Advocacy News

On November 21, 2025, a permanent injunction was granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in the case of Rhode Island vs. Trump stating that attempts to dismantle the IMLS were unlawful and unconstitutional. Any further attempts to carry out the Executive Order relating to IMLS were blocked by this injunction.

The Senate is considering a package of four appropriations bills, including bills which would continue funding for the IMLS,  the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through FY26.  Use AAM's draft letters to urge your representatives to support funding for these agencies.

To see the National Council of Nonprofits chart on how the most recent Executive Orders affect nonprofits, including analysis of the Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking EO, follow this link.

Learn more about the FY2026 National Park Service Budget here.

Novogradac: A Look at the Year Ahead: Navigating Opportunity and Uncertainty in Tax Credit Legislation and Historic Preservation Policy

Read Democracy Forward's Press Release regarding the recent lawsuit by a coalition of organizations including AASLH, Union of Concerned Scientists, and more, which challenges the Department of the Interior Secretary’s Order 3431, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”

From AAM:  Today, the American Alliance of Museums issued a statement in response to the Administration's continued attacks on the Smithsonian Institution and the broader implications these actions have for museums across the country. As our nation's flagship museum system and an AAM-accredited institution, the Smithsonian represents the highest standards of scholarship, stewardship, and public service. If our nation’s leading museum system can become subject to political influence, no museum is beyond reach. The precedent would jeopardize the independence of 22,000 museums of every size and discipline across the country.

We invite you to read the full statement and to use this draft letter to contact your representatives. Please edit the letter to include your own perspectives.

From Preservation Action: "[In June 2026,] Congressman Mike Carey (R-OH) introduced the Historic Preservation and Land Conservation Certainty Act in the House. This bill would provide property owners with a statutory settlement structure to resolve outstanding tax controversy around their use of the conservation easement program. This new settlement program would align with Congressional reforms included in the SECURE 2.0 provisions of the 2022 Omnibus bill. Importantly, this bill helps clear the backlog of easement cases in U.S. Tax Court while still addressing abusive transactions, and providing more certainty for historic property owners that utilize historic preservation easements to protect and rehabilitate these properties.

The historic preservation easement program offers historic building owners charitable tax deductions if they partner with preservation-focused non-profits to permanently protect the historic character of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation easements are an important, congressionally-authorized tool to protect and rehabilitate historic sites, but have been targeted by IRS audits, causing many to not pursue easements. This bill would help ensure historic property owners who have utilized preservation easements can continue to benefit from this important tool."

From CACO: "We have an important action alert, in partnership with Restore Oregon.

Last Friday, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) voted to approve sweeping changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act: the process that, for nearly six decades, has guaranteed communities a voice in federal decisions affecting historic and cultural places. These changes would gut that process and effectively eliminate public participation in decisions that shape the places Oregonians know and love.

This is not just a preservation issue. It is a culture, heritage, and community issue. Section 106 review touches Main Street buildings, tribal cultural sites, historic theaters and museums, rural landmarks, and the cultural landscapes that anchor Oregon's creative economy. When the public's voice is removed from these decisions, every corner of our sector loses ground. Oregon stands to lose jobs across state agencies, preservation offices, consulting firms, and cultural organizations that do this work every day.

Our partners at Restore Oregon, who lead historic preservation advocacy in our state, are organizing the response, and we stand with them. The ACHP's vote is not the end of this fight; it is the beginning of a fast-paced pushback. A brief 30-day public comment period opens once the changes are published in the Federal Register, and litigation is moving to the front line. We will alert you the moment the comment window opens, because your comments in the record will matter.

Until then, we have actions to take today. Individual actions, taken together across our statewide network, add up.

3 Ways to Help Today

1. Learn and Spread the Word

- Listen to NPR's coverage on All Things Considered: Trump administration moves to overhaul Section 106 historic preservation review

-Explore the Section 106 War Room from Cultural Heritage Partners, currently engaged in several legal challenges to protect historic resources. Their "15 Talking Points" (PDF) are a quick, useful primer.

- Share this alert with your networks. Re-share posts from Restore Oregon (@restoreoregon), the National Trust (@savingsplaces), and CACO; create your own posts; and talk with colleagues, board members, and community partners.

2. Contact Your Federal Officials

Call or email your U.S. Representative and both of Oregon's Senators. Three quick messages from you will get attention; thousands of them from across Oregon's cultural community will get results.

Find your U.S. Representative

Email Senator Ron Wyden

Email Senator Jeff Merkley

Here are sample call and email scripts from Cultural Heritage Partners.

Let’s thank Senators Wyden and Merkley and Representative Dexter, who have already been publicly pushing back on the record regarding historic review. Let’s encourage them to do more, directly, on this issue.

3. Contact Oregon's Attorney General

Attorney General Dan Rayfield plays a critical role in defending Oregonians from federal overreach. In May 2025, Oregon joined Washington in a lawsuit challenging an Energy Emergency Executive Order that short-circuited essential reviews, including Section 106.

Ask him to review this latest action and coordinate with other state attorneys general on a legal response. His office maintains a Federal Oversight Committee and a public input process. Use the Federal Oversight and Accountability Form to log your concern (more on the DOJ's federal oversight process here). A short message works:

"I've just learned that the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voted last Friday to remove protections and the public's voice from Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. As a member of Oregon's arts, culture, and heritage community, I ask you to legally challenge this action on behalf of Oregonians who care about our historic, natural and cultural heritage — and the many Oregon jobs that depend on this work."

Oregon's cultural sector is strongest when we act together. Whether you run a museum, sit on a Main Street board, make art, or simply love the places that make your community what it is, your voice belongs in this record.

Stand with us. Stand with Restore Oregon. Take one action today.