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IN THIS ISSUE
Feature Stories
Legislative Updates
Announcements
FEATURE STORIES
Bush Releases FY'03 Budget: Historic Preservation
Funding Cut
President Bush delivered the FY2003 budget to
Congress on February 4, including $67 million for the
Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF received a
10.7% cut from last year's enacted level ($74.5 million)
and comes on the heels of a 21% reduction for historic
preservation programs in FY'02, possibly signaling a
major funding decline for years to come. The state
historic preservation offices (SHPOs) programs were cut
by $5 million in the FY'03 budget and funding was not
continued for the National Trust's Historic Sites Fund,
which received $2.5 million in FY'02. On a positive
note, level funding was provided for Tribal preservation
programs ($3 million) and a fourth year of funding was
proposed for the Save America's Treasures (SAT) program
at $30 million.
Title VIII: A Broken Promise?
The second year of decline in HPF funding is
particularly disheartening in light of the passage of
Title VIII funding as part of the FY'01 Interior
Appropriations Bill. Title VIII was enacted to ensure
that historic preservation, along with a host of other
natural resource and conservation programs, would be put
on an upward funding path at least through FY2006.
Instead, the administration's budget gutted Urban and
Historic Preservation Programs under Title VIII by
-$41.4 million - a 28.3% cut. In addition to the cut in
the HPF (-$7.5 million), the Urban Park and Recreation
Recovery (UPARR) grants were zeroed out (-$28.9 million)
and Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program funding (-$5
million) was eliminated for the Bureau of Land
Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the
National Park Service. YCC funding was retained for the
Department of Agriculture ($2 million) and the Urban and
Community Forestry Program ($36.614 million, also under
Agriculture) went unscathed.
The National Trust is working with its preservation
partners to restore $15 million in funding increases
secured for the State and tribal preservation programs
in FY'01. The Trust is also seeking an additional $2.5
million for its Historic Sites Fund to help address
emergency stabilization and repairs at the Trust's
historic sites.
Stay tuned for breaking developments on the historic
preservation funding when Congress considers the FY'03
Interior Appropriations Bill in the spring.
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Senate Hearing Kicks Off TEA-21
Reauthorization
At a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on
the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act of
the 21st Century (TEA-21) held on January 24,
Transportation Secretary Mineta explained that gas tax
revenues would be down in FY'03 due to a combination of
the economic slowdown and incorrect revenue projections
by the Treasury Department. The lower revenue estimates
could have implications for years to come because
Congress will use the FY'03 revenues as a baseline for
determining reauthorization levels for TEA-21 and its
Enhancements Program, which has greatly benefited
historic preservation.
In response to the projected revenue shortfall,
Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
have introduced legislation (S. 1917/H.R. 3694) that
would require Federal-aid highway and highway safety
construction programs for fiscal year 2003 be funded at
$27.746 billion. The Jeffords-Young bill would restore
at least $4.4 billion back to the Highway Trust Fund to
meet the minimum funding level authorized for highway
programs and essentially by-pass the RABA provisions of
TEA-21.
Preservation advocates are encouraged to contact
their Members of Congress and seek their support for the
Jeffords-Young legislation. For complete details on this
effort, visit our Congressional Advocacy Center at
http://capwiz.com/nthp to learn more about the
RABA/revenue shortfall issue and how it could affect
TEA-21 reauthorization.
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
President Bush Signs Brownfields Bill
President Bush signed the "Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act" (P.L.107-118)
into law on January 11. The signing of the bill
culminated a successful effort by lawmakers to combine
new liability protections for investors with a major
boost of federal dollars to make a dent in revitalizing
the nation's backlog of 450,000 contaminated industrial
sites known as "brownfields."
Prior to passage of the new law, the high remediation
costs and legal liability under the 1980 Superfund
environmental law prevented investors from rehabbing
many of the nation's older and historic industrial and
commercial buildings in these areas -- even at prize
location sites in areas. For this reason, many
potentially vital downtown areas could not be
revitalized and these structures laid dormant.
Under the new law, grants for brownfields remediation
will be used to capitalize revolving loan funds that can
be used to facilitate historic preservation projects and
the reuse of existing infrastructure in brownfield
areas. A grant provided for capitalization of a
revolving loan fund may be awarded on a community-wide
or site-by-site basis and cannot exceed $1 million.
Grants will also be provided for brownfield site
characterization and assessment.
How to Get Involved
Preservation advocates and developers should contact
their State economic and redevelopment agencies later
this year to determine when grants for brownfield site
characterization and assessment may become available
under the new law. In addition, advocates should stay
tuned for breaking developments on new regulations
governing the establishment of revolving loan funds.
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House Passes Cold War Study Bill
The House passed H.R.107, a bill that authorizes the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a theme study to
identify sites and resources and to recommend
alternatives for commemorating and interpreting relating
to the Cold War, on December 18. Sponsored by Rep. Joel
Hefley (R-CO), H.R. 107 authorizes $300,000 to carry out
the theme study.
Congress originally included a provision in the
Defense Appropriations Act of 1991 that mandated that an
inventory be taken of the important resources and relics
associated with the Cold War period in U.S. history. The
Air Force initially assumed the leadership role for this
inventory and also completed several historical studies
that examined the physical and cultural legacy of the
Cold War. Although these Air Force studies inventoried
many Cold War historical resources, no systematic theme
study was every undertaken to assess the feasibility of
preserving and interpreting Cold War resources.
H.R. 107 has been referred to the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee. The Energy Committee is
expected take the bill up for consideration this
spring.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Historic Preservation Development Council Meets in
Los Angeles
The Historic Preservation Development Council (HPDC)
recently held its first Western Regional Meeting in Los
Angeles, CA, on February 5-6. The Council, which is a
cooperative effort between the National Housing &
Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) and the National
Trust, has scheduled a number of meetings around the
country to broaden its audience. Over 40 historic
preservation development professionals attended the
daylong session in Los Angeles which centered on
historic rehabilitation activity and opportunities in
California and the West. Other issues examined by the
Council included: legal and technical deal structuring
issues; the equity investment market for historic tax
credits; emerging opportunities for historic
rehabilitation of federally-owned properties; and
obstacles to greater use of the tax credit for small and
mid-sized rehabilitation projects. For further
information on future Council meetings or its agenda,
contact 202-588-6255 or mailto:Stacey_Mahaney@nthp.org
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Preservation Action Lobbying Day Set for
March!
If you have not done so already, please let
Preservation Action (PA) know whether or not you plan to
be in Washington for this year's Lobby Day, March 19. In
light of the dismal budget projections for historic
preservation funding, PA is coordinating lobbying visits
with many members of the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees as possible to let them hear from concerned
preservationists in their State and districts. PA can
also let you know what advocates are coming from your
state or district and help you coordinate and prepare
for your visits to Capitol Hill.
Please contact Preservation Action as soon as you can
if your are planning to participate in Lobbying Day in
March. If you are unable to participate, PA can work
with you to plan in-district meetings and events, or
letter writing campaigns and other advocacy efforts.
Call or e-mail Preservation Action at mail@preservationaction.org
or 202-659-0915.
Preservation Advocate News is published by the
National Trust's Department of Public Policy and
distributed via e-mail to its grass roots advocacy
network. For further information contact: National Trust
for Historic Preservation, Department of Public Policy,
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036,
202-588-6254 (phone), 202-588-6038 (fax), policy@nthp.org
(e-mail). To sign up directly for e-mail delivery, visit
the National Trust's Congressional Advocacy Center at http://capwiz.com/nthp/home/.
Richard Moe, President
Kathryn Higgins, Vice
President for Public Policy
Gordon Kerr, Director of
Federal Relations
Staff Writers: Carl Wolf, Dan
Costello
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