On June 14, 2025, the National Trust submitted written testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, urging strong federal investment in historic preservation programs for FY 2026.

The President’s Budget Request for FY 2026 would virtually eliminate funding for the HPF, apart from level funding for the competitive grant program supporting preservation projects at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Eliminating or underfunding the HPF would deal a severe blow to preservation nationwide:

• State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs and THPOs) rely heavily on HPF grants to staff their teams, review federal projects, manage historic registers, and administer state and federal historic tax credit reviews.
• Certified Local Governments (CLGs) would lose support for local preservation planning, and many Tribal offices could shut down entirely, threatening cultural sovereignty.
• Without HPF support, key infrastructure projects could slow or stall, and thousands of shovel-ready, bricks-and-mortar projects that create jobs would be at risk.
• The HPF also serves as seed funding, often leveraging additional local, state, and private investment. Without it, many preservation projects—especially those using the Historic Tax Credit—may never happen.
• Preservation efforts would vary drastically by geography, leaving many underrepresented and underserved communities without the support needed to protect their history.

Read the full testimony here (PDF), and be sure to reach out to Congress to urge them to support federal preservation funding in FY 2026.