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. HAS-
TINGS, 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 Sustain-
able 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 in-
cludes 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 tar-
gets 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 rec-
ognizes that ending extreme poverty must go hand-in- 
hand with strategies to improve health and access to edu-
cation, 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 mem-
ber state negotiations at the United Nations, reflecting 
the longstanding bipartisan support for the foreign policy 
and development priorities that Republican and Demo-
cratic 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 traf-
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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 end-
ing extreme hunger and poverty, achieving universal pri-
mary education, promoting gender equality and women 
empowerment, reducing child mortality, improving mental 
health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensur-
ing environmental sustainability, and developing a global 
partnership for development; 
Whereas, according to the Millennium Development Goals 
2015 report, the global mobilization behind the goals re-
sulted 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 Sus-
tainable Development should continue to include a com-
mitment 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 de-
clined by 56 percent between 1990 to 2015, with most 
progress occurring since 2000 when the Millennium De-
velopment 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 Devel-
opment Goals; 
Whereas women and girls still face violence and gender-based 
discrimination that limit their economic opportunities; 
Whereas the poverty burden remains overwhelmingly con-
centrated in some parts of the world, including sub-Saha-
ran Africa and South Asia; 
Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in-
troduces new focus areas that are key to ending extreme 
poverty, including accountable government institutions, 
which came out of the understanding that structural in-
equalities 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 Millen-
nium 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 traf-
ficking, 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 mar-
ried off before their 18th birthday; 
Whereas one of the targets of the 2030 Agenda on Sustain-
able 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 coun-
tries; 
Whereas Goal 16 is key to ensuring that progress and pros-
perity 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 coun-
tries with high income inequality, which are majorly de-
veloping countries; 
Whereas many victims of exploitation and trafficking are peo-
ple 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 insti-
tutions; 
Whereas sustained United States leadership in supporting the 
Sustainable Development Goals will ensure that we can 
leverage our resources and expertise with the private sec-
tor, governments, faith-based organizations, and non-
profits to build a better and safer world for generations 
to come; 
Whereas the expanded Sustainable Development Goals rep-
resent 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 for-
eign assistance to focus on trade and investment from the 
private sector to better account for their important con-
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tributions in development, health, and economic and so-
cial opportunity; and 
Whereas support for the Sustainable Development Goals will 
continue to be counted through direct multilateral devel-
opment assistance, domestic spending, grants, subsidies, 
loans, public-private partnerships, and other financial in-
struments such as guarantees and direct investment in-
struments: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) it is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that— 
(A) the Sustainable Development Goals of 
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 
is a critical international blueprint to end pov-
erty, protect the planet, and ensure that all 
people can live in peace and prosperity by 2030; 
and 
(B) the United States, which adopted the 
Sustainable Development Goals, should recom-
mit to implementing its commitments under the 
Sustainable Development Goals; and 
(2) the House of Representatives— 
(A) reaffirms its support for multilateral 
organizations such as the United Nations and 
its role in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sus-
tainable Development; and 
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(B) reaffirms its support for meeting key 
goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable De-
velopment, including gender equality, ending ex-
treme hunger and poverty, and improving pub-
lic health. 
Æ 
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