IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 602 

Commending the cooperative business model and the businesses, employees, 

and practitioners nationally and internationally who use it for their 

contributions to the economy and social impacts they make on their 

communities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 

Mr. POCAN (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, and Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Commending the cooperative business model and the businesses, employees, and practitioners nationally and internationally who use it for their contributions to the economy and social impacts they make on their communities. 

Whereas cooperatives are member-owned businesses, owned 

and governed by the people that use the business, create 

its products, or manage its operations, and operate under 

the 7 agreed upon principles of— 

(1) voluntary open membership; 

(2) democratic control; 

(3) owner economic participation; 

(4) autonomy and independence; 

(5) education, training, and information; 


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(6) cooperation among cooperatives; and 

(7) concern for community; 

Whereas cooperative entrepreneurs are often categorized into 

4 variations of the business model—consumer, producer, 

purchasing, and worker cooperatives—and can be found 

in almost every economic sector in the United States, 

throughout all 50 States and territories, and every congressional district in the United States; 

Whereas internationally 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, and aggregated sales 

and marketing; 

Whereas this provides farmers ownership over their economic 

decisions, a focus on learning, and a broader understanding of environmental and social concerns; 

Whereas cooperatives help farmers increase incomes and become more resilient to shocks and stresses by working together to plan and prepare for the future; 

Whereas cooperative values stress self-help, diversity, and inclusion of vulnerable groups to ensure access to women 

and youth; 

Whereas annual Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 

Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriation bills fund the sole domestic program dedicated to cooperative development to improve the economic condition 

of rural areas within the United States Department of 

Agriculture Rural Business-Cooperative Services under 

the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program, and 

grantee organizations use funding to provide technical assistance to cooperatively owned businesses; 


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Whereas the Global Food Security Act identified cooperatives 

among key stakeholders who are actors engaged in efforts 

to advance global food security programs; 

Whereas annual Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 

Drug Administration, and Related Agencies and State 

and Foreign Operations appropriation bills fund titles 

and programs within the United States Agency for International Development and the Department of Agriculture 

under Development Assistance, Feed the Future, Food 

for Peace Title II, and the Cooperative Development Program, and grantee organizations use funding to advance 

international development using cooperative principles 

and the cooperative model; 

Whereas Federal legislation authorized a cooperative research 

program with academic institutions to conduct research 

on the effects of all types of cooperatives on the national 

economy as part of the 2008 farm bill; 

Whereas an Interagency Working Group on Cooperative Development was established in the Agricultural Act of 

2014 and authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to coordinate and chair an interagency working group to foster cooperative development and ensure coordination with 

Federal agencies and national and local cooperative organizations that have cooperative programs and interests, 

and has organized four meetings thus far; 

Whereas a bipartisan Congressional Cooperative Business 

Caucus unites Members of Congress in a cause to create 

a better informed electorate and a more educated public 

on the important role that cooperatives play in the national and international economy, to promote the cooperative business model because it ensures consumers have 

access to high-quality goods and services at competitive 


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prices and costs that better the lives of individuals, families, and their communities, and to address and correct 

awareness challenges among the public and within the 

Government on what a co-op looks like, who are co-ops, 

where are co-ops, and why do people choose them; 

Whereas, the Census Bureau, as part of its 2017 Economic 

Census, included a question in its survey of all businesses 

asking if the business is organized as a cooperative which 

will yield both quantitative and qualitative data on the effects and importance of cooperatives across the American 

economy; 

Whereas the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives 

completed a research study in 2009, entitled, ‘‘Research 

on the Economic Impacts of Cooperatives’’, wherein they 

built a comprehensive list of all United States cooperatives, gathered economic data from cooperatives, analyzed 

the direct and indirect economic impacts of cooperatives, 

and developed approaches for measuring the unique economic and social impacts of cooperatives; 

Whereas, in 2017, the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives found that there were 64,017 cooperatives in 

the United States operating in the commercial sales, 

marketing and production, financial services, social and 

public services, and utilities sectors; 

Whereas in the utility services sector, utility cooperatives are 

tasked with the delivery of public services such as electricity, water, telecommunications, and broadband, mainly throughout the rural United States, where investorowned utility companies typically do not operate due to 

low profitability; 


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Whereas in the financial services sector, cooperatives including credit unions, farm credit banks, and financing organizations that lend to cooperatives ensure that all revenue 

is funneled back into the business to lower interest rates 

and provide other benefits to its member-owners; 

Whereas in the insurance sector, the first cooperative was a 

mutual insurance company founded in 1752 by Benjamin 

Franklin; 

Whereas with no stockholders, policyholders vote in board 

elections and profits earned are cycled back into cost saving programs or returned as dividend payments; 

Whereas in purchasing and shared-service cooperatives, independent and franchise businesses who rely on them 

thrive; 

Whereas in the agriculture sector, cooperatives account for a 

significant portion of the economic activity in the United 

States agriculture and food markets; 

Whereas these producer cooperatives collectively help farmers 

buy required supplies and services to operate their individual farms and help more efficiently market their raw 

or processed products more than if they performed these 

duties individually; 

Whereas food cooperatives range in size from small, local 

buying clubs to multistore regional giants that go headto-head with national chain stores; 

Whereas in the housing sector, housing cooperatives and resident-owned communities are an alternative to conventional rental apartments, mobile home parks, and condominiums; 


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Whereas a housing cooperative owns the building or land and 

empowers each resident with ownership and responsibility; 

Whereas housing cooperatives have roots dating to the late 

1800s and today are mostly concentrated in major cities 

like New York City, Chicago, and the District of Columbia, and increasingly are becoming an alternative for students at colleges throughout the United States; 

Whereas cooperatives allow residents of mobile home parks to 

collectively purchase the land they live on, providing stability and the opportunity to self-govern; 

Whereas, as of 2018, at least 220 mobile home communities 

have converted to a resident-owned model; 

Whereas in worker cooperatives, members both perform the 

work and govern the business; 

Whereas in recent years, many businesses are choosing to 

structure this way so that workers have greater control 

over the business in which they work and own; 

Whereas many sole proprietor, partnership, or family businesses are converting to worker-owned cooperatives when 

faced with a potential closure or buyout; 

Whereas cooperatives have the potential to ease the impending problem of baby boomer small business owners retiring by transitioning employee-owned or consumer-owned 

cooperatives rather than closing the business when the 

owner retires; 

Whereas cooperatives are a proven strategy in helping people 

build a more inclusive economy that is more equitable, 

participatory, growing, sustainable, and stable; and 


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Whereas the national apex organization representing people 

and organizations that use the cooperative business 

model to build a better world, the National Cooperative 

Business Association CLUSA International, celebrated its 

100th anniversary in 2016: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commends the cooperative business model 

3 for its contributions to the Nation’s and the world’s 

4 economy, the jobs it creates, and its social impacts 

5 on the communities in which they operate; 

6 (2) expresses its confidence in and support for 

7 cooperatives toward continuing their successes; 

8 (3) will seek to enact legislation ensuring that 

9 cooperatives won’t be adversely affected; 

10 (4) will be mindful in crafting legislation affect11 ing other business models so that the legislation does 

12 not adversely affect the cooperative business model’s 

13 competitive position; and 

14 (5) will seek to enact legislation studying, sup15 porting, encouraging, and promoting the use of the 

16 cooperative business model across all policy areas 

17 that can be an additional alternative toward helping 

18 solve a number of the Nation’s and the world’s pol19 icy issues and concerns. 

Æ 


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