LegiStorm

Summary:

A variety of federal government, state government, and private programs support historic preservation in the United States. This report provides an overview of the federal role in historic preservation, including background and funding information for some of the major preservation grants, programs, and entities authorized by Congress. Starting in the early 20th century, Congress has passed several laws that have established a framework for federal historic preservation activities. The most comprehensive of these statutes is the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA; P.L. 89-665). NHPA created a grants program for state historic preservation, established the federal National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the procedures by which historic properties are placed on the Register, funded the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), established the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and designated a process for federal agencies to follow when their projects may affect a historic property. Congress has amended and expanded NHPA multiple times since its passage, most recently in 2016. In addition, Congress often considers bills to designate specific properties or areas as historically important, under various designations. These designations include national monuments, national historical parks, national historic landmarks, and properties listed on the NRHP, to name a few. This report addresses questions about what the different land designations signify, who manages the land under each designation, which statutes govern management decisions, and what types of properties are commonly chosen for each designation. Because of these various legislative and oversight commitments, historic preservation is of perennial interest to Congress. For example, some Members of Congress support proposals to eliminate a federal government role in financing historic preservation programs altogether, leaving such programs to be sustained by other levels of government or by private support. Others state that a federal role in supporting historic preservation should be maintained or expanded. In particular, lawmakers and administrations pay significant attention to funding levels for various historic preservation programs that are subject to the annual appropriations process. The most recent (FY2020) budget from the Trump Administration requests a roughly 70% reduction in funding for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF)—the primary source of funding for federal preservation—compared to FY2019. This request includes no fiscal support for many of the federal grant programs available to states, tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations for historic preservation. In June 2019, the House passed H.R. 3055, which consolidated 5 of the 12 regular FY2020 appropriations bills including the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. This appropriations package would provide $121.7 million in appropriations to the HPF. This figure represents an 18% increase from FY2019 regular appropriations levels and a nearly $90 million increase over the FY2020 Administration request. This report contains a list of many of the federal grant programs funded through the annual appropriations process (see Appendix). It also includes overviews of historic preservation grants for tribal historic preservation, African American Civil Rights, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS), Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) programs, the Save America's Treasures grant program, and the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP). The appendix also includes eligibility requirements, matching fund guidelines, and statutory authorization for each program.