President Trump submitted his first full year budget proposal to Congress on May 23rd and included in the multi-trillion dollar document are several major potential impacts to preservation.
While a president’s budget proposal is far from a final document, it does set the tone of discussion and can often be a starting point for congressional appropriators. In the proposed FY18 budget, the Trump administration proposes several measures that could negatively impact history and preservation efforts around the nation:
- An overall 10.9% decrease in funding to the Dept. of the Interior which houses most preservation programs.
- $51.1 million for the Historic Preservation Fund ($42.1 million in funding for State Historic Preservation Officers and $9 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers); a $29 million decrease to the Fund over FY17 levels.
- Elimination of all competitive grants from the Historic Preservation Fund (e.g. underrepresented communities, civil rights, etc.)
- $0 for Save America’s Treasures
- $0 for National Heritage Areas
- $0 for Office of Museum Services
- No new funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Several additional major programs are proposed to receive final year funding in FY18 with total elimination in FY19:
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Institute for Museum/Library Services
In addition to “core” preservation programs, the proposed budget would also impact many other programs that impact the work of the broader preservation community, including:
- Elimination of the Community Development Block Grant program at the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
- Elimination of the Appalachian Regional Commission
- Elimination of the Corporation for National & Community Service (i.e. AmeriCorps, Vista, etc.)
- Elimination of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (Neighborworks America)
What can you do?
Fortunately, there is still time to take action to prevent many of these alarming proposals from becoming permanent law.
- Contact your federal legislators and ask them to defend funding to history and preservation. Be sure to call out examples from above that matter to you and your community. Find your legislator here.
- Spread the word and ask your friends to contact their legislators. More voices matter.
- Consider making a contribution to our Preservation Advocacy Fund which helps us bring our message to Annapolis and Washington.
Read the full FY18 Budget Proposal Document
Read the Department of the Interior Detailed Budget Proposal