Issue: Historic Preservation
Issue
In addition to preserving and protecting more than 1 billion objects, many museums are historic themselves, and their collections are critical to telling our collective national story. Historic sites and historic preservation efforts not only protect our national heritage, they are also economic engines and job creators in the thousands of communities they serve. Minimal government funding helps to leverage significant private support, often through the Historic Tax Credit. The FY 2021 appropriations for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provided $55.7 million to State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs), $15 million to Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs), and $21.1 million for grants to underserved communities and to document, interpret, and preserve the stories and sites associated with the Civil Rights Movement. Save America’s Treasures (SAT) received $25 million in FY 2021 through the HPF and the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grant program received $7.5 million. Congress also provided $8 million for the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission and $10 million for a National Park Service competitive grant program to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. by restoring and preserving state-owned sites and structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places that commemorate the founding of the nation.
- We urge Congress to support FY 2022 funding of at least $55.7 million for SHPOs, $15 million for THPOs, $21.1 million for grants to underserved communities and civil rights sites, $25 million for Save America’s Treasures, $7.5 million for Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants and to co-sponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act. We also urge Congress to support the legislative proposals recommended by the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission in its report to the President on the country’s 250th commemoration.
Download the Historic Preservation Issue Brief (PDF)