Many in this world only achieve excellence when they are pushed into a position where nothing but excellence will do. If federal government agencies were left to their own devices, the historic preservation results would be rote and and perfunctory at best. The project at St. Elizabeths Hospital National Historic Landmark is an excellent and very recent example. Without the participation of preservation-focused consulting parties, the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act wouldn't be worth the paper they were written on. However, the current Congressional budget crisis threatens both these acts, and more. Preservation is seen more and more by legislators and administrators in the federal service as inconvenient and unnecessary, and funding in support of it is not seen as central to the mission of any federal agency. It is now possible for any federal agency to use the St . Elizabeths template, created by the GSA out of necessity, to secure approval for any project, anytime, anywhere. This may lead to a significant shift in consultation, minimization and mitigation efforts at federal preservation projects in the future.