(the following written by Brent Leggs, President & CEO of The National Trust for Historic Preservation)
The election is behind us, and Congress is about to get back to work. One of the first things on the Senate’s agenda could change what happens to the places you care about.
Think of the place that makes your town yours. A Main Street you’ve walked for years. A battlefield down the road. A site that has been sacred to a Tribal Nation for generations.
Right now, the people who live near places like these get a say before the federal government builds, funds, or approves a project that could harm them. A bill in the Senate, S. 5653, would take much of that away.
If federal money is building something in your town, you should have a chance to speak up. Under this bill, many highways, bridges, and other federally funded projects would skip historic review entirely. An overpass looming over a historic downtown, or constant noise beside a sacred site, would no longer count as harm.
Faster permitting can be a good thing, and we support it. We’re not trying to stop anything getting built, we just don’t want to bulldoze our history in the process. We’ve asked Congress to fix these provisions. Until it does, tell your Senators to oppose S. 5653 as written.
The Senate returns Monday, November 9. Make sure your Senators hear from you before then.
Tell your Senators: Don’t gut our history.
Senator Mark Warner:
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Contact Page: warner.senate.gov/contact/write-to-mark
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D.C. Office Phone: (202) 224-2023
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Senator Tim Kaine:
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Contact Page: kaine.senate.gov/contact
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50 Ways Rockbridge
D.C. Office Phone: (202) 224-4024
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