In an effort to keep Americans informed on where their candidates for office stand on the National Historic Preservation Program, Preservation Action is surveying all candidates for 2018 Midterm election races for Congressional seats. Across every state and Congressional district, there are dozens of organizations with thousands of members who care about cultural heritage and community revitalization. Please complete this short survey.
In a 2017 grassroots survey of the general public and historic preservation advocates, respondents indicated preservation should be a priority in their community. Respondents said the most important current federal policy issues concerning historic preservation were infrastructure investment, preserving historic tax credits, and maintaining and funding the Historic Preservation Fund. This comes on the heels of a year of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act (1966).
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was enacted after the destruction of numerous buildings, sites, and neighborhoods in the years following World War II. The NHPA established a series of programs to encourage the preservation of irreplaceable historic resources including the National Register of Historic Places and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The National Park Service operates as a lead participant in the multi-tiered program with other federal agencies, State Historic Preservation Offices, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and Certified Local Governments. These partners advance federal programs such as matching grants, the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program, and others.
During last year’s effort to reform the tax code, the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit was retained after the collective voices of communities across the country spoke of its importance. The historic tax credit works to attract private capital to rebuild our communities. As Ronald Reagan reiterated in 1984, “our historic tax credits have made the preservation of our older buildings not only a matter of respect for beauty and history, but of course for economic good sense.” Together, these programs stimulate private investment, spur economic growth, and create jobs, while revitalizing communities and protecting our country’s cultural heritage.
Historic preservation has and will remain a bipartisan issue. Historic preservation is recognized as an important federal policy initiative and thousands of voters across the Nation participate in the federal program and carry out preservation activities on their own. If you want voters to know your positions on historic preservation, please return this survey by September 21, 2018.
Preservation Action does not assign grades and does not endorse candidates. Instead, we plan to widely disseminate the results of this survey to our national network of preservation advocates, including state and local preservation organizations and individuals, ahead of the November election.
If you have questions, please contact mail@preservationaction.org. For more information about Preservation Action see www.preservationaction.org. To join the House Historic Preservation Caucus, a bipartisan caucus formed in 2003 of members of Congress who understand the value of America’s historic places, see Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) or Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).
