FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

SEC. 402. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings.—The Congress finds that— (1) the industrial and cultural heritage of southwestern Pennsylvania, including the city of Pittsburgh, and the counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland, related directly to steel and steel-related industries, is nationally significant; (2) these industries include steelmaking, ironmaking, aluminum, specialty metals, glass, coal mining, coke production, machining and foundries, transportation, and electrical industries; (3) the industrial and cultural heritage of the steel and related industries in this region includes the social history and living cultural traditions of the people of the region; (4) the labor movement of the region played a significant role in the development of the Nation, including the formation of many key unions such as the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the United Steel Workers of America (USWA), and crucial struggles to improve wages and working conditions, such as the Rail Strike of 1877, the Homestead Strike of 1892, and the Great Steel Strike of 1919; 110 STAT. 4253 (5) the Department of the Interior is responsible for protecting the Nation’s cultural and historic resources, and there are significant examples of these resources within this seven-county region to merit the involvement of the Federal Government to develop programs and projects, in cooperation with the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and other local and governmental bodies, to adequately conserve, protect, and interpret this heritage for future generations, while providing opportunities for education and revitalization; and (6) the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation would be an appropriate management entity for a Heritage Area established in the region. (b) Statement of Purpose.—The objectives of the Steel Industry American Heritage Area are— (1) to foster a close working relationship with all levels of government, the private sector, and the local communities in the steel industry region of southwestern Pennsylvania and empower the communities to conserve their heritage while continuing to pursue economic opportunities; and (2) to conserve, interpret, and develop the historical, cultural, natural, and recreational resources related to the industrial and cultural heritage of the seven-county region of southwestern Pennsylvania.