Utah Heritage Foundation

Congressman Rob Bishop (above, 4th from left) knows how to work a room.  Preservation leaders applauded when he said he supports tax credits for rehabbing historic buildings.  He drew even more applause when he said he would support a federal homeowner tax credit.

Bishop (R-UT-01), the Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the House Committee on Natural Resources, was the keynote speaker at the joint Advocacy Day luncheon of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Preservation Action.  The groups met at the historic Hotel Fairfax in Washington D.C. on March 7-9, 2011 for their annual mid-year meeting, scheduled to coincide with the release of the President’s budget, and the beginning of appropriations hearings for FY 2012.

Rob Bishop lives in a historic home in Brigham City, Utah, a community brimming with historic buildings, and is a member of the House Historic Preservation Caucus.  He explained that he supports federal rehabilitation tax credit programs, including one for homeowners, because they promote private investment by local property owners rather than mandating federal intervention and funding.

The Congressman laid out his conservative position on government spending in the introduction to his remarks, saying he could tell the audience what they wanted to hear, or be frank.  He was frank.   Federalism was the reason he gave for voting against the CLEAR Act that passed the House in the 111^th Congress.  A specific item he opposed was full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), because it provides federal money to buy land for parks.  During Q&A, an audience member pointed out that, while the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) is also funded by royalties from off-shore drilling, it is separate from LWCF, and is not used to buy land, but to fund local historic preservation programs administered by the SHPOs in each state.

If you live in Utah’s First District, urge Congressman Bishop to support our bottom line request of $70 million for the Historic Preservation Fund in the FY 2012 Federal budget.  Wherever you live, thank him for being a member of the House Historic Preservation Caucus and for supporting Federal rehab tax credits.  With his leadership, we may win passage of federal tax credits for owners of historic homes.

Read more about Financial Resources for Historic Preservation in Utah