Kaine & Hyde-Smith Applaud Senate Passage of their Bipartisan Bill to Protect Historic American Battlefields
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) successfully secured the Senate passage of their bipartisan American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act, legislation to protect America’s historic battlefields. Specifically, the bill would make updates to strengthen the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), a program within the National Park Service (NPS) which promotes the preservation of significant historic battlefields and sites of armed conflict across the United States. The program has preserved more than 35,000 acres of historic land in 20 states, including Virginia and Mississippi.
The bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last year and is now headed to President Biden’s desk.
“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. ”
“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,” Hyde-Smith said. “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.”
The American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act would:
- Permit non-profits and tribes to directly apply 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, enhancing 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 Ball’s Bluff in Leesburg, Sailor’s Creek in Amelia and Prince Edward Counties, Cedar Creek in the Shenandoah Valley, and several other state- and nonprofit-owned battlefield parks in Virginia are 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 NPS’s original maps, the land cannot be preserved under ABPP. For example, the Green Springs Battlefield in James City County is larger than it was originally thought to be. By creating a better process for expanding and updating the historic boundaries of battlefields, it’ll be easier for certain sites to receive ABPP funding.
The legislation was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Boozman (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Steve Daines (R-MT).
Companion legislation was led in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11).
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