Funding freezes. Budgetary impoundments. Reductions in force. DOGE.
Of all the tactics the Trump administration has sought to use to shrink the federal government, we can add a new one: the pocket recission.
Recissions, as those who prefer watching C-SPAN over Netflix know, is a process whereby the White House submits to Congress a request to rescind money that Capitol Hill previously appropriated. Congress then has 45 days to vote on the recissions; if the measure passes, the administration does not have to spend the money, but if Congress defeats it or fails to act in 45 days, the money must legally be spent.
The Trump administration is using the recission process right now to claw back $9.4 billion in money for foreign aid and public broadcasting that Congress had appropriated for the current fiscal year. The package passed the House – narrowly – last week and now goes to the Senate, where it needs a simple majority to pass.
But recissions are not easy: they require Congress to change its mind and undo spending decisions it previously made. That’s why, despite the administration’s (and Elon Musk’s) vows to cut trillions in spending, their recissions package was comparatively small.
That’s where the pocket recission comes in. If the White House sends Congress a recissions request less than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year (i.e., mid-August or later) and Congress fails to act on the request, the clock essentially runs out at the stroke of midnight on September 30, and – voila! – the administration doesn’t have to spend the money.
Some budgetary experts say that this maneuver contradicts the law, but it is a concept being espoused by President Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, who has reportedly told federal agencies to delay spending fiscal year 2025 appropriations until the end of the year so that the White House can submit a recission for it in September.
What does any of this have to do with CRM? Perhaps nothing. But as ACRA and the preservation community continue to press the Trump administration to release fiscal year 2025 funding to SHPOs and THPOs, we are watching closely to make sure the White House follows through on its legally required commitment to support the work that historic preservation offices perform. Stay tuned.
Justice Department: President Can Reverse Antiquities Act Moves
The Department of Justice released a legal opinion last week stating that President Trump has the power to abolish two national monuments established by former presidents.
The opinion disavowed a 1938 determination that monuments created by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act cannot be revoked. The department said presidents can cancel monument designations if protections are not warranted.
Although the opinion states that the President can revoke any Antiquities Act determination, it focused on former President Biden’s establishment earlier this year of the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, both in California.
DHS Waives Laws for Border Construction
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has waived the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and other environmental and cultural heritage laws for the construction of barriers and roads along the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico and Arizona.
The decision was announced pursuant to federal law, which gives the Department “the authority to waive all legal requirements such Secretary, in such Secretary’s sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads [in the vicinity of the U.S. border].”
Along with NHPA, the order also waives provisions of NEPA; the Endangered Species Act; NAGPRA; the Archeological Resources Protection Act; the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act; the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act; the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act; the Antiquities Act; and the Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act; and other statutes.
Interior Asks for Regulatory Reform Input
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has issued a request for information (RFI), seeking feedback from the public to help it “in identifying existing regulations that can be modified or repealed, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that DOI administrative actions do not undermine the national interest and that DOI achieves a meaningful reduction in regulatory burdens while continuing to meet statutory obligations, advance American energy independence, and ensure the responsible stewardship of the Nation’s public lands and resources.”
The RFI notes that it is part of the Department’s implementation of recent executive orders and other directives from President Trump, including the January 20 executive order that declared an energy emergency, that, according to the RFI, “seek to deconstruct the regulatory burden that has been self-imposed on our Nation’s interests.”
ACRA is preparing comments to submit to DOI, which must be submitted no later than June 20, 2025.
Help Show Your Elected Officials That #HistoryMatters
As recent developments show, the need to educate policymakers about the benefits of CRM is as great as ever. One of the best ways to accomplish this is with site visits and constituent meetings in their local offices.
This summer ACRA, SAA and SHA are bringing back our joint campaign to bring senators and representatives to project sites during the upcoming August congressional recess. In representing our community before Congress, we deliver the message of how CRM preserves our shared cultural heritage for present and future generations, and how this preservation of our past enriches local communities and creates economic benefits.
To learn more about how you can join the campaign, watch a recording of our May 8 HistoryMatters webinar, read the toolkit, and don’t hesitate to contact us at info@acra-crm.org with any questions.