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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3929 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3929

To establish Pullman National Historical Park in the State of Illinois 
     as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 27, 2014

Ms. Kelly of Illinois (for herself, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Lipinski, and Mr. 
 Danny K. Davis of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To establish Pullman National Historical Park in the State of Illinois 
     as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pullman National Historical Park 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Pullman Historical District was designated as a 
        National Historic Landmark (NHL) District in 1970 by the 
        Secretary of the Interior for its significance to American 
        labor history, social history, architecture, urban planning, 
        and the events that took place at Pullman were pivotal in 
        creating the world's first national Labor Day holiday.
            (2) The Historic Pullman District, built between the years 
        of 1880 and 1884, was established by George M. Pullman, owner 
        of the Pullman Palace Car Company. Pullman envisioned an 
        industrial town that provided employees with a model community 
        and suitable living conditions for workers and their families. 
        The town, which consisted of over 1,000 buildings and homes, 
        was awarded ``The World's Most Perfect Town'' at the 
        International Hygienic and Pharmaceutical Exposition in 1896.
            (3) The Pullman factory site is a true symbol of the 
        historic American struggle to achieve fair labor practices for 
        the working class, with the original factory serving as the 
        catalyst for the first industry-wide strike in the United 
        States. In the midst of economic depression in 1894, Pullman 
        factory workers initiated a strike to protest unsafe conditions 
        and reductions in pay that, when taken up as a cause by the 
        American Railway Union (ARU), crippled the entire rail 
        industry. The strike continued even in the face of a Federal 
        injunction and a showdown between laborers and Federal troops 
        that turned violent and deadly. But the strike also set a 
        national example for the ability of working Americans to change 
        the existing system in favor of more just practices for 
        protecting workers rights and safety.
            (4) The Pullman community was the site of the famous 1894 
        Pullman labor strike. Following the deaths of a number of 
        workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals 
        during that strike, the United States Congress unanimously 
        voted to approve rush legislation that created a national Labor 
        Day holiday. President Grover Cleveland signed it into law a 
        mere six days after the end of the strike.
            (5) The Pullman Car Company also played an important role 
        in African-American and early Civil Rights history through the 
        legacy of the Pullman Porters. Many of the Pullman Porters were 
        ex-slaves who were employed in a heavily discriminatory 
        environment immediately following the Civil War. These men, who 
        served diligently between the 1870s and the 1960s, have been 
        commended for their level of service and attention to detail, 
        as well as their contributions to the development of the Black 
        middle class. The information, ideas, and commerce they carried 
        across the country (while traveling on trains) helped to bring 
        education and wealth to Black communities everywhere. Their 
        positive role in the historical image of the first-class 
        service that was made available on Pullman cars is 
        unmistakable.
            (6) Pullman was the seminal home to the Brotherhood of 
        Sleeping Car Porters, the first African-American labor union 
        with a collective bargaining agreement, founded by civil rights 
        pioneer A. Philip Randolph in 1925. This union fought against 
        discrimination and in support of just labor practices, and 
        helped lay the groundwork for what became the great Civil 
        Rights Movement of the 20th century.
            (7) The Pullman community is a paramount illustration of 
        the work of architect Solon Spencer Beman and a well-preserved 
        example of 19th century community planning, architecture, and 
        landscape design. The community is comprised of a number of 
        historic structures, including the Administration (Clock-tower) 
        Building, Hotel Florence, Greenstone Church, Market Square, and 
        hundreds of units of row houses built for Pullman workers.
            (8) The preservation of Pullman has been threatened by 
        plans for demolition in 1960 and by a fire in 1998, which 
        damaged the iconic clock-tower and the rear erecting shops. The 
        restoration and preservation led by the diligent efforts of 
        community organizations, foundations, non-profits, residents, 
        and the local and State government were vital to the protection 
        of the site.
            (9) Due to the Pullman's historic and architectural 
        significance, the site is designated as--
                    (A) a registered National Historic Landmark 
                District;
                    (B) an Illinois State Landmark; and
                    (C) a City of Chicago Landmark District.
            (10) The preservation, enhancement, economic, and tourism 
        potential and management of the Pullman National Historical 
        Park's important historical and architectural resources 
        requires cooperation and partnerships from among local property 
        owners, local, State, and Federal Government entities, the 
        private and non-profit sectors, and more than 100 civic 
        organizations who have expressed support for community 
        preservation through the creation of Pullman National 
        Historical Park.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PULLMAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

    (a) Establishment and Purpose.--There is hereby established Pullman 
National Historical Park in the State of Illinois for the purposes of--
            (1) preserving and interpreting for the benefit of future 
        generations the significant labor, industrial and social 
        history; the significant civil rights history; and the 
        significant architectural structures in Pullman National 
        Historical Park;
            (2) preserving and interpreting for the benefit of future 
        generations the role of Pullman in the creation of the world's 
        first national Labor Day holiday;
            (3) coordinating preservation, protection, and 
        interpretation efforts by Federal, State, or local governmental 
        entities, and/or private and nonprofit organizations; and
            (4) coordinating appropriate management options needed to 
        ensure the protection, preservation, and interpretation of the 
        many significant aspects of the site.
    (b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of Pullman National Historical Park 
should reflect and not exceed the boundaries of the Pullman Historic 
District in Chicago, which is between 103rd Street on the north, 115th 
Street on the south, Cottage Grove Avenue on the west, and the Norfolk 
& Western Rail Line on the east. The area encompasses about 300 acres. 
The National Park Service would initially own only the Pullman Factory 
Complex, including the Administration/Clock Tower Building and rear 
erecting shops and the approximately 13 acres of land on which the 
structures sit, which would be conveyed to the National Park Service by 
the State of Illinois. All future land, buildings, and assets could be 
transferred to the Federal Government by donation, transfer, or 
exchange only.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall administer 
Pullman National Historical Park in accordance with--
            (1) this Act; and
            (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the National 
        Park System, including--
                    (A) the National Park Service Organic Act (16 
                U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and
                    (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et 
                seq.).
Additionally, nothing in this law modifies any authority of the United 
States to carry out Federal laws on Federal land located within the 
Park.
    (b) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may also enter into 
cooperative agreements with the State or other public and non-public 
parties, under which the Secretary may identify, interpret, and provide 
assistance for the preservation of non-Federal properties within the 
Park (and at sites in close proximity to the Park but outside 
boundaries), including providing for placement of directional and 
interpretive signage, exhibits, and technology-based interpretive 
devices.
    (c) Land and Property Acquisition.--All land, buildings, 
structures, or interests in land owned by the State or any other 
political, private, or non-profit entity may be acquired by the Federal 
Government by donation, transfer, exchange, or purchase from a willing 
seller.
    (d) Management Plan.--Not later than 3 fiscal years after the date 
on which funds are first made available to carry out this Act, the 
Secretary, in consultation with the State, shall complete a general 
management plan for the Park in accordance with--
            (1) section 12(b) of the National Park System General 
        Authorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a-7(b)); and
            (2) any other applicable laws.
                                 <all>
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