IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 828 
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 practi-
tioners who use the cooperative business model to positively impact 
the economy and society. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 30, 2023 
Mr. POCAN (for himself, Mr. BAIRD, and Mr. BOWMAN) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of October 2023 as 
‘‘National Co-Op Month’’ and commending the coopera-
tive 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 oper-
ation of the business; and 
(2) operates under the 7 principles of— 
(A) voluntary open membership; 
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•HRES 828 IH 
(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 territories, and in every congressional 
district in the United States; 
Whereas cooperatives help farmers increase incomes and be-
come more resilient to economic business cycles by work-
ing 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 over 
$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 oppor-
tunity to access the 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 
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•HRES 828 IH 
States by providing more than 250,000 jobs with annual 
wages totaling more than $11,000,000,000; 
Whereas agricultural cooperatives provide resources to their 
member-owners, such as low-cost supplies, effective mar-
keting, 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 them-
selves and gain access to local and global markets, train-
ing, improved inputs, conservation programs and aggre-
gated sales and marketing; 
Whereas the cooperative business model provides farmers 
ownership over their economic decisions, a focus on learn-
ing, 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 es-
tablished 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 Develop-
ment use cooperative principles and the cooperative busi-
ness model to advance international development, nutri-
tion, resilience, and economic security; 
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•HRES 828 IH 
Whereas the Interagency Working Group on Cooperative De-
velopment— 
(1) is an interagency group that is coordinated and 
chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture to foster coopera-
tive 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, 
had 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 high- 
quality 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 coopera-
tives, 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 re-
sponses of businesses yielded both quantitative and quali-
tative 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 
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•HRES 828 IH 
with the delivery of public services, such as electricity, 
water, telecommunications, and broadband, in areas 
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 resil-
ient communities and help rural individuals in the United 
States prosper; 
Whereas electric cooperatives serve 56 percent of the Nation’s 
landmass including 92 percent of persistent poverty coun-
ties and energy cooperatives power over 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, includ-
ing 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 elec-
tions, and earned profits cycle back into cost-saving pro-
grams 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 in-
stitutions to multi-store regional giants that compete with 
chain stores with locations across the United States; 
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Whereas food cooperatives support local producers in all 50 
States and reduce food insecurity; 
Whereas in the housing sector, housing cooperatives and resi-
dent-owned communities in which members own the 
building or land— 
(1) are an alternative to conventional rental apart-
ments, manufactured home parks, and condominiums; 
and 
(2) empower each resident with ownership and re-
sponsibility; 
Whereas housing cooperatives have roots dating to the late 
1800s and are increasingly becoming a housing alter-
native for students at colleges throughout the United 
States; 
Whereas shared equity housing cooperatives are a critical and 
proven strategy for preserving long-term, affordable hous-
ing; 
Whereas cooperatives allow residents of manufactured home 
communities to collectively purchase the land on which 
they live, providing stability and the opportunity to self- 
govern; 
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 the business can 
continue to serve its community; and 
Whereas the cooperative business model allows business own-
ers to retire and transfer business ownership to employ-
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•HRES 828 IH 
ees or consumers, protecting local ownership and sup-
porting local communities: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses support for the designation of 
‘‘National Co-Op Month’’; 
(2) commends the cooperative business model 
for— 
(A) its contributions to the economy; 
(B) the jobs it creates; and 
(C) its positive impacts on local commu-
nities; 
(3) expresses confidence in, and support for, co-
operatives to continue their successes; and 
(4) will be mindful in crafting legislation that 
affects business models that are not the cooperative 
business model so that the legislation does not ad-
versely affect the cooperative business model. 
Æ 
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