FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) Findings.—The Congress finds that— (1) the industrial, cultural, and natural heritage legacies of Michigan’s automobile industry are nationally significant; (2) in the areas of Michigan including and in proximity to Detroit, Dearborn, Pontiac, Flint, and Lansing, the design and manufacture of the automobile helped establish and expand the United States industrial power; (3) the industrial strength of automobile manufacturing was vital to defending freedom and democracy in 2 world wars and played a defining role in American victories; (4) the economic strength of our Nation is connected integrally to the vitality of the automobile industry, which employs millions of workers and upon which 1 out of 7 United States jobs depends; (5) the industrial and cultural heritage of the automobile industry in Michigan includes the social history and living cultural traditions of several generations; (6) the United Auto Workers and other unions played a significant role in the history and progress of the labor movement and the automobile industry; (7) the Department of the Interior is responsible for protecting and interpreting the Nation’s cultural and historic resources, and there are significant examples of these resources within Michigan to merit the involvement of the Federal Government to develop programs and projects in cooperation with the Automobile National Heritage Area Partnership, Incorporated, the State of Michigan, and other local and governmental bodies, to adequately conserve, protect, and interpret 112 STAT. 3248this heritage for the educational and recreational benefit of this and future generations of Americans; (8) the Automobile National Heritage Area Partnership, Incorporated would be an appropriate entity to oversee the development of the Automobile National Heritage Area; and (9) 2 local studies, “A Shared Vision for Metropolitan Detroit” and “The Machine That Changed the World”, and a National Park Service study, “Labor History Theme Study: Phase III; Suitability–Feasibility”, demonstrated that sufficient historical resources exist to establish the Automobile National Heritage Area. (b) Purpose.—The purpose of this title is to establish the Automobile National Heritage Area to— (1) foster a close working relationship with all levels of government, the private sector, and the local communities in Michigan and empower communities in Michigan to conserve their automotive heritage while strengthening future economic opportunities; and (2) conserve, interpret, and develop the historical, cultural, natural, and recreational resources related to the industrial and cultural heritage of the Automobile National Heritage Area.