent on new construction.
• The American Association for State and Local History’s (AASLH) 2023 National Visitation Report found that visits to history organizations increased by 37 percent from 2021 to 2022, a continuation of the recovery trend that began in 2021. Although this overall number represents substantial growth and is a positive sign for the field, most history institutions still received fewer visitors last year than they did before the beginning of the pandemic.

Status

• Historic preservation programs are funded annually through the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
• FY 2025 HPF appropriations have yet to be decided by Congress, which is  operating under a continuing resolution until March 14^th. The FY 2024 enacted funding level for the HPF came in at $188.6m, $62.15 million of which was allocated to State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) and $23 million to Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs). Competitive grant programs received funding as follows: Save America’s Treasures (SAT): $25.5 million, African American Civil Rights: $24 million, Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grant program: $10 million, Historically Black Colleges/Universities: $11 million, Semiquincentennial celebration grants: $7 million, History of Equal Rights grants: $5 million, Underrepresented Community grants: $1.25 million. This most recent HPF appropriation fell short of the record-setting funding in FY 2023, of over $204 million.
• It is a priority to achieve reauthorization of the HPF, to ensure the program remains functional to appropriately fund SHPOs, THPOs, and the various preservation grant programs funded annually. SHPOs remain in dire need of resources to operate their programs, including the need to fulfill responsibilities under the NHPA to efficiently review and comment on federal undertakings.

Supporting Letters and Testimony

• Alliance Joins Effort to Protect Historic Properties (July 2014)