Order Code 96-123 EPW
Updated August 11, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Historic Preservation:
Background and Funding
Susan Boren
Specialist in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
This report summarizes the federal role in historic preservation. It provides
descriptions of and funding information for some of the major preservation programs,
including the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Register for
Historic Places.
Some Members of Congress have given historic preservation programs close
scrutiny and have recommended that historic preservation activities be supported
increasingly by the private sector. The FY2004 House-passed Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations bill ( H.R. 2691) would provide $71 million for the HPF, while
the Senate Committee’s recommendation is for $75.7 million. This report will be
updated to reflect legislative action.
Introduction
Historic preservation can be defined as the protection of cultural resources. It is
supported through a variety of federal government, state, and private programs. Although
it is not within the purview of this report to discuss all federal programs that support
historic preservation, a selected few have been highlighted. Among the major historic
preservation programs given federal support are the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF),
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Register of Historic
Places. All of these have been created, authorized, or amended by the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-665), as amended. Some Members of Congress
support proposals to eliminate a federal government role in financing historic preservation
programs, leaving such programs to be sustained by private support. Others feel a federal
role in supporting historic preservation should be maintained. The National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) Amendments of 2000, enacted as P.L. 106-208, reauthorized
the HPF and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation through FY2005.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Selected Federal Preservation Programs
The HPF, administered by the National Park Service, provides grants-in-aid (funded
on a 60% federal/40% state matching share basis) to states and outlying areas for
activities specified in the NHPA.1 States carry out program purposes2 directly through
State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) or through subgrants and contracts with
public and private agencies, organizations, institutions of higher education, and private
individuals. Section 103(c) of NHPA as amended requires that 10% of each state’s
annual allocation distributed by the Secretary be transferred to local governments that are
certified eligible under program regulation.3 The HPF also administers a grant program
for Indian Tribes, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians for cultural heritage projects. In
addition, the Fund has provided matching grants to Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) to preserve threatened historic buildings located on their
campuses.4 An appropriation in FY2001 of $7.2 million represented the unused
authorization remaining from P.L. 104-333. Beginning with the FY2002 budget, funding
for HBCUs was eliminated, as the previous funding authority had expired and funds had
been expended. However, Congress has agreed to reinstate funding for restoration of
HBCU buildings, with the House-passed FY2004 bill providing $4 million and the Senate
committee recommending $3 million for a similar program.
Save America’s Treasures grants, under the jurisdiction of HPF, are given to
preserve “nationally significant intellectual and cultural artifacts and historic structures,”
including monuments, historic sites, artifacts, collections, artwork, documents,
manuscripts, photographs, maps, journals, still and moving images, and sound recordings.
1 The HPF was established as a funding source for NHPA activities in 1976 when it was amended
by P.L. 94-422 (which amended the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 and
established the NHPA) and was further amended by P.L. 102-575 (The Reclamation Projects
Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992, containing the National Historic Preservation
Amendments of 1992). Section 108 of the Act provides the HPF with $150 million in revenue
from the Outer Continental Shelf receipts. Section 108 allows annual transfers from Outer
Continental shelf receipts through FY2005, according to P.L. 106-208.
2 Some of the expressed purposes include: to aid states in conducting a comprehensive survey
of historic properties (approximately 222,000 properties nationwide); to help develop
comprehensive statewide historic preservation plans; and to advise and assist in the evaluation
of proposals for rehabilitation projects that may qualify for federal financial or tax assistance.
3 According to NPS, since 1985 approximately $40 million in HPF grants has been allocated to
the Certified Local Government program. There are currently approximately 1,228 certified local
governments in charge of local historic preservation programs.
4 In FY1995, Morris-Brown College in Atlanta, GA, and Shaw University in Raleigh, NC,
received grants to help preserve their historic buildings. On November 12, 1996, provisions of
H.R. 1179 (the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic Building Restoration and
Preservation Act) as passed became part of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management
Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-333). Funds in Section 507 were earmarked to the following universities:
Fisk University ($5 million); Knoxville College ($2.5 million); Miles College ($2 million);
Talladega College ($1.5 million); Selma University ($1.55 million); Stillman College ($250,000);
and Concordia College ($200,000) in Alabama; Allen University ($2.9 million); Claflin College
($1 million); Voorhees College ($2 million) in South Carolina; Rust College ($1 million);
Tougaloo University ($3 million) in Mississippi. These funds were available until expended.

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Funds were appropriated in FY1999 (the first year of its creation) and used for restoration
of the Star Spangled Banner, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,
as well as for federal agencies’ historic preservation priority millennium projects. Other
properties throughout the United States receiving Save America’s Treasures grants
included the Rosa Parks Museum in Alabama, the Mark Twain House in Connecticut, and
restoration of the Sewall-Belmont House, the National Women’s Party headquarters.
Although appropriations were continued for Save America’s Treasures for FY2000 and
FY2001, criticism was lodged generally against the program, arguing that there was a lack
of geographic diversity, particularly in the FY1999 grants program. As a result, the
FY2001 Interior appropriations law (P.L. 106-291) required that project recommendations
be subject to formal approval by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations
prior to distribution of funds. These projects require a 50% cost share, and no single
project can receive more than one grant from this program.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation no longer receives a permanent
annual federal appropriation through the NHPA (except for funds expressly for its
endowment for endangered properties in FY2002, FY2003, and in the Senate committee’s
measure for FY2004).5 It was chartered by Congress in 1949 as an organization national
in scope; and it is a private nonprofit corporation, responsible for encouraging the
protection and preservation of historic American sites, buildings, and objects that are
significant to the cultural heritage of the U.S. The National Trust owns some historic
properties, 17 of which are historic houses that are operated as museums. These include
such houses as the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio in Oak Park, Illinois, and
Woodlawn Plantation at Mount Vernon, Virginia. The National Trust provides technical
and educational services and promotes historic preservation activities from regional
offices as well as through its Washington, D.C. headquarters. The National Trust
maintains several financial assistance programs including the National Preservation Loan
Fund, providing below-market-rate loans to nonprofit organizations and public agencies
to help preserve properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, particularly
those on the “Most Endangered Historic Places” list.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, in cooperation with the Secretary
of the Interior, helps to manage the NHP programs as authorized under the NHPA. Those
programs include, but are not limited to, the HPF and the National Register. The
Advisory Council oversees the Section 106 NHPA authority for consultation, the primary
5 The conference agreement (H.Rept. 104-402) for the Department of Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act for FY1996 stated that the managers agree “to a 3-year period of
transition for the National Trust for Historic Preservation to replace federal funds with private
funding.” The House Reports (H.Rept. 104-625) accompanying the FY1997 Interior
Appropriations and the FY1998 Interior Appropriations (H.Rept. 105-163) indicated that the
National Trust should become self-supporting by FY1999. From FY1998 through FY2001 there
was no further federal funding for the National Trust. For FY2002 and FY2003, an appropriation
was provided to the Trust to help sustain its “endowment” for endangered historic properties.
Also, the language of the law does not preclude the Trust from accepting some federal funds for
NHPA purposes, although it is no longer on a permanent annual basis.

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federal mechanism for protecting historical properties.6 In addition to consultation, the
Advisory Council provides coordination, mediation, education, and advice on historic
preservation matters. It does not have responsibility for making historic agencies’ final
decisions, or controlling property actions, although its recommendations are seriously
considered. The Advisory Council works closely with federal agencies and state historic
preservation officers.7
The Advisory Council is an independent federal agency established to help shape
national policies dealing with preservation of cultural heritage. It is composed of 20
members, and a small professional staff. Eleven members are presidentially appointed:
the chairman, three members from the general public, a governor, a mayor, four experts
from preservation-related disciplines, and a Native American or Native Hawaiian. The
Council also includes six federal agency heads whose activities affect historic
preservation (Secretaries of Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Transportation;
Administrators of Environmental Protection Agency, and General Services
Administration), the Architect of the Capitol, and ex-officio representatives of the
National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Conference of State Historic
Preservation Officers.
The National Register for Historic Places is maintained by the Department of
Interior and in particular by the National Park Service under the authority of the National
Historic Preservation Act as amended.8 The National Register stands as the U.S. “official
list” of properties significant in “American history, architecture, archeology, engineering
and culture.” The NHPA requires the Secretary of the Interior to maintain the National
Register, to develop guidelines and regulations for nominations, to consider appeals, to
make determinations of eligibility of properties, and to make the National Register
accessible to the public. The National Register information is used for public education
efforts, planning, and setting preservation compliance standards, all of which assist in the
preservation of cultural resources. The National Register develops standards and
6 In 1966, Congress created a process in Section 106 of NHPA that requires federal agencies to
take into account the effect of their actions on historic properties. It also charged the Council
with commenting on those actions and administering Section 106 NHPA. Section 106 of the Act
has become a tool for the public and governmental representatives to interact in decision making
that affects communities’ heritage across the United States.
7 The Advisory Council was established by Title II of the National Historic Preservation Act of
1966 (16 USC 470). Some of the issues the Advisory Council has had as its charge include
working with Housing and Urban Development’s HOME program for affordable housing while
preserving historic areas; improving preservation of historic properties during natural disasters;
promoting preservation and reuse of historic properties during military base closures. The
Advisory Council has been reauthorized through FY2005.
8 Although the primary authority for operating the National Register is the NHPA (originally
enacted as P.L. 89-665), other laws that affect governance of the National Register include the
Antiquities Act of 1906, the Historic Sites Act of 1935, the Archeological and Historic
Preservation Act of 1974, and the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, as amended.

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guidelines to help federal, state, and local governments to prepare nominations for the
Register.9
The actual designation of National Historic Landmarks (NHL) as properties of
national significance is a separate program under the National Register, and is also a key
program supported by federal funds. NHLs which are listed in the Register are a
relatively small group of registered properties, representing an estimated 3% of all entries
in the Register (comprising approximately 2,300 of the 76,000 entries). They are
designated by the Secretary of the Interior under the Historic Sites Act of 1935.
As part of the National Register program, the Department of Interior has developed
a National Register Information System (NRIS) computerized database, an automated
system that gives information on the National Register’s more than 76,000 listings and
is available for use by states, federal agencies, and the public. The NRIS homepage on
the web now has 650,000 hits and 35,000 user sessions per week, and NRIS distributes
approximately 67,000 copies of National Register technical publications annually to the
public. (See [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/research/nris.htm].)
Funding
FY2004 Budget. The Bush Administration’s FY2004 budget request proposed a
total budget authority for the HPF of $67.0 million, including $34.0 million for grants-in-
aid to states and territories, $3.0 million for Indian tribes, and $30.0 million for “Save
America’s Treasures.” The budget request does not include funding for HBCUs’ Historic
Building Restoration and Preservation program and would have discontinued funding for
the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s endowment for most endangered properties.
FY2003 and FY2004 Appropriations. The Omnibus Appropriations law, P.L.
108-7 provided $68.5 million for the Historic Preservation Fund, a $2 million increase
from the FY2003 budget and Senate-passed measure, and a $7.5 million reduction from
the House approved funding level of $76.5 million. The final FY2003 appropriation
provided $1.987 million for a grant to the “endowment”of the National Trust Historic
Sites Fund, to be matched dollar for dollar with non-federal funds, for the care and
maintenance of historic sites, including restoration and protection of the most endangered
historic places. The FY2004 House-passed Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations
bill (H.R. 2691) would provide $71 million for the HPF, including $34 million for grants-
in-aid to states and territories, $3 million for Indian tribes, $4 million for the restoration
of buildings for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and $30 million
for “Save America’s Treasures.” The House-passed bill would provide $2.4 million
above the FY2003 appropriation ($68.5 million) for HPF and $4.0 million above the
FY2004 requested level ($67.0 million). The recommendation of the Senate Committee
on Appropriations is $75.7 million for HPF, an increase of $8.7 million above the budget
request and $7.2 million above the FY2003 appropriation.
9 National Register programs, although not a separate line item in annual appropriations, are
included as part of the National Park Service Recreation and Preservation/cultural programs
category.

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Table 1. Historic Preservation Programs — Appropriations FY2002-FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2002
FY2003
Budget
House-
Senate Approps.
Program
Approp.
Approp.
Request
Passed
Recommendation
Historic Preservation Fund (total) a
74,500,000
68,552,000
$67,000,000
$71,000,000
$75,750,000
Grants-in-Aid to States and Territoriesb
39,000,000
33,779,000
34,000,000
34,000,000
37,000,000
Tribal grants
3,000,000
2,981,000
3,000,000
3,000,000
3,250,000
Historically Black Colleges Restoration
—
—
—
4,000,000
3,000,000
Save America’s Treasures Millennium Program
30,000,000c
29,805,000
30,000,000
30,000,000
32,000,000
Endowment grant for National Historic Trust
2,500,000
1,987,000
—
—
500,000
Grants-in-aid to Massillon Heritage Foundation
—
—
—
—
—
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
3,400,000
3,643,000
4,100,000
4,100,000
4,000,000
a Appropriations for Historic Preservation programs are part of the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations. For further information
see CRS Report RL31806, Appropriations for FY2004: Interior and Related Agencies. The Historic Preservation Fund previously included Grants-
in-aid to states, tribal grants, grants to HBCUs, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Save America’s Treasures. It no longer generally
includes annual appropriations for the National Trust, and the authority for restoration grants to HBCUs technically has ended, although it is being
reinstated by Congress.
b The term “Grants in Aid to States and Territories” is used in conjunction with the HPF budget and refers to the same program as “Grants in Aid to State
Historic Preservation Offices.”
c The FY2002 budget estimate for HPF was revised to reflect funding from Title VIII of the Land Conservation, Preservation and Infrastructure
Improvement Act, which added funds across accounts within the Interior Department. The initial FY2002 budget would have eliminated funding
for Save America’s Treasures, but the conservation funds account helped to restore it in the revised budget estimate. For current appropriations,
see the discussion of the conservation spending category and Save America’s Treasures in CRS Report RL31806, Appropriations for FY2004:
Interior and Related Agencies.

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