President Trump released his budget proposal for FY 2021 yesterday, and his plan includes substantial cuts historic preservation programs. The Coalition for American Heritage, of which ACRA is a founding member, has provided a detailed analysis on the proposal:

The President’s budget reduces monies for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) by $77.988 million compared to this year ($40.672 million vs. $118.66 million). Funding for state historic preservation offices would be slashed almost in half. Tribal historic preservation offices would get $5.738 million – just 42% of the funding they received this year. Furthermore, the President’s budget proposes to eliminate funds for key preservation programs like Save America’s Treasures, Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants, and competitive grants to document, interpret, and preserve historical sites associated with the African-American struggle for civil rights.

The President again proposed reducing funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) from $162.25 million each to $30.175 million for NEA and $33.419 million for NEH – money designated to fund shutting down both programs. He also proposed reducing funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund from $495.193 million this year to $14.752 million in the next fiscal year.

If the President’s budget proposal were to be adopted, it would endanger cultural resources throughout the nation. Therefore, the Coalition for American Heritage is working with preservation supporters to demonstrate to Congress the need for investments in historic preservation. For the past several years, since the Coalition was formed, Congress has allocated ever-increasing amounts to historic preservation programs. Last year’s budget included a record-high of $118.66 million for the HPF. This year, we will continue pursuing increases for these vital programs.

ACRA and the other member organizations of the Coalition for American Heritage are committed to supporting cultural research and historic preservation work by asking for increases to these programs. Read the full post here, including a detailed list of funding levels the Coalition will pursue with Congress.