III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 87 

Designating the year of 2012 as the ‘‘International Year of Cooperatives’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 3, 2011 

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota (for himself, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. KOHL, Mr. 

ENZI, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. PRYOR, 

Mr. CONRAD, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mr. BAUCUS, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. NELSON

of Nebraska) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating the year of 2012 as the ‘‘International Year 

of Cooperatives’’. 

Whereas in the United States, there are more than 29,000 

cooperatives with 120,000,000 members; 

Whereas cooperatives in the United States generate 

2,000,000 jobs and make a substantial contribution to 

the economy of the United States with annual sales of 

$652,000,000,000 and assets of $3,000,000,000,000; 

Whereas the cooperative business model has empowered people around the world to improve their lives through economic and social progress; 


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•SRES 87 IS 

Whereas cooperatives are a major economic force in developed 

countries and a powerful business model in developing 

countries, employing approximately 100,000,000 people; 

Whereas there are millions of cooperatives, which are owned 

and governed by more than 1,000,000,000 members, operating in every nation of the world; 

Whereas the economic activity of the largest 300 cooperatives 

in the world is equal to that of the 10th largest national 

economy; 

Whereas United Nations Resolution 64/136, adopted by the 

General Assembly on December 18, 2009, designates the 

year 2012 as the ‘‘International Year of Cooperatives’’; 

Whereas the theme of the International Year of Cooperatives 

is ‘‘Cooperative Enterprise Builds a Better World’’; and 

Whereas cooperatives are the businesses of the people, and 

for more than a century, have been a vital part of the 

world economy: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates the year 2012 as the ‘‘Inter3 national Year of Cooperatives’’; 

4 (2) congratulates cooperatives and members of 

5 cooperatives in the United States and around the 

6 world on the recognition of the United Nations of 

7 2012 as the ‘‘International Year of Cooperatives’’; 

8 (3) recognizes the vital role cooperatives play in 

9 the economic and social well-being of the United 

10 States; 


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•SRES 87 IS 

1 (4) urges the establishment of a National Com2 mittee for the 2012 International Year of Coopera3 tives to be comprised of representatives from each 

4 Federal agency, all cooperative sectors, and key 

5 stakeholders; 

6 (5) recognizes the importance of raising the 

7 profile of cooperatives and demonstrating the man8 ner by which cooperatives build local wealth, gen9 erate employment, and provide competition in the 

10 marketplace; and 

11 (6) encourages highlighting the positive impact 

12 of cooperatives and developing new programs for do13 mestic and international cooperative development. 

Æ 


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