This week the Senate passed a FY2020 spending package of 4 appropriations bill including the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill which funds several preservation priorities. All 4 bills included in the package were passed out of committee with unanimous support. The Senate will no go into conference with the House to resolve the differences between the bills.
The Senate FY20 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill includes $113.16 million for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), an increase of $10.5 million over FY19 enacted levels. This includes important increases for the State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, the Save America's Treasures program, and the Historic Revitalization grant program. While this is below the funding levels seen in the House bill, it still represents a significant increase for the HPF. The bill also includes an increase to $21.994 for the Heritage Partnership Program which supports National Heritage Areas, and fully funds the American Battlefield Protection Program at $10 million. Like the House bill, the Senate bill also has strong report language objecting to the proposed rule changes to the National Register of Historic Places.
The House and Senate will first need to agree to 302(b) allocations which establishes top line spending numbers for each subcommittee. The current Continuing Resolution funds the government through November 21st, 2019.
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