III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 525 

Expressing support for the designation of October 2023 as ‘‘National CoOp Month’’ and commending the cooperative business model and the 

member-owners, businesses, employees, farmers, ranchers, and practitioners who use the cooperative business model to positively impact 

the economy and society. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 17, 2024 

Ms. SMITH (for herself and Mr. HOEVEN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of October 2023 as 

‘‘National Co-Op Month’’ and commending the cooperative business model and the member-owners, businesses, 

employees, farmers, ranchers, and practitioners who use 

the cooperative business model to positively impact the 

economy and society. 

Whereas a cooperative— 

(1) is a business that is owned and governed by its 

members, who are the individuals who use the business, 

create the products of the business, or manage the operation of the business; and 

(2) operates under the 7 principles of— 

(A) voluntary open membership; 


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(B) democratic control; 

(C) owner economic participation; 

(D) autonomy and independence; 

(E) education, training, and information; 

(F) cooperation among cooperatives; and 

(G) concern for community; 

Whereas cooperative entrepreneurs can be found in almost 

every economic sector in the United States, throughout 

all 50 States and the territories of the United States, and 

in every congressional district in the United States; 

Whereas cooperatives help farmers increase incomes and become more resilient to economic business cycles by working together to plan and prepare for the future, while 

contributing significantly to the economic activity in the 

agriculture and food markets of the United States; 

Whereas the roughly 1,700 agricultural cooperatives in the 

United States operate more than 9,500 facilities, employ 

a record $111,000,000,000 in assets, and generate more 

than $231,400,000,000 in business; 

Whereas the majority of the 2,000,000 farmers in the United 

States belong to an agricultural cooperative; 

Whereas agricultural cooperatives offer members the opportunity to access commodity value-added profits throughout the handling, processing, and distribution chains; 

Whereas member-owners in agricultural cooperatives are 

dedicated to providing the highest quality product for 

consumers; 

Whereas agricultural cooperatives add significant benefits to 

the economic well-being of rural areas of the United 

States by providing more than 250,000 jobs with annual 

wages totaling more than $11,000,000,000; 


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Whereas agricultural cooperatives provide resources to their 

member-owners, such as low-cost supplies, effective marketing, and services; 

Whereas farmer members in agricultural cooperatives have 

the opportunity to pool resources and reinvest profits into 

the communities of the farmer members; 

Whereas the principles of cooperation and the cooperative 

business model help smallholder farmers organize themselves and gain access to local and global markets, training, improved inputs, conservation programs, and aggregated sales and marketing; 

Whereas the cooperative business model provides farmers 

ownership over their economic decisions, a focus on learning, and a broader understanding of environmental and 

social concerns; 

Whereas the cooperative business model has been used 

throughout the history of the United States to advance 

civil rights and to help ensure that all people have equal 

access to economic opportunity; 

Whereas cooperative values promote self-determination and 

democratic rights for all people; 

Whereas the comprehensive global food security strategy established under section 5 of the Global Food Security Act 

of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9304) (commonly known as ‘‘Feed 

the Future’’) and the Cooperative Development Program 

of the United States Agency for International Development use cooperative principles and the cooperative business model to advance international development, nutrition, resilience, and economic security; 

Whereas the Interagency Working Group on Cooperative Development— 


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(1) is an interagency group that is coordinated and 

chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture to foster cooperative development and ensure coordination with Federal 

agencies and national and local cooperative organizations 

that have cooperative programs and interests; and 

(2) as of the date of introduction of this resolution, 

has organized 11 meetings; 

Whereas the bipartisan Congressional Cooperative Business 

Caucus unites Members of Congress to— 

(1) create a better-informed electorate and a more 

educated public on the important role that cooperatives 

play in the economy of the United States and the world; 

(2) promote the cooperative business model because 

that model ensures that consumers have access to highquality goods and services at competitive prices and costs 

that improve the lives of individuals, families, and their 

communities; and 

(3) address and correct awareness challenges among 

the public and within the Federal Government relating to 

what cooperatives look like, who participates in cooperatives, where cooperatives are located, and why individuals 

choose cooperatives; 

Whereas the Bureau of the Census, as part of the 2017 and 

2022 Economic Censuses, asked each business if the 

business was organized as a cooperative, and the responses of businesses yielded both quantitative and qualitative data on the effects and importance of cooperatives 

across the economy of the United States; 

Whereas, throughout the rural United States, many utility 

service providers operate as cooperatives and are tasked 

with the delivery of public services, such as electricity, 

water, telecommunications, and broadband, in areas 


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where investor-owned utility companies typically do not 

operate; 

Whereas utility cooperatives have innovated to meet the 

evolving needs of their member-owners, create more resilient communities, and help rural individuals in the 

United States prosper; 

Whereas electric cooperatives serve 56 percent of the 

landmass of the United States, including 92 percent of 

persistent poverty counties, and energy cooperatives 

power more than 21,500,000 homes, businesses, and 

schools; 

Whereas there are approximately 260 telephone cooperatives 

in the United States with total annual revenues of 

$3,900,000,000; 

Whereas, in the financial services sector, cooperatives, including credit unions, farm credit banks, and other financing 

organizations that lend to cooperatives, provide numerous 

benefits to the member-owners of those cooperatives; 

Whereas, nationally, approximately 4,800 credit unions serve 

138,000,000 members; 

Whereas member-owners of cooperatives vote in board elections, and earned profits cycle back into cost-saving programs or return as dividend payments; 

Whereas purchasing and shared service cooperatives allow 

independent and franchise businesses to thrive; 

Whereas food cooperatives range in size from small, local institutions to multi-store regional giants that compete with 

chain stores with locations across the United States; 

Whereas food cooperatives support local producers in all 50 

States and reduce food insecurity; 


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Whereas, in the housing sector, housing cooperatives and 

resident-owned communities in which members own the 

building or land— 

(1) are an alternative to conventional rental apartments, manufactured home parks, and condominiums; 

and 

(2) empower each resident with ownership and responsibility; 

Whereas housing cooperatives have roots dating to the late 

1800s and are increasingly becoming a housing alternative for students at colleges throughout the United 

States; 

Whereas shared equity housing cooperatives are a strategy 

for preserving long-term, affordable housing; 

Whereas cooperatives allow residents of manufactured home 

communities to collectively purchase the land on which 

they live, providing stability and the opportunity to selfgovern; 

Whereas, as of 2023, 309 manufactured home communities 

are cooperatively owned; 

Whereas the growth of worker cooperatives in the United 

States is allowing more workers to own and have greater 

control over their businesses; 

Whereas many small businesses convert to cooperatives when 

faced with closure or a buyout, ensuring that such a business can continue to serve its community; and 

Whereas the cooperative business model allows business owners to retire and transfer business ownership to employees or consumers, protecting local ownership and supporting local communities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) expresses support for the designation of 

2 ‘‘National Co-Op Month’’; 

3 (2) commends the cooperative business model 

4 for— 

5 (A) its contributions to the economy of the 

6 United States; 

7 (B) the jobs it creates; and 

8 (C) its positive impacts on local commu9 nities; 

10 (3) expresses confidence in, and support for, co11 operatives to continue their successes; and 

12 (4) will be mindful in crafting legislation that 

13 affects business models that are not the cooperative 

14 business model so that the legislation does not ad15 versely affect the cooperative business model. 

Æ 


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