Preserving battlefield sites from early American history would seem to be promising ground for bipartisan agreement. Don’t we all want future generations to be able to visit and learn about historically important places in this country’s pasts?

Today more than half the Republicans in the U.S. House, including Tom Latham (IA-03) and Steve King (IA-04), voted against a bill designed to preserve Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields. As Pete Kasperowicz reported for The Hill, the vote reflected a call to arms from conservative Heritage Foundation.

Kasperowicz explained what was at stake in today’s vote.

The American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act, H.R. 1033, reauthorizes and expands a program under which the federal government provides grants to states to buy and preserve battlefield sites. The bill would also expand the program to include Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites.

Earlier in the day, Heritage said reauthorizing the bill would mean $46 million in new spending on land acquisition, at a time when National Park Service officials have said the sequester will lead to hiring freezes and the closure of existing facilities.

“Adding more land into the system – be it at the federal, state or local level – in the current budgetary environment is irresponsible,” Heritage wrote.

During brief debate on the bill, no member rose to speak against it.

Usually at least one House member will make the case against a bill, if there’s a reasonable case to be made. But not today.

Here’s the roll call on H.R. 1033, “To authorize the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 under the American Battlefield Protection Program.” All 182 Democrats present supported the bill, including Iowa’s Bruce Braley (IA-01). Dave Loebsack (IA-02) was absent.

Only 101 House Republicans supported this bill. Latham and King were among the 122 members who went along with the Heritage Foudation’s decree. Why make waves with conservative opinion leaders in Washington? It might bring down a House member’s rating on some Heritage scorecard next year.

Although Iowa doesn’t have any Revolutionary War or War of 1812 battlefields, anyone who has visited significant battlefield sites should be able to appreciate their historic value. It’s a shame Iowa’s Republican representatives stood with a beltway interest group instead.

By the way, 283 votes to 122 is a large majority, but in this case the bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass, because it was brought up under a suspension of House rules.