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1 [1] (April 18, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govegvs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service informinrg thi legIlve debde sne 1914 American Battlefield Protection Program The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) promotes the preservation of significant sites where historic battles were fought on American soil (54 U.S.C. §§308101-308103). Initiated by the Secretary of the Interior in 1991, the program was authorized by Congress in 1996 in the American Battlefield Protection Act (P.L. 104-333) and is currently administered by the National Park Service (NPS). For most of its existence, the ABPP comprised two distinct competitive grant programs: the Battlefield Planning Grant Program and the Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant Program. Congress authorized two new grant programs in 2019, bringing the total number of ABPP grant programs to four (see New ABPP Grant Programs). ABPP Pann.ng Grant Program Under the Battlefield Planning Grant Program, NPS awards grants to groups, institutions, organizations, governments (local, state, and tribal), and federal entities sponsoring preservation projects at historic battlefields. The program supports projects that include site identification and documentation, planning and consensus building, and educational programs, among others. Any battlefield or associated site on American soil is eligible for funding under this grant program. Planning grants are not awarded for land acquisition or capital improvements. Applicants are encouraged but not required to provide matching funds or in-kind services for these grants. Figure 1. Appropriations for ABPP Planning Grant Program: FY20 1 3-FY2022 ($ in thousands) i SC Source: CRS, with data from annual NPS Budget justifications for FY2015-FY2023. Actual figures were taken from the volume published two years following the fiscal year in question (e.g., for FY2015, figures are from FY2017). FY2022 figures are enacted totals. Notes: Totals do not reflect appropriations for grant administration. Current dollars have been converted to real (constant) 2022 dollars using the GDP (Chained) Price Index column in Table 10.1 from the Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/. Updated April 18, 2022 Authorization and Funding History NPS first awarded Battlefield Planning grants for preservation projects at historic battlefields in 1992 under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Upon authorizing the program in 1996, Congress authorized to be appropriated $3 million annually for a duration of 10 years. In 2009 (P.L. 111-11), Congress permanently authorized discretionary appropriations at $3 million annually for the program. Battlefield Planning grants are funded as part of NPS appropriations within the agency's National Recreation and Preservation (NR&P) account. Appropriations for the program are split between two subaccounts within the NR&P account: direct grant-making funds are provided under the Cultural Programs activity, and grant administration funding is provided under a separate Grants Administration activity. Typically, Congress has not funded the program at the full authorized level. Actual appropriations for the program have remained unchanged at roughly $1.2 million annually since FY2015. Figure 1 shows the appropriations for FY2013-FY2022. Recent Grant-Makrng Trends According to NPS, the program has helped to protect and enhance battlefields through more than 600 projects in 42 states and territories. Individual project funding historically has ranged from $5,000 to more than $100,000. Florida received the largest amount of program funding since FY2017, at just under $600,000 for six projects. See Figure 2 for an overview of the five states that received the largest amount of funding for FY2017-FY2021. Figure 2. FY2017-FY2021 Planning Grants: Five Most- Awarded States (current $ in thousands) Source: NPS, Battlefield Planning Grants, at http://www.nps.gov/ subjects/battlefields/battlefield-planning-grants.htm. SFY2-'