[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 4 (Friday, January 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S261-S262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. Casey):
  S. 199. A -bill to establish the Steel Industry National Historic 
Site in the State of Pennsylvania; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr President, I have sought recognition to introduce 
legislation that will honor the importance of the steel industry in the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Nation by creating the ``Steel 
Industry National Historic Site'' in southwestern Pennsylvania.
  The importance of the steel industry to the development of the United 
States cannot be overstated. A national historic site devoted to the 
history of the steel industry will afford all Americans the opportunity 
to celebrate this rich heritage, which is symbolic of the work ethic 
endemic to this great Nation. The legislation offered today would 
create a national historic site that would be affiliated with the 
National Park Service. There is no better place to honor our Nation's 
steel industry heritage than in southwestern Pennsylvania, which played 
a significant role in early industrial America and continues today.
  I have long supported efforts to preserve and enhance the historical 
steel-related heritage through the Rivers of Steel National Heritage 
Area, which includes the city of Pittsburgh, and seven southwestern 
Pennsylvania counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Fayette, Greene, 
Washington, and Westmoreland. I have sought and been very pleased with 
congressional support for the important work within the Rivers of Steel 
Heritage Area. I have consistently advocated for increased funding to 
support our National Heritage Areas and I am hopeful that this support 
will continue. However, more than just resources are necessary to 
ensure the historical recognition of this site and our steel heritage. 
That is why I am introducing this legislation today.
  It is important to note why Pennsylvania should be the home of the 
national site that my legislation authorizes. The combination of a 
strong workforce, valuable natural resources, and Pennsylvania's 
strategic location in the heavily populated northeastern United States 
allowed the steel industry to thrive in the 19th and 20th centuries. 
Today, the remaining buildings and sites that were devoted to steel 
production are threatened with deterioration. Many of these sites are 
nationally significant and perfectly suited for the study and 
interpretation of this crucial period in our Nation's development. Some 
of these sites include the Carrie Furnace Complex, the Hot Metal 
Bridge, and the United States Steel Homestead Works, which would all 
become a part of the Steel Industry National Historic Site under my 
legislation. As testimony of the area's historic significance, on 
September 20, 2006, the Carrie Furnaces were designated as a National 
Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior.
  Highlights of this proposed national historic site would commemorate 
a wide range of accomplishments and topics for historical preservation 
and interpretation, including industrial technology advancements and 
milestones in labor-management relations. One of the sites that would 
be included in the historic site would be the location of the Battle of 
the Homestead, waged in 1892 between steelworkers and Pinkerton guards. 
The Battle of the Homestead marked a pivotal moment in our Nation's 
workers' rights movement. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
individuals, and public and private entities have attempted to protect 
and preserve resources such as the Homestead battleground and the Hot 
Metal Bridge. For the benefit and inspiration of present and future 
generations, it is time for the Federal Government to join this effort 
to recognize their importance with the additional protection I provide 
in this bill.
  I commend my colleague, Representative Doyle, who has been a 
longstanding leader in this preservation effort and who has sponsored 
this legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. I look forward 
to working with officials in southwestern Pennsylvania and Mr. August 
Carlino, president and chief executive officer of the Steel Industry 
Heritage Corporation, to bring this national historic site designation 
to fruition. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 199

       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 ``Steel Industry National 
     Historic Site Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
       (1) Certain sites and structures in the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania symbolize in physical form the heritage of the 
     steel industry of the United States.
       (2) Certain buildings and other structures in the 
     Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are nationally significant 
     historical resources, including the United States Steel 
     Homestead Works, the Carrie Furnace complex, and the Hot 
     Metal Bridge.
       (3) Despite substantial efforts for cultural preservation 
     and historical interpretation by the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania and by individuals and public and private 
     entities in the Commonwealth, these buildings and other 
     structures may be lost without the assistance of the Federal 
     Government.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to ensure the 
     preservation, interpretation, visitor enjoyment, and 
     maintenance of the nationally significant historical and 
     cultural sites and structures described in subsection (a) for 
     the benefit and inspiration of present and future 
     generations.

     SEC. 3. STEEL INDUSTRY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, PENNSYLVANIA.

       (a) Establishment.--The Steel Industry National Historic 
     Site is hereby established

[[Page S262]]

     as a unit of the National Park System in the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania.
       (b) Description.--
       (1) Inclusion of certain property.--Subject to paragraph 
     (2), the historic site shall consist of the following 
     properties, each of which relate to the former United States 
     Steel Homestead Works, as depicted on the map entitled 
     ``Steel Industry National Historic Site'', dated November 
     2003, and numbered 80,000:
       (A) The historic location of the Battle of Homestead site 
     in the borough of Munhall, Pennsylvania, consisting of 
     approximately 3 acres of land, including the pumphouse and 
     water tower and related structures, within the property 
     bounded by the Monongahela River, the CSX railroad, 
     Waterfront Drive, and the Damascus-Marcegaglia Steel Mill.
       (B) The historic location of the Carrie Furnace complex in 
     the boroughs of Swissvale and Rankin, Pennsylvania, 
     consisting of approximately 35 acres of land, including blast 
     furnaces 6 and 7, the ore yard, the cast house, the blowing 
     engine house, the AC power house, and related structures, 
     within the property bounded by the proposed southwesterly 
     right-of-way line needed to accommodate the Mon/Fayette 
     Expressway and the relocated CSX railroad right-of-way, the 
     Monongahela River, and a property line drawn northeast to 
     southwest approximately 100 yards east of the AC power house.
       (C) The historic location of the Hot Metal Bridge, 
     consisting of the Union railroad bridge and its approaches, 
     spanning the Monongahela River and connecting the mill sites 
     in the boroughs of Rankin and Munhall, Pennsylvania.
       (2) Availability of map.--The map referred to in paragraph 
     (1) shall be available for public inspection in an 
     appropriate office of the National Park Service.
       (c) Acquisition of Property.--To further the purposes of 
     this section, the Secretary of the Interior may acquire, only 
     by donation, property for inclusion in the historic site as 
     follows:
       (1) Any land or interest in land with respect to the 
     property identified in subsection (b)(1).
       (2) Up to 10 acres of land adjacent to or in the general 
     proximity of the property identified in such subsection, for 
     the development of visitor, administrative, museum, 
     curatorial, and maintenance facilities.
       (3) Personal property associated with, and appropriate for, 
     the interpretation of the historic site.
       (d) Private Property Protections.--Nothing in this Act 
     shall be construed--
       (1) to require any private property owner to permit public 
     access (including Federal, State, or local government access) 
     to the private property; or
       (2) to modify any provision of Federal, State, or local law 
     with regard to public access to or use of private property.
       (e) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     administer the historic site in accordance with this Act and 
     the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the 
     National Park System, including the Act of August 25, 1916 
     (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), and the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 
     U.S.C. 461 et seq.).
       (f) Cooperative Agreements.--
       (1) In general.--Until such time as the Secretary of the 
     Interior has acquired the property identified in subsection 
     (b)(1), as depicted on the map referred to in such 
     subsection, the Secretary may enter into a cooperative 
     agreement with any interested individual, public or private 
     agency, organization, or institution to further the purposes 
     of the historic site.
       (2) Contrary purposes.--Any payment made by the Secretary 
     pursuant to a cooperative agreement under this subsection 
     shall be subject to an agreement that conversion, use, or 
     disposal of the project so assisted for purposes contrary to 
     the purpose of the historic site, as determined by the 
     Secretary, shall result in a right of the United States to 
     reimbursement of all funds made available to such a project 
     or the proportion of the increased value of the project 
     attributable to such funds as determined at the time of such 
     conversion, use, or disposal, whichever is greater.
       (g) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     may provide technical assistance to any person for--
       (1) the preservation of historic structures within the 
     historic site; and
       (2) the maintenance of the natural and cultural landscape 
     of the historic site.
       (h) General Management Plan.--
       (1) Preparation.--Not later than three years after the date 
     on which funds are first made available to carry out this 
     Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a general 
     management plan for the historic site that will incorporate 
     or otherwise address substantive comments made during the 
     consultation required by paragraph (2).
       (2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall prepare the general 
     management plan in consultation with--
       (A) an appropriate official of each appropriate political 
     subdivision of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that has 
     jurisdiction over all or a portion of the lands included in 
     the historic site;
       (B) an appropriate official of the Steel Industry Heritage 
     Corporation; and
       (C) private property owners in the vicinity of the historic 
     site.
       (3) Submission of plan to congress.--Upon the completion of 
     the general management plan, the Secretary shall submit a 
     copy of the plan to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the 
     House of Representatives.

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