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SENATE PASSES HYDE-SMITH, KAINE BILL TO PROTECT HISTORIC AMERICAN BATTLEFIELDS, CLEARED TO BECOME LAW
Bipartisan Measure Would Strengthen Successful NPS American Battlefield Protection Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) today successfully secured Senate passage of their American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation to improve the protection of America’s historic battlefields.
The Senate passed the American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act by unanimous consent as part of a lands package, clearing it to be signed into law. The legislation updates the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), a successful National Park Service (NPS) program that promotes the preservation of significant historic battlefields and sites of armed conflict across the United States. ABPP has helped preserve more than 35,000 acres of historic land in 20 states, including Mississippi and Virginia.
“Mississippi is home to some of our nation’s most significant and historic battlefields, and this legislation will make it easier to protect these hallowed grounds for future generations,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. “Senator Kaine and I recognized that the American Battlefield Protection Program could be more applied to protect the sites where so many pivotal moments of American history took place. I look forward to this legislation becoming law.”
“From Yorktown to Appomattox to the Pentagon, you can’t map America’s military history without Virginia,” said Kaine. “I’m glad to have worked with Senator Hyde-Smith to secure the Senate passage of our legislation to bolster the American Battlefield Protection Program because preserving these sites is crucial to ensuring that Americans can visit them and learn about our country’s history. I urge President Biden to sign it.”
The American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act, which also passed in the House of Representatives, would:
- Permit nonprofits and tribes to apply directly for ABPP grants. Currently, only state and local governments are eligible to apply for ABPP funding.
- Ensure Battlefield Restoration Grant funding is available for all battlefields. ABPP administers four grant programs: Preservation Planning, Battlefield Land Acquisition, Battlefield Restoration, and Battlefield Interpretation. Current law only allows land preserved by a Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant to be eligible for a Restoration Grant, which provides funds to return Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War landscapes back to day-of battle conditions in order to enhance the visitor experience. This provision would remove this requirement and allow properties that were not acquired by a Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant to be eligible for Restoration Grant funding. This would mean the Vicksburg National Military Park, Corinth Battlefield Unit, and other state- and nonprofit-owned battlefield parks in Mississippi could be eligible for Restoration Grant funding.
- Clarify eligibility of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites for Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants (BLAG). Current law allows battlefields and sites associated with the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 to be eligible for ABPP funding. This change would clarify that only battlefields are eligible.
- Create a process for expanding and updating historic battlefield boundaries. Currently, only lands identified in NPS maps are eligible for ABPP Battlefield Land Acquisition funding, and any updates to these maps must be approved by Congress. This means that if there is new archaeology or research that shows the historic extent of a battlefield is different from original NPS maps, the land cannot be preserved under ABPP. The bill creates a better process for expanding and updating the historic boundaries of battlefields to make it easier for certain sites to receive ABPP funding.
U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) cosponsored the Senate legislation. U.S. Representative Michael Guest (R-Miss.) cosponsored the House companion measure.
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