[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2896 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2896

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 19, 2019

  Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish the 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 that--
            (1) in 1970, the Secretary of the Interior designated the 
        Pullman Historic District as a National Historic Landmark 
        District because of--
                    (A) the significance of the District to the labor 
                history, social history, architecture, and urban 
                planning of the United States; and
                    (B) the pivotal role of events in the District in 
                creating the first national Labor Day holiday in the 
                world;
            (2) between 1880 and 1884, George M. Pullman, owner of the 
        Pullman Palace Car Company, built the Pullman community, which 
        was envisioned by Pullman as an industrial town that would 
        provide employees with--
                    (A) a model community; and
                    (B) suitable living conditions;
            (3) the town developed by George M. Pullman, 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;
            (4) the Pullman factory site is a true symbol of the 
        historic struggle in the United States 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;
            (5) in the midst of economic depression in 1894, to protest 
        unsafe conditions and reductions in pay, Pullman factory 
        workers initiated a strike that--
                    (A) when taken up as a cause by the American 
                Railway Union, crippled the entire rail industry;
                    (B) continued even in the face of a Federal 
                injunction and a showdown between laborers and Federal 
                troops that turned violent and deadly; and
                    (C) set a national example for the ability of 
                working people in the United States to change the 
                existing system in favor of more just practices for 
                protecting workers rights and safety;
            (6) following the deaths of a number of workers at the 
        hands of the United States military and United States Marshals 
        during the 1894 strike, Congress unanimously voted to approve 
        rush legislation that created a national Labor Day holiday, 
        which was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland 6 days 
        after the end of the strike;
            (7) the Pullman Palace Car Company also played an important 
        role in African-American and early civil rights history through 
        the legacy of the Pullman porters, many of whom were ex-slaves 
        and employed in a heavily discriminatory environment 
        immediately following the Civil War;
            (8) the Pullman porters, who served diligently between the 
        1870s and the 1960s, have been commended for--
                    (A) their level of service and attention to detail; 
                and
                    (B) their contributions to the development of the 
                African-American middle class;
            (9) the information, ideas, and commerce the Pullman 
        porters carried across the country while traveling on trains 
        helped to bring education and wealth to African-American 
        communities throughout the United States;
            (10) the positive role of the Pullman porters in the 
        historical image of the first-class service that was made 
        available on Pullman cars is unmistakable;
            (11) the Pullman community was the seminal home to the 
        Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which--
                    (A) was founded by civil rights pioneer A. Philip 
                Randolph in 1925;
                    (B) was the first African-American labor union with 
                a collective bargaining agreement;
                    (C) fought--
                            (i) against discrimination; and
                            (ii) in support of just labor practices; 
                        and
                    (D) helped lay the groundwork for what became the 
                great Civil Rights Movement of the 20th Century;
            (12) the Pullman community is--
                    (A) a paramount illustration of the work of 
                architect Solon Spencer Beman;
                    (B) a well-preserved example of 19th century 
                community planning, architecture, and landscape design; 
                and
                    (C) comprised of a number of historic structures, 
                including the Administration Clock Tower Building, 
                Hotel Florence, Greenstone Church, Market Square, and 
                hundreds of units of rowhouses built for Pullman 
                workers;
            (13) the preservation of the Pullman site has been 
        threatened by--
                    (A) plans for demolition in 1960; and
                    (B) a fire in 1998, which damaged the iconic clock 
                tower and the rear erecting shops;
            (14) the diligent efforts of community organizations, 
        foundations, nonprofit organizations, residents, the State, and 
        units of local government in the restoration and preservation 
        of the District after the 1998 fire were vital to the 
        protection of the Pullman site;
            (15) due to the historic and architectural significance of 
        the District, the District is designated as--
                    (A) a registered National Historic Landmark 
                District;
                    (B) an Illinois State Landmark; and
                    (C) a City of Chicago Landmark District; and
            (16) the preservation, enhancement, economic, and tourism 
        potential and management of the important historic and 
        architectural resources of the Park requires cooperation and 
        partnerships from among local property owners, the Federal 
        Government, the State, units of local government, the private 
        and nonprofit sectors, and the more than 100 civic 
        organizations that have expressed support for community 
        preservation through the establishment of the Pullman National 
        Historical Park.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Park.--The term ``Park'' means the Pullman National 
        Historical Park established by section 4(a).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Illinois.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PULLMAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

    (a) Establishment and Purpose.--There is established in the State a 
unit of the National Park System, to be known as the ``Pullman National 
Historical Park''--
            (1) to preserve and interpret for the benefit of future 
        generations--
                    (A) the significant labor, industrial, civil 
                rights, and social history of the Park;
                    (B) the significant architectural structures in the 
                Park; and
                    (C) the role of the Pullman community in the 
                creation of the first national Labor Day holiday in the 
                world;
            (2) to coordinate preservation, protection, and 
        interpretation efforts of the Park by the Federal Government, 
        the State, units of local government, and private and nonprofit 
        organizations; and
            (3) to coordinate appropriate management options necessary 
        to ensure the protection, preservation, and interpretation of 
        the many significant aspects of the Park.
    (b) Park Boundary.--The boundary of the Park--
            (1) shall be established by the Secretary; but
            (2) shall not exceed the boundary of the approximately 300-
        acre Pullman Historic District in Chicago, which is between--
                    (A) 103rd Street on the north;
                    (B) 115th Street on the south;
                    (C) Cottage Grove Avenue on the west; and
                    (D) the Norfolk & Western Rail Line on the east.
    (c) Inclusion of Historic Sites.--On conveyance by the State to the 
Secretary, the Park shall include--
            (1) the Pullman Factory Complex, including the Clock Tower 
        Building and rear erecting shops; and
            (2) the approximately 13 acres of land on which the 
        structures described in paragraph (1) are located.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer land within the 
boundary of the Park in accordance with--
            (1) this Act; and
            (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the National 
        Park System, including--
                    (A) section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and sections 
                100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of title 54, 
                United States Code; and
                    (B) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States Code.
    (b) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary may enter into 
cooperative agreements with the State or other public and nonpublic 
entities, under which the Secretary may identify, interpret, and 
provide assistance for the preservation of non-Federal land within the 
boundaries of the Park and at sites in close proximity to the Park but 
located outside the boundaries of the Park, including providing for 
placement of directional and interpretive signage, exhibits, and 
technology-based interpretive devices.
    (c) Acquisition of Land.--The Secretary may acquire for inclusion 
in the Park any land (including interests in land), buildings, or 
structures owned by the State or any other political, private, or 
nonprofit entity by donation, transfer, exchange, or purchase from a 
willing seller.
    (d) Technical and Preservation Assistance.--The Secretary may 
provide public interpretation and technical assistance for the 
preservation of historic structures of, the maintenance of the cultural 
landscape of, and local preservation planning for, related historic and 
cultural resources within the boundaries of the Park.
    (e) 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 100502 of title 54, United States Code; and
            (2) any other applicable laws.
    (f) Effect.--Nothing in this Act modifies any authority of the 
Federal Government to carry out Federal laws on Federal land located in 
the Park.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.
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