Earlier this week we asked you to contact your House representative to protect the Historic Preservation Fund from devastating cuts – now we need you to contact your Senators!
The HPF, which provides critical support to SHPOs and THPOs who facilitate Section 106 reviews, support National Register listings, and so much more, has been provided record funding by Congress in recent years – thanks in part to the advocacy of CRM professionals like you!
But all that progress is in jeopardy:
- First, the National Park Service has yet to release current-year money from the Fund – money that Congress has appropriated – creating a financial crisis for many state and Tribal preservation offices; in fact, some SHPOs are planning to lay off staff as a result.
- To make matters worse, the President has proposed providing zero money to S/THPOs in the upcoming fiscal year.
These actions could inhibit the ability of state and Tribal preservation offices to support Section 106 work, making the process more inefficient and giving ammunition to those who want to do away with Section 106 altogether.
But there is a way you can help: a bipartisan group of Senators are rallying their colleagues to provide full funding for the HPF.
Please take a moment to send an email to your Senators to ask them to support historic preservation by:
- Upholding Congress’ constitutional authority to appropriate funds by facilitating the swift release of FY25 funding to ensure the work of SHPOs and THPOs continues
- Asking the appropriations committees to support full funding of the HPF
(Click here to find your Senators and how to contact them.)
You can use the template message below or write your own. But please act quickly: Every message Congress receives makes a difference. Please contact your Senators today!
We are aware that the webforms of some legislators (but not all) have character limits and have tried to be mindful of that, but your message may need to be edited if this is the case.
Sample Message:
Dear Senator:
As a constituent and a cultural resources management professional, I am writing to urge you to support the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF).
For more than 40 years, the HPF has enabled the preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings and archaeological sites in our state and across the country. It provides essential funding for state and Tribal historic preservation offices, which are required by federal law to work to protect historic places. Thanks to the HPF, in 2024 alone state historic preservation offices reviewed and consulted on more than 100,000 federal projects and surveyed more than 4.5 million acres for cultural resources.
But recent events threaten our nation’s ability to protect and celebrate our history. Even though Congress approved funding for state and tribal offices in fiscal 2025 last March as part of the continuing resolution, the Department of the Interior has not made those funds available. As a result, a number of state historic preservation offices are facing budget shortfalls, and some are already laying off staff. This means that preservation and rehabilitation projects will be delayed, costing many communities economic development opportunities and slowing down important infrastructure projects.
In addition, the president’s recently released budget request for the next fiscal year proposes to eliminate virtually all funding from the HPF, including zeroing out funds to state and Tribal historic preservation offices.
As America prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary next year, we should be investing in the places that tell our nation’s story. That’s why I urge you to join with your colleagues who support preservation programs by signing onto the bipartisan Cassidy-Gillibrand letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting adequate funding for the HPF in the upcoming fiscal year.
In addition, I ask you to work with your colleagues to uphold Congress’ constitutional authority to appropriate funds by facilitating the swift release of FY25 funding to ensure that state and Tribal historic preservation offices can continue their work protecting and preserving our nation’s heritage.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
(NAME)