We need your help to ensure historic preservation priorities receive adequate funding! The appropriations process is getting underway in Congress which will determine funding levels for historic preservation priorities for the next fiscal year. FY24 Dear Colleague letters in support of the Historic Preservation Fund are currently circulating in the House and Senate. The co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) are leading the House letter and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are leading the Senate letter.

Both letters request $225 million in funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, the same level Preservation Action advocated for during Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. The letters call for 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 members of Congress to sign-on as possible. We've made it easy for you to take action, check out our Action Alert below to learn more and easily personalize and send a letter to your members of Congress. Time is of the essence, the deadline for signatures in the House is next Tuesday, March 21st and the deadline in the Senate is Thursday, March 30th. Reach out to your Representative and Senators TODAY!

Last week, the Biden Administration released their FY24 budget request. This includes specific funding requests for the Department of Interior and the National Park Service. Overall the budget requests $3.8 billion for the National Park Service, an increase of $289.2 million over FY22 enacted levels. The request includes $177.9 million for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). This is a $26.6 million decrease from the FY23 enacted levels of $204.5 million. The decrease is largely due to the budget not including Congressionally Directed Spending for HPF projects, while funding for other HPF programs were mostly level funded. Notably, the budget separates out $2.5 million for Tribal Heritage Grants for the first time. A full breakdown is below:

FY24 Administration Request: Historic Preservation Fund

• $62.15 million for State Historic Preservation Offices
• $23 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices
• $2.5 million for Tribal Heritage Grants *New*
• $26.5 million for Save America's Treasures
• $24 million for the African American Civil Rights grant program
• $5 million for the History of Equal Rights Grant program
• $11 million for HBCU preservation grants
• $12.5 million for Paul Bruhn grants
• $10 million for the Semiquincentennial grant program
• $1.25 million for Underrepresented Communities Grants
• Congressionally Directed Historic Preservation Fund projects not included

Total: $177.9 million

Additionally, the budget included language requesting the Historic Preservation Fund to be reauthorized for 1 year. The program’s authorization is set to expire at the end of September. The budget also included $3 million for the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Program, which was established by Congress at the end of last year when it passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. This program will identify, document, preserve, research, and interpret African American Burial Ground sites whose protection and documentation has too often been neglected or forgotten.

The budget included $29.281 million for the Heritage Partnership Program, which supports National Heritage Areas, a small increase of $49,000. $9.494 million was included for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, an increase of $909,000 over FY23 enacted levels.

While the overall funding levels for the Historic Preservation Fund are lower than we would've liked, Preservation Action appreciates the administration's continued support for the HPF, the funding of the African American Burial Grounds preservation program and the notable increase for the ACHP. During Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, attendees advocated for $225 million for the Historic Preservation Fund. This is the same amount Preservation Action will include in our testimony to House and Senate appropriators.

Legislation to enhance and improve the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) was reintroduced in the Senate by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). The Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (S.639) is identical to the HTC-GO bill introduced in the last Congress and includes four permanent provisions that would bring more value to Historic Tax Credit projects, improve access, make more projects eligible and encourage investment in smaller rehabilitation projects. These provisions will make important changes to the HTC to encourage more building reuse and redevelopment nationwide and would be particularly impactful for small, midsize, and rural communities. These provisions would:

• Establishes a permanent 30% Historic Tax Credit for projects $2.5 million and less, making it easier to complete small projects
• Eliminates the HTC Basis Adjustment, bringing more value to HTCs and making it easier to pair with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
• Reduces the substantial rehabilitation threshold, making more buildings eligible to use the HTC
• Makes the credit easier to use by non-profits

We expect similar legislation, led by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), to be introduced in the House in the coming days. The House version is expected to also include a temporary provision to address recent challenges facing historic rehabilitation projects.

These enhancements are needed more now, than ever before. Unfortunately, the value of the HTC incentive has diminished over the last decade. According to National Park Service statistics, HTC applications are down 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels (2019).

Take Action

We need your help to build support for this critical legislation. Reach out to your Senators and urge them to co-sponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (S. 639). If you have a personal contact in your Senator's office reach out to them directly. If not, you can find your Senator's contact information here. Check out our Historic Tax Credit One Pager to learn more.

On behalf of Preservation Action and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, thanks to everyone for helping to make this year’s National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week and our return to in-person a huge success! It was great to welcome everyone back to Washington. D.C. for our first in-person Advocacy Week in three years. We’d especially like to thank our many speakers and sponsors for helping to make it all possible. We were thrilled to have over 180 attendees (including several first-time advocates) representing 41 states and reaching more than 200 congressional offices!

The main day of programming was located at the historic St. Mark's Church, providing the perfect backdrop to kick off Advocacy Week. Preservation advocates were fortunate to hear from national preservation leaders and policy experts on the current legislative landscape and future of historic preservation policy. The following day, advocates took to the Hill and met with their members of Congress. Advocacy Week concluded with the Champions of Historic Preservation Congressional Reception, where we were joined by some of historic preservation's biggest champions in Congress. Check our Advocacy Week materials page to see the full schedule, advocacy guide, and issue one-pagers to learn more.

Hill Report Forms/Follow-up

For Advocacy Week attendees, now is the time for the important follow-up from your congressional office visits. Be sure to thank offices and to follow-up with any promised information or materials. Additionally,  please complete a hill report form online for each of your meetings. Knowing who you met with and how those meetings went is essential for our continued advocacy.

National Park Service: "National Park Service and Maritime Administration Announce $2 Million in Maritime Heritage Preservation Grants"

Novogradac: "Annual HTC Report: Another Big Year for Rehabilitation Approvals, Expenditures"

Ohio: "Additional $17.5 Million Awarded for Historic Preservation"



Indiana: "A New Program Will Preserve One of Indiana's First Black Settlements"

Florida: "Advocates, Developer Use Union Terminal to Push Statewide Historic Tax Credit Bills"

Minnesota: "Historic Tax Credit Again in Limbo"