Hello all,

SHA just sent this message out about potential erosion of the National
Historic Preservation Act TOMORROW (Wednesday). Please contact your
representatives if you can!

Ellen


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SHA Mailing List <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Urgent: help needed to oppose proposed National Historic
Preservation Act amendment
To: [log in to unmask]


Dear SHA members:

SHA's Government Affairs counsel just learned about a possible amendment to
the National Historic Preservation Act that would significantly impact the
protection of land and sites, allowing federal agencies to prevent
inclusion on the National Register due to concerns about "national
security." We urge all members to contact their Representatives in the
House -- particularly those on the House Armed Services Committee (see
http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/members) -- to voice your
opposition to the amendment. A sample email is provided below.

Please note that time is of the essence because the markup is scheduled
for this Wednesday. Contact Terry Klein ([log in to unmask]) or  Eden
Burgess ([log in to unmask]) with any questions.

Thanks for your help with this critical issue!

~~~

Dear Representative ____:

My name is ______ and I am a constituent. [explain your job and its
relationship to preservation, such as "I work for a cultural resource
management firm" or "I am an archaeologist at _____."] [I also run a small
business based in/with locations in the State of ______.]

I understand that this Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee will
be marking up the NDAA (HR 135), and that the markup will include
consideration of an amendment that would amend the National Historic
Preservation Act to allow federal agencies to object to the listing of a
site on the National Register due to "national security" concerns.

I strongly oppose such an amendment, as it is overly broad and the
amendment is poorly drafted. In addition, I am aware that last Congress,
DoD's Maureen Sullivan, Director for Environment, Safety, and Occupational
Health at the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, testified
against a similar bill (HR 3687) as unnecessary and likely to cause
confusion. Ms. Sullivan also testified that DoD sees no benefit to the bill
and that DoD has never been stopped from maintaining or repairing any
building, or from conducting any training exercise, because of the National
Historic Preservation Act's requirements. NPS and the Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation also opposed the bill last session.

I urge you to oppose this amendment to the NDAA.

Thank you,
____________________