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Your Congress in Action is a series that highlights the Capitol Hill news that affects CRM firms the most. Be sure to subscribe to the ACRAsphere to ensure you don't miss an update.
Capitol Hill turned its attention from the 46th President back to the 45th President last week as the Senate held the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan 6th insurrection.
Although the trial ended Saturday with Trump’s acquittal on a 57-43 vote (10 shy of the two-thirds needed for conviction), the partisan divisions laid bare by the insurrection and impeachment are not likely to go away. This creates both challenges and opportunities for President Biden. On one hand, Biden’s stated commitment to unity and bipartisanship has been well-received by the public, keeping his approval ratings at a fairly high level. On the other hand, his desire to advance an aggressive agenda may compel him to act in partisan ways, belying his pledges for comity.
Nowhere is this more apparent than on his efforts to enact a $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. Even as Biden has maintained he wants a bipartisan package, Congressional Democrats are moving ahead with plans to pass legislation without the support of Republicans. In part, Democrats are emboldened by public support of Biden’s relief plan.
Two weeks ago, the House and Senate passed budget blueprints without a single Republican vote through a process known as “reconciliation” that enabled Democrats to avoid a Senate filibuster. Those votes gave various Congressional committees instructions to assemble the actual COVID relief legislation. House Democrats hope to pass the bill as early as this week, with the Senate to follow. Although the details remain to be worked out, the bill probably will include $1400 stimulus checks to most individuals, expanded jobless benefits through September, and funding for COVID vaccination and testing. The bill also is expected to include $350 billion in emergency relief for state, local and tribal governments. Past experience shows that when states have to tighten their belts, SHPOs wind up in the crosshairs, which is why ACRA supports including funding for state and tribal governments in the bill.
Although no Republicans voted for the Democrats’ blueprint, a group of 10 Senate Republicans have floated a much smaller $600 billion plan. President Biden invited the group to the White House to discuss it two weeks ago in what one participant described as a “a substantive and productive discussion.” But with neither side looking to budge significantly from their positions, and Congressional Democrats moving at full speed to pass their bill, it looks like partisanship will win again.
Once the COVID package is done, President Biden has indicated he wants to move quickly onto what could be an even larger package addressing infrastructure and climate. During the 2020 campaign, Biden released his “Build Back Better” proposal, which sought to spend upwards of $2 trillion to repair and improve the nation’s infrastructure, promote clean energy and address environmental racism, all while creating jobs for the struggling economy.
Infrastructure has traditionally been a bipartisan issue (both red states and blue states have potholes, after all). But Biden’s plan could still face partisan headwinds. For one thing, the plan’s expected focus on climate and promotion of renewable energy at the expense of fossil fuels could rankle Republicans (and even some Democrats), especially from coal- and oil-producing states. Second, the price tag of such a plan – especially if Congress passes the $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan – will prompt many Republicans to balk.
That said, if Biden and Democrats are willing to pass such a bill without Republican support, they may have the votes to do so (and under the Senate’s arcane rules, they will have a chance to bypass a filibuster). Once again, President Biden will face a choice: see his big plans come to fruition, or maintain his commitment to bring Republicans and Democrats together. It is unlikely he can do both.
While it’s unlikely the infrastructure bill will mention CRM, new investments in infrastructure will trigger more Section 106 reviews, which will increase demand for CRM services. That’s good news for ACRA members – as long as the bill does not short-circuit the Section 106 process in the name of regulatory “streamlining.” Reminding policymakers of the benefits of Section 106 remains a top priority for ACRA.
ACRA also is working to make sure that the Department of the Interior, which oversees historic preservation and cultural resources programs, has the leadership and policies in place to ensure the country balances development with preservation. Last week, ACRA wrote to the Senate in support of the nomination of Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior. Haaland, who currently serves in the U.S. House, would be the first Native American Cabinet member in American history.
However, some Republicans have expressed opposition to her nomination because of her support of the Biden administration’s moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on public lands and other progressive positions she has taken in the past. She is expected to be confirmed, but the debate over public lands policies underscores the partisan disagreements Biden faces.
Assuming she is confirmed, Haaland will take charge of a department beset by low morale and a depleted workforce. As just one devastating example, according to The Hill newspaper, “following a July 2019 announcement that the Department of the Interior would uproot the majority of Bureau of Land Management employees, just 41 agreed to relocate, while a staggering 287 either retired or left the agency before the end of 2020.” Overall, BLM lost 87 percent of its Washington-based staff due to the previous administration’s relocation plan.
Haaland will also have to address policy moves made in the waning days of the Trump administration, including a Secretarial Order issued in December that will make it harder for the department and its partners to conduct Section 106 reviews. ACRA has written to Haaland, urging her to rescind the policy change, which ACRA says “imperils our ability to protect historic and cultural resources.”
Regardless of the partisan passions on display in Washington, policymakers have a long to-do list of issues to address – the economy, the pandemic, climate, racial equity, infrastructure, and many, many more. Most, if not all, affect CRM directly or indirectly, which is why staying engaged in the advocacy process is so important. To learn more about how you can get involved in advocating for the industry, click here.
ACRA has written to incoming Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to urge her to rescind a Secretarial Order issued at the end of the Trump administration that “imperils our ability to protect historic and cultural resources.”
In December, then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt issued Secretarial Order 3389, Coordinating and Clarifying National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Reviews. Secretarial Orders are memoranda issued by an Interior Secretary that sub-agencies of the Department, like the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service, are required to follow. However, they do not have the force of law, and can be modified or rescinded by a future Secretary.
ACRA’s letter raises a number of concerns about the impact of Order 3389 on the Section 106 process, including:
As is written in the letter, "while ACRA members agree that the Section 106 process can always be improved upon, we are concerned that Order 3386 makes changes to the process that will harm the process, delaying projects, increasing costs and threating our ability to preserve and protect cultural assets."
Haaland is currently President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior. The Senate is expected to confirm her later this month, at which point she will have the authority to rescind or modify the Order.
To read ACRA’s letter, click here.
ACRA has called on the U.S. Senate in support of the nomination of U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM; image right) as the next Secretary of the Interior.
Then-President-elect Biden announced his nomination of Haaland, who would be the first Native American to serve in a presidential cabinet, in December. She currently serves in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a letter to members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will take the first step in Haaland’s confirmation, ACRA President Nathan Boyless said that Haaland’s “background and record make her uniquely qualified to lead” the Interior Department. He wrote:
As Vice Chair of the Committee on Natural Resources and Chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, Representative Haaland has been a champion for cultural resource management and giving the public a voice in protecting our shared national heritage. As a businesswoman and an advocate for the environment, Haaland understands the importance of balancing preservation with economic growth. As a member of the Laguna Pueblo, she will bring unique insight into the operation and management of that agency.
The Interior Department oversees the country’s natural resources, as well as federal historic and cultural resource programs. It also is the primary liaison between the federal government and tribal nations. In his letter, Boyless notes that “Haaland’s historic nomination will give a powerful voice at the highest levels of government to the millions of people whose ancestors first settled this continent.”
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to hold a confirmation hearing for Haaland later this month.
To read the full letter, click here.
This research paper was submitted by ACRA member firm SEARCH, Inc.
ACRA member firm SEARCH, Inc., along with other collaborators, recently published results of a new method for detecting submerged Stone Age sites. SEARCH Submerged Precontact sector lead Shawn Joy and colleagues developed this approach at locations across the globe. This new technique has implications in the CRM industry, particularly in certain market sectors like Offshore Wind.
From the abstract:
Acoustic response from lithics knapped by humans has been demonstrated to facilitate effective detection of submerged Stone Age sites exposed on the seafloor or embedded within its sediments. This phenomenon has recently enabled the non-invasive detection of several hitherto unknown submerged Stone Age sites, as well as the registration of acoustic responses from already known localities. Investigation of the acoustic-response characteristics of knapped lithics, which appear not to be replicated in naturally cracked lithic pieces (geofacts), is presently on-going through laboratory experiments and finite element (FE) modelling of high-resolution 3D-scanned pieces. Experimental work is also being undertaken, employing chirp sub-bottom systems (reflection seismic) on known sites in marine areas and inland water bodies. Fieldwork has already yielded positive results in this initial stage of development of an optimised Human-Altered Lithic Detection (HALD) method for mapping submerged Stone Age sites. This paper reviews the maritime archaeological perspectives of this promising approach, which potentially facilitates new and improved practice, summarizes existing data, and reports on the present state of development. Its focus is not reflection seismics as such, but a useful resonance phenomenon induced by the use of high-resolution reflection seismic systems.
The full open access paper is available here.
If you missed yesterday's webinar on what to expect in regards to policy and legislation that could affect CRM in 2021, you're in luck - it is now available on demand!
This webinar takes a deep dive into the current legislative environment, the outlook for the year, and ACRA's 2021 government relations priorities.
You will also learn how to make a direct impact on the issues you care about the most. From engaging policymakers to communicating your message effectively, you will come away with the skills you need for advocating for your business, your family, and your community.
As with the live session, the recording is FREE for ACRA members/students (get the code here). It is just $15 for non-members.
Watch Legislation & Policy: What CRM Can Expect in 2021 Now
In order to fulfill it's mission, ACRA needs to represent the CRM industry as a whole - firms of all sizes, specialties, and composition. We are thrilled to tell you about a new opportunity to help us get there.
We are proud to announce the launch of the Membership Patron Program (MPP). The program seeks to bring a more diverse set of voices to the organization through the sponsorship of small Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) non-member firms for one year of membership.
Non-member firms that qualify for DBE status and fall under our small firm membership levels can apply starting now! If you have ever had interest in becoming an ACRA member but had not yet done so, now is your chance to see how it can benefit you and your business.
Member firms have a part in this as well. The MPP relies solely on donations from member firms (patrons). Current member firms can choose to become a patron at one of the small firm levels:
MPP applicants will be paired with a patron firm that will serve as a mentor throughout the year-long sponsorship. This includes assisting the applicant firm in getting a full picture of the benefits of membership, from engaging with ACRA committees to networking opportunities. The goal of the mentor/patron relationship is focused solely on ACRA involvement and is intended to assist new firms in getting the most out of their ACRA membership. It is not intended to provide guidance on business practices or development. Full information about the program can be found here.
This is just one of the steps ACRA is taking to to become a more diverse and inclusive organization. Be the change you want to see - whether you are a member or not, participate in the MPP today!
President Biden has been busy issuing Executive Orders (EOs) during his first weeks in office. Yesterday's Your Congress in Action briefly looked at the EOs that potentially affect CRM, and now we want to take a deeper dive into them.
So, let’s discuss exactly what an EO is. An EO is a means of issuing federal directives that the President, and only the President, can use to manage operations of Executive branch departments and agencies, such as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the military. Article Two of the Constitution is the primary legal basis for EOs as it gives the President broad executive and enforcement authority to use his or her discretion to determine how to enforce laws or otherwise manage the resources and staff of Executive Branch departments and agencies.
Like legislative statutes and regulations, EOs are subject to judicial review and can be overturned if the orders lack support by statute or the Constitution while others may require approval by the legislative branch. Although they do not have the force of law or regulations, EOs have significant influence over the internal affairs of the Executive Branch as they generally address how and to what degree legislation will be enforced and generally fine-tune the implementation of broad statutes.
Presidential executive orders, once issued, remain in force until they are canceled, revoked, adjudicated unlawful, or expire on their terms. An example is EO 11593--Protection and enhancement of the cultural environment, which was issued by Nixon in 1971. The president can revoke, modify, or make exceptions from any EO at any time, whether the order was made by the current President or a predecessor, as Biden is doing. Typically, a new President reviews in-force executive orders in the first few weeks in office.
The Biden administration appears to be focusing on climate change, environmental protection, and renewable energy. One of the first EOs he signed on January 20 was agreeing to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. The following are the EOs that will potentially affect or may be of interest to the cultural resource community:
In his first 10 days in office, President Biden has signed a blizzard of executive orders that undo Trump administration actions and seek to address current crises like the pandemic. But further action on major issues is increasingly running into partisan gridlock and heightened tensions on Capitol Hill.
A number of President Biden’s executive actions affect CRM and the federal government’s role in historic and cultural preservation. These include:
While President Biden has used his executive authority as robustly and quickly as any president in recent history, there are things he cannot do without Congress. And while Democrats now control Capitol Hill, a combination of narrow majorities, Biden’s own desire for bipartisanship, the looming impeachment trial of his predecessor, and worsening tensions following the January 6 insurrection are creating a difficult environment for legislative progress.
Biden’s top priority is his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, which includes, an additional $1400 in stimulus checks to most individuals, added small business support, emergency funding for states and localities, expanded unemployment insurance, and significant funding for COVID testing and vaccine distribution. Getting the plan through the Senate under normal rules would require at least 10 Republican Senators to join all 50 Democrats in stopping a filibuster. Without that, Democrats would need to use a process called reconciliation, which would enable them to advance a bill with just 50 votes, plus a tie-breaker from Vice President Harris, but would undermine Biden’s calls for bipartisan unity.
On Sunday, a group of 10 Republicans proposed a much smaller package totaling about $600 million. Embracing such a plan would ensure 10 GOP votes, but could cost votes from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party who would likely find the plan too meager. Finding a middle path between $1.9 trillion and $600 million that could secure enough Senate votes to stymie a filibuster is not impossible, but could drag negotiations on at a time when new variants of the coronavirus threaten to plunge the country even further into its health and economic crisis. This leaves President Biden and Democrats a choice: embrace bipartisanship at the expense of time and a more comprehensive COVID response; or muscle a bigger package through quickly, but at the cost of inflaming tensions between the parties.
Then again, it’s not clear that tensions between the parties – and in the case of the GOP, within the party – could be any worse. Washington is still confronting the fallout from the events of January 6th, when pro-Trump rioters invaded the Capitol while Congress was certifying the election results. As the FBI continues to investigate the attack, and the Department of Homeland Security warns of further domestic violence, Congress is dealing with the trauma and distrust that the insurrection brought into the open.
First, there is the unprecedented impeachment trial of a former President, which is slated to begin next week. Last week, 45 Republican Senators voted in favor of questioning the trial’s constitutionality, which has been taken as a sign that there will not be enough votes to convict the former President when the trial concludes.
On the House side, the attack has ripped open partisan and intra-partisan schisms. Democrats are livid about the behavior of some pro-Trump Republicans, most notably freshmen Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose resume includes being a supporter of the Qanon conspiracy movement and claiming that several school shootings were “false flags” by gun control advocates. While some Democrats are calling for her expulsion from Congress, former President Trump apparently praised her in a call over the weekend. Meanwhile, a number of Republicans have taken political aim at the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump.
This might not seem like a good environment for enacting policy. But there is always one thing that helps bring lawmakers back to the hard work of legislating: the voters. The next Congressional election is not far off. And as crises like COVID, the economy, climate and racial injustice continue to affect millions of Americans, sooner or later the grown-ups in Washington will roll up their sleeves and get to work.
All of us have the ability to push elected officials to advance good policy, and that certainly includes the CRM industry. You can learn more about how you can make a positive difference by joining ACRA on February 4 at 2:00pm EST for Legislation & Policy: What CRM Can Expect in 2021.
If you missed yesterday webinar on evaluating archaeological and tribal resources under the "other" National Register criteria, it is now available on demand for you to watch on your own schedule!
Although all resources should be evaluated under all four criteria of the National Register of Historic Places, archaeologists generally focus on information values (Criterion d). As our society changes and awareness increases of broader cultural values, CRM practitioners are increasingly asked to consider whether cultural resources might possess other values and thus be eligible for listing in the NRHP under criteria a, b, and/or c - which can be very challenging in a regulatory context.
In this session, Anmarie Medin, Shelly Davis-King, and Brendon Greenaway focus on how to document what makes a place important to descendant communities or how a place might fit into the identity a group shares about a location.
As with the live session, this webinar is available to ACRA members at a discounted price. Members can get the discount code to access the presentation here.
Watch A, B, C, easy as 1, 2, 3: Evaluating Archaeological and Tribal Resources Under the “Other” National Register Criteria
Are you interested in being a leader in your industry? Now is the time to step up - ACRA is seeking dedicated members who are interested in serving on the Board of Directors.
We have an exciting announcement that that makes this election particularly notable. The ACRA Board of Directors has created a new position – Vice President – Diversity. This new Executive Committee position will focus on ensuring that groups of all backgrounds have representation and a voice within ACRA. They will work to expand and integrate diversity and inclusion practices and programs within the association and industry at-large. You can view a full description of the position here.
Positions that are up for election in 2021 are:
Each nominee must be employed by a firm in good standing with ACRA. Candidates must also be able to commit to quarterly board meetings, including in person at the Annual Conference in the fall. Board members will also be recommended to serve on at least one committee. The board may elect to extend one or more terms in order to balance the annual change in leadership.
Nominees’ applications are examined by the Nominating Committee to assure that they are current members in good standing and that they can perform the basic requirements of the position for which they are applying. Candidates will be announced to the membership in April, and voting will take place electronically in May.
How to Apply
Just two simple steps:
Send your nominating files to Kim Redman with a subject line that begins “Board Nomination.” Be sure to include the position you would like to run for in the body of the email. Nomination deadline is Friday, April 23, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
