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Please complete the following short survey by September 15th to inform voters of your positions on federal historic preservation policy and programs ahead of the November elections.

Email  michaelkerrforcongress@yahoo.com

Dear Congressional Candidate,

As Americans head to the polls this November in the 2022 midterm elections, Preservation Action is surveying all 2022 congressional candidates for the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S Senate. Our goal is to inform voters on where their candidates for office stand on the National Historic Preservation Program. Historic preservation enjoys strong bipartisan support and is widely embraced as an important federal policy objective. Across every state and Congressional district, there are dozens of organizations with thousands of members who care about cultural heritage and community revitalization. The collective national reach across our network of state, tribal, and local historic preservation organizations is over 750,000 people. 

If you would like voters to know your positions on historic preservation, please return this survey by September 15, 2022. 

In a grassroots survey of the general public and historic preservation advocates, respondents overwhelmingly indicated preservation to be a priority in their community. Respondents indicated that two of the most important federal policy issues concerning historic preservation were preserving and enhancing the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit, better known as the Historic Tax Credit (HTC), and robust funding for the Historic Preservation Fund, which supports State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and several competitive grant programs.

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which helped establish our federal historic preservation program, was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966 after the destruction of numerous buildings, sites, and neighborhoods in the years following World War II. The NHPA established a series of programs to encourage the preservation of irreplaceable historic resources including the National Register of Historic Places and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The National Park Service operates as a lead participant in the multi-tiered program with other federal agencies, State Historic Preservation Offices, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and Certified Local Governments. These partners advance federal programs such as matching grants, the HTC program, and others.

Preservation Action does not assign grades and does not endorse candidates. Instead, we plan to widely disseminate the results of this survey to our national network of preservation advocates – including state, tribal and local preservation organizations,  as well as individuals – ahead of the November midterm elections.

If you have questions, please contact mail@preservationaction.org. For more information about Preservation Action see www.preservationaction.org. If you are interested in joining the House Historic Preservation Caucus, a bipartisan caucus formed in 2003 by members of Congress who understand the value of America’s historic places, you can contact Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) or Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s (D-OR) office for more information.

Thank you for completing the survey,

Russ Carnahan

President, Preservation Action

Historic Preservation Fund Background:

The Historic Preservation Fund was established in 1976 to help carry out the National Historic Preservation Act. The responsibilities of the HPF are largely handled by State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, who administer the federal historic preservation program including, review of federal infrastructure projects, nominations to the National Register of Historic Places, grants to Certified Local Governments, and administering the Historic Tax Credit. In recent years, the HPF has also supported competitive grant programs like African American Civil Rights grant program, the Save America’s Treasures program, the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grant program, Tribal Heritage grants, and grants for underrepresented communities. 

The HPF is uniquely funded through a percentage of offshore oil lease revenue, not tax-payer dollars. In FY 2022, Congress appropriated $173 million for the Historic Preservation Fund. The Historic Preservation Enhancement Act (H.R. 6589), introduced earlier this year, would permanently reauthorize the Historic Preservation Fund and fully fund the program at $300 million annually. The current HPF program, which expires at the end of FY2023, is authorized to receive $150 million in funding annually.

Do you support stable and robust funding for the Historic Preservation Fund?*

Yes

No

Unsure

Would you support efforts to permanently reauthorize and enhance the Historic Preservation Fund?*

Yes

No

Unsure

Historic Preservation Fund Comments:

History is important whether it be all forms of events & celebrations; media: books, magazines, documents radio, TV, video, social media; and physical structures, locations or environments!  Without history we will not only not know where we came from, but we won’t know where we are going!  History is our compass and map! That is why I support the Historic Preservation Fund.

Historic Tax Credit Background:

Legislation modernizing the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 as an incentive to catalyze economic development through the rehabilitation and reuse of America’s historic buildings. The credit is the largest federal investment in historic preservation, and it is market driven. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act retained the 20% credit but altered the program, requiring the credit to be taken over 5 years. The Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (S.2266/H.R 2294) includes several provisions designed to enhance the HTC and make it more accessible.

Past IRS revenue procedures, guidance, as well as recent federal policies have diminished the value of the HTC by up to 20%. This compounded with current inflation challenges and skyrocketing cost of materials, there has been a decline in use of the credit in FY2021.

These changes are aimed at stimulating the economy and making it easier for smaller projects as well as non-profits to take advantage of the credit. The HTC returns more to the Treasury than the cost of the program. A study from the National Park Service concluded that the Historic Tax Credit has generated $39.4 billion in federal tax revenue from $34.3 billion in federal tax credits.

Would you support efforts to update the Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit?*

Yes

No

Unsure

Historic Tax Credit Comments:

I am concerned about how few Senators and Congresspersons are co-signers and the lack of many of the more progressive ones.   As an individual without staff, it is always hard to understand bills fully and to know if there are poison bills in an otherwise good bill.  I support efforts to improve the preservation of historical structures and places in principle.

Historic Preservation Protections Background:

Legislation like the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act help to ensure that historic and tribal cultural resources are considered as part of the federal project planning process. While neither law mandates a specific outcome, they are designed to provide citizens with the opportunity to provide input into the federal decision-making process. This is especially important as the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is implemented.

Would you support policies that assure the impact to historic and cultural resources continue to be considered in the federal project planning process?

Yes

No

Unsure

Historic Preservation Protections Comments:

Historical importance should always be a consideration in the federal project planning process!

Does historic preservation play an important role in your state/district? How so? Describe any personal connections to historic preservation or historic sites. Is there a specific historic place in your district that is important to you and your constituents?

The Concord Naval Weapon Station and site of the Port Chicago Explosion.  Also, there are many known and potential native American historical sites.

About Preservation Action:

Preservation Action is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to lobbying for the best preservation policies at the federal level. We seek to make historic preservation a national priority by advocating to all branches of government through a grassroots constituency empowered with information and training.

Preservation Action
2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
#313
Washington, D.C 20006

Additional Resources

National Register of Historic of Historic Places Searchable Database

Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit Projects by State (2002-2020)

Comprehensive Directory of Historic and Cultural Resources Organizations

Candidate Name:  Michael E Kerr

State/District: CA Congressional District 10

Party Affiliation:  Green Party

Campaign Contact:*   MichaelKerrForCongress@yahoo.com

Campaign Website:   http://www.CreatingBetterWorld.org

I understand that Preservation Action will publish and disseminate my responses to the survey analyzed with others for educational purposes ahead of the November general election.

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My 2022 Campaign Questionnaires & Issues

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Specific Issues Index

from Creating Better World