John Doolittle: “I rise in support of H.R. 1179, a bill authored by Mr. Clement to authorize appropriations for preservation of…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1179, a bill authored by Mr. Clement to authorize appropriations for preservation of significant historic buildings on the campuses of black colleges and universities. This authorization provides statutory authorization of an initiative begun during the Bush administration by former Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan under which funding is provided from the historic preservation fund to preserve important historic buildings on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities. This program has been supported by Congress over the last few years through the appropriation process, where several million dollars has been provided annually. Mr. Speaker, there are now over 800,000 buildings, sites, and objects on the National Register of Historic Places. Each year Congress appropriates $30-$40 million for historic preservation purposes; yet, unbelievably, virtually none of this money goes to fix up the many historically significant buildings around the country. Instead, these Federal funds go almost exclusively to studies, planning, and permitting. With this legislation, we are saying that some Federal funds will be directed to the bricks and mortar work of actually fixing up important historic buildings. I commend the bill's authors, Mr. Clement and Mr. Duncan for bringing this important bill forward, and urge all my colleagues to support it.”