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Urge Congress to Stand Up for the Historic Preservation Fund!

Congress is currently determining funding levels for Fiscal Year 2027 and they need to hear from you in support of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF)! For the second consecutive year, the President’s proposed budget request nearly eliminates the HPF. This would have a absolutely devastating impact on historic preservation efforts nationwide. Luckily, Congress ultimately determines funding levels and they have consistently demonstrated strong, bipartisan support for the HPF. However, ongoing disagreements over funding levels and direct challenges to preservation priorities continue to threaten future HPF funding and the important work it makes possible.

The HPF provides the principal funding for State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (S/THPOs) to carry out their vital work, and supports important competitive grant programs that helping to preserve the places that tell America’s story. 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the Historic Preservation Fund. As we mark these important milestones, we should invest in programs that help safeguard the places that reflect our shared heritage.

Stand Up for Historic Preservation Funding!

Reach out to your Representatives and Senators and urge them to reject these harmful cuts and instead support a historic, $250 million for the HPF as we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation.

  • If you have a personal contact in your members of Congress’s office, contact that person directly, especially if you recently met with their office during Advocacy Week, and urge them to reject harmful cuts and instead support a historic, $250 million for the HPF. If they do not handle Interior Appropriations please ask that they pass the message along to the Interior Appropriations staffer.
  • If you do not have a personal contact, check out Preservation Action’s action campaign to easily personalize and send a letter to your members of Congress today!
Take Action!

Additional Resources

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Bipartisan Lawmakers Sign-on to the FY27 Historic Preservation Fund Dear Colleague Letter

More than 120 bipartisan Senators and Representatives  — representing 34 different states and territories —signed on to the FY27 House and Senate Historic Preservation Fund Dear (HPF) Colleague Letter. This far exceeds the total number of signers from last several years, demonstrating broad support for the HPF. Scroll down to see the complete list of signers and join us in thanking these lawmakers for their outspoken support of historic preservation!

As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), we’re urging Congress to invest in the places that tell our nation’s story by providing $250 million for the HPF.

This year’s House and Senate letters requested up to $250 million in funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, the same level Preservation Action and advocates from around the country advocated for during National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week. The letter urges robust funding for State Historic Preservation Offices at $70 million, $34 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, includes $25 million for digitization of state and Tribal records to accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure projects, $13 million for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities preservation grant program, and $108 million for six existing preservation grant programs.

The letters also noted the urgent need to reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund. The House letter was led by the co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), while the Senate letter was again led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The final letters were submitted to the House and Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.

Thank you to everyone that reached out to their members of Congress and urged them to sign on in support of a record funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. Preservation Action would especially like to thank Reps. Turner and Leger Fernández and Sens. Gillibrand and Cassidy for their continued leadership on historic preservation!

Thank You!

Did your Representative and Senators sign-on? Be sure to thank them for their vocal support of historic preservation! Below are the list of signers organized by state.

FY27 Senate HPF Dear Colleague Letter Final Signers (32 total)

  • Alex Padilla (CA)
  • Michael Bennet (CO)
  • John Hickenlooper (CO)
  • Richard Blumenthal (CT)
  • Chris Murphy (CT)
  • Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE)
  • Jon Ossoff (GA)
  • Tammy Duckworth (IL)
  • Richard Durbin (IL)
  • Bill Cassidy (LA)
  • Ed Markey (MA)
  • Angela Alsobrooks (MD)
  • Chris Van Hollen (MD)
  • Angus King (ME)
  • Elissa Slotkin (MI)
  • Amy Klobuchar (MN)
  • Tina Smith (MN)
  • Cory Booker (NJ)
  • Andy Kim (NJ)
  • Martin Heinrich (NM)
  • Ben Ray Luján (NM)
  • Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)
  • Jacky Rosen (NV)
  • Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
  • Ron Wyden (OR)
  • Jack Reed (RI)
  • Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
  • Tim Kaine (VA)
  • Mark Warner (VA)
  • Bernie Sanders (VT)
  • Peter Welch (VT)
  • Maria Cantwell (WA)

FY27 House HPF Dear Colleague Letter Final Signers (91 total)

  • Aumua Amata Radewagen (AS)
  • Greg Stanton (AZ)
  • Mark DeSaulnier (CA)
  • Jared Huffman (CA)
  • Judy Chu (CA)
  • Jimmy Gomez (CA)
  • Sara Jacobs (CA)
  • Mike Thompson (CA)
  • Dave Min (CA)
  • Diana DeGette (CO)
  • Joe Neguse (CO)
  • Jason Crow (CO)
  • Brittany Pettersen (CO)
  • John Larson (CT)
  • Joe Courtney (CT)
  • Jahana Hayes (CT)
  • James Himes (CT)
  • Sarah McBride (DE)
  • Jared Moskowitz (FL)
  • Frederica Wilson (FL)
  • Darren Soto (FL)
  • Henry Johnson (FL)
  • Lucy McBath (GA)
  • Jonathan Jackson (IL)
  • Bradley Schneider (IL)
  • Bill Foster (IL)
  • Nikki Budzinski (IL)
  • Darin LaHood (IL)
  • Robin Kelly (IL)
  • Delia Ramirez (IL)
  • Jesús Garcia (IL)
  • Sean Casten (IL)
  • Danny Davis (IL)
  • Jan Schakowsky (IL)
  • Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL)
  • André Carson (IN)
  • Sharice Davids (KS)
  • Troy Carter (LA)
  • James McGovern (MA)
  • Stephen Lynch (MA)
  • William Keating (MA)
  • Sarah Elfreth (MD)
  • April McClain Delaney (MD)
  • Kweisi Mfume (MD)
  • Jamie Raskin (MD)
  • Rashida Tlaib (MI)
  • Angie Craig (MN)
  • Kelly Morrison (MN)
  • Ilhan Omar (MN)
  • Kimberlyn King-Hinds (MP)
  • Chris Pappas (NH)
  • Teresa Leger Fernández (NM)
  • Nellie Pou (NJ)
  • Steven Horsford (NV)
  • Dina Titus (NV)
  • Daniel Goldman (NY)
  • George Latimer (NY)
  • Jerrold Nadler (NY)
  • Ritchie Torres (NY)
  • Josh Riley (NY)
  • Patrick Ryan (NY)
  • Paul Tonko (NY)
  • John Mannion (NY)
  • Timothy Kennedy (NY)
  • Nydia Velázquez (NY)
  • Greg Landsman (OH)
  • Michael Turner (OH)
  • Mike Carey (OH)
  • Joyce Beatty (OH)
  • Suzanne Bonamici (OR)
  • Brian Fitzpatrick (PA)
  • Christopher Deluzio (PA)
  • Brendan Boyle (PA)
  • Dwight Evans (PA)
  • Chrissy Houlahan (PA)
  • Robert Bresnahan (PA)
  • Pablo Hernández Rivera (PR)
  • Lloyd Doggett (TX)
  • James  Walkinshaw (VA)
  • Robert Scott (VA)
  • Jennifer McClellan (VA)
  • Donald Beyer (VA)
  • Becca Balint (VT)
  • Suzan DelBene (WA)
  • Marilyn Strickland (WA)
  • Rick Larsen (WA)
  • Emily Randall (WA)
  • Pramila Jayapal (WA)
  • Kim Schrier (WA)
  • Adam Smith (WA)
  • Gwen Moore (WI)

Additional Materials

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Urge Congress to Support Long-Term HPF Authorization

Take action to support long-term authorization of the Historic Preservation Fund!

Congress recently passed the FY26 Interior Appropriations bill which included a one-year authorization of deposits into the Historic Preservation Fund’s (HPF). This extends the current authorization through September 30, 2026. While we were very pleased to see this short term extension, a long-term authorization is urgently needed. Join us in reaching out to your members of Congress and urge them to support efforts to reauthorize the HPF!

The Historic Preservation Fund is the principal federal funding source to implement the the nation’s historic preservation programs. For more than 45 years, the HPF has empowered states and local entities to preserve the buildings and sites that tell their community’s stories. The HPF supports State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (S/THOPs) in carrying out their federally mandated duties to protect historic resources and evaluate the impact of federal projects on them. The HPF also supports a number of critically important competitive grant programs that helping to revitalize communities and preserve places that tell America’s story.

The bipartisan Historic Preservation Fund Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3418) would reauthorize the HPF for 10 years and increase the program’s current authorization from $150 million to $250 million. The recent FY26 Interior Appropriations bill that was signed into law, included a one year authorization for the HPF. While we a very thankful the HPF was reauthorized, a longer authorization is urgently needed.

Congress should renew their commitment preserving America’s historic places, especially as we commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and the HPF’s 50th anniversary in 2026.

Reauthorization is imperative to the ongoing success of the HPF program.

Long term authorization would provide much needed certainty to the states, tribes, and local communities that rely on this federal funding to carry out their critical preservation work.

YOUR ACTION IS URGENTLY NEEDED!

Urge your members of Congress to:

  • Look for ways to include HPF authorization as part of future legislative packages.
  • Support and co-sponsor the Historic Preservation Reauthorization Fund Act (H.R. 3418)
TAKE ACTION

Additional resources:

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Over 300 Organizations Sign-on to Letter Urging Congress to Reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund

Preservation Action, on behalf of more than 300 organizations, businesses, agencies, and other entities representing 46 states and the District of Columbia, submitted a bipartisan sign-on letter to the House Natural Resources Committee urging Congressional action to renew the long-term authorization of annual deposits to the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF).

For nearly 50 years, the HPF has been the primary federal funding source supporting state and tribal preservation offices who carry out the federal preservation program, competitive grant programs, and community revitalization efforts across the country. 

Unfortunately, the HPF’s authorization expired in 2024, undermining the importance of the HPF and putting vital preservation work at risk. Reauthorizing the HPF ensures continued funding and long-term stability for the communities, tribes, and states whose work depends on it. The bipartisan Historic Preservation Fund Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3418), introduced by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), would reauthorize the HPF for 10 years and increase the authorized level from $150 million to $250 million annually.

If you missed the deadline, you can still add your organization, business, or entity to the sign-on letter. We will continue to collect signatures and keep the letter updated. Learn more below.

Group Sign-on Letter to Reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund (updated 11/07/25)

Add Your Organization/Business/Entity to the HPF Reauthorization Sing-on Letter Today!

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Preservation Action Submits Testimony in Response to Senate Hearing Examining Section 106

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a committee hearing to “examine the Section 106 consultation process under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).” Preservation Action along with several of our national partners attended and worked to educate members of the Committee ahead of the hearing on the importance of the NHPA and effectiveness and efficiency of the Section 106 process.

Thank you to everyone that took action! It is clear your advocacy had an impact. We will continue to educate members of Congress on the importance of NHPA and push back on any attempts to weaken this critical law.

Preservation Action submitted written testimony for the record. You can review our testimony and watch the full hearing at the links below. Stay tuned for more!

Preservation Action Written Testimony on Senate Hearing Examining Section 106

Full Committee Hearing to Examine the Section 106 Consultation Process Under the National Historic Preservation Act