IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 654 

Supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 24, 2019 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. RUSH, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. 

TLAIB, and Mr. LEVIN of Michigan) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development 

Goals. 

Whereas 193 nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the 2015 United Nations General 

Assembly; 

Whereas, on January 1, 2016, the Sustainable Development 

Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 

officially came into force; 

Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets to address extreme poverty, protect the planet, and 

ensure that all people have access to peace and prosperity 

by 2030; 


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Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that ending extreme poverty must go hand-inhand with strategies to improve health and access to education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth; 

Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals include— 

(1) no poverty; 

(2) zero hunger; 

(3) good health and well-being; 

(4) quality education; 

(5) gender equality; 

(6) clean water and sanitation; 

(7) affordable and clean energy; 

(8) decent work and economic growth; 

(9) industry, innovation, and infrastructure; 

(10) reduced inequalities; 

(11) sustainable cities and communities; 

(12) responsible consumption and production; 

(13) climate action; 

(14) life below water; 

(15) life on land; 

(16) peace, justice, and strong institutions; and 

(17) partnerships for the goals; 

Whereas the United States played a strong role in the member state negotiations at the United Nations, reflecting 

the longstanding bipartisan support for the foreign policy 

and development priorities that Republican and Democratic administrations and Congress have championed; 

Whereas the United States prioritized two areas throughout 

the negotiations, governance, peace, and security (Goal 

16) and gender equality (Goal 5); 

Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals align with many 

United States priorities, including ending human trafVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR654.IH HR654

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ficking, increasing access to jobs in collaboration with the 

private sector, gender equality, and good governance; 

Whereas these Sustainable Development Goals will attempt to 

complete what the Millennium Development Goals did not 

achieve; 

Whereas the Millennium Development Goals focused on ending extreme hunger and poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and women 

empowerment, reducing child mortality, improving mental 

health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global 

partnership for development; 

Whereas, according to the Millennium Development Goals 

2015 report, the global mobilization behind the goals resulted in the most successful antipoverty movement in 

history; 

Whereas in the United States and around the world, racial 

injustice continues to plague communities; 

Whereas the United Nations and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should continue to include a commitment to racial justice, equity, and the elimination of 

global racism and the dismantling of structural racism; 

Whereas the number of people living in extreme poverty declined by 56 percent between 1990 to 2015, with most 

progress occurring since 2000 when the Millennium Development Goals were launched; 

Whereas over 6,200,000 malaria deaths were averted between 

2000 and 2015, and the primary school enrollment rate 

in developing countries reached 91 percent by 2015 from 

83 percent in 2000; 


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Whereas much progress was made, but many challenges and 

opportunities for development remain, particularly in 

areas that were not addressed by the Millennium Development Goals; 

Whereas women and girls still face violence and gender-based 

discrimination that limit their economic opportunities; 

Whereas the poverty burden remains overwhelmingly concentrated in some parts of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia; 

Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development introduces new focus areas that are key to ending extreme 

poverty, including accountable government institutions, 

which came out of the understanding that structural inequalities in societies keep people in poverty; 

Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals call for global 

action and coordination to achieve a dignified life for all 

people, peace, prosperity, a sustainable planet, and strong 

global partnership; 

Whereas gender equality is the fifth Sustainable Development 

Goal which builds on the successes of the third Millennium Development Goal, promoting gender equality and 

empowering women; 

Whereas, from 2000 to 2015, about two-thirds of countries 

in the developing world achieved gender parity in primary 

education, but disparities persist at the secondary and 

tertiary levels; 

Whereas the average proportion of women in parliaments 

nearly doubled between 1995 and 2015, yet gender parity 

in government remains a distant goal; 

Whereas one of the key targets of gender equality as part of 

the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to 


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eliminate all forms of violence against all women and 

girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking, sexual, and other types of exploitation; 

Whereas the total number of girls married before the age of 

18 stands at 12,000,000 per year, and more than 

150,000,000 additional girls will get married in childhood 

by 2030; 

Whereas child marriages are a fundamental violation of 

human rights, and the target set out in the Sustainable 

Development Goal agenda is to eliminate all harmful 

practices such as child, early, and forced marriage by 

2030, and supporting this target means impacting the 

lives of 150,000,000 girls who would otherwise be married off before their 18th birthday; 

Whereas one of the targets of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development is to ensure reforms are taking place 

in all countries to give women equal rights to economic 

resources, property, financial services, inheritance, and 

natural resources by promoting birth registration in areas 

where girls are systematically undercounted, which will 

ensure that girls can enjoy other rights such as education 

and health; 

Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls 

for countries to collaborate to achieve universal peace and 

justice, because countries that lack the rule of law often 

fail to meet the most basic needs of their populations, 

and peace, justice, and accountable institutions make it 

possible for countries to develop; 

Whereas all people have a right to peace, and all forms of 

violence violate human rights, hinder people’s well-being, 


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and significantly limit development and progress of countries; 

Whereas Goal 16 is key to ensuring that progress and prosperity are widely shared, and that those most in need can 

claim and exercise their rights as global citizens; 

Whereas data show that homicide is more prevalent in countries with high income inequality, which are majorly developing countries; 

Whereas many victims of exploitation and trafficking are people from vulnerable populations, and some of the poorest 

regions in the world, which suggests that least developed 

areas are the most prone to violence; 

Whereas supporting the Sustainable Development Goals will 

significantly reduce violence in developing countries so 

peaceful and empowered populations can then begin to 

create and reinforce just, inclusive, and accountable institutions; 

Whereas sustained United States leadership in supporting the 

Sustainable Development Goals will ensure that we can 

leverage our resources and expertise with the private sector, governments, faith-based organizations, and nonprofits to build a better and safer world for generations 

to come; 

Whereas the expanded Sustainable Development Goals represent a new understanding of what effective sustainable 

development looks like; 

Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals now include key 

economic drivers of poverty alleviation and go beyond foreign assistance to focus on trade and investment from the 

private sector to better account for their important conVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR654.IH HR654

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tributions in development, health, and economic and social opportunity; and 

Whereas support for the Sustainable Development Goals will 

continue to be counted through direct multilateral development assistance, domestic spending, grants, subsidies, 

loans, public-private partnerships, and other financial instruments such as guarantees and direct investment instruments: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) it is the sense of the House of Representa3 tives that— 

4 (A) the Sustainable Development Goals of 

5 the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 

6 is a critical international blueprint to end pov7 erty, protect the planet, and ensure that all 

8 people can live in peace and prosperity by 2030; 

9 and 

10 (B) the United States, which adopted the 

11 Sustainable Development Goals, should recom12 mit to implementing its commitments under the 

13 Sustainable Development Goals; and 

14 (2) the House of Representatives— 

15 (A) reaffirms its support for multilateral 

16 organizations such as the United Nations and 

17 its role in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sus18 tainable Development; and 


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1 (B) reaffirms its support for meeting key 

2 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable De3 velopment, including gender equality, ending ex4 treme hunger and poverty, and improving pub5 lic health. 

Æ 


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