IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1174 
Expressing support for the designation of October 2020 as ‘‘National Co- 
Op Month’’ and commending the cooperative business model and the 
member-owners, businesses, employees, farmers, ranchers, and practi-
tioners that use the cooperative business model to positively impact 
the economy and society. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 1, 2020 
Mr. POCAN (for himself, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. CASE, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KIND, Mr. 
SAN NICOLAS, and Mr. WELCH) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of October 2020 as 
‘‘National Co-Op Month’’ and commending the coopera-
tive business model and the member-owners, businesses, 
employees, farmers, ranchers, and practitioners that use 
the cooperative business model to positively impact the 
economy and society. 
Whereas during the global COVID–19 pandemic, cooperatives 
have taken extraordinary steps to serve their member- 
owners and communities; 
Whereas a cooperative— 
(1) is a business that is owned and governed by its 
members, who are the individuals who use the business, 
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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; 
(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 every congressional dis-
trict 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 
United States agriculture and food markets; 
Whereas the roughly 1,800 agricultural cooperatives in Amer-
ica operate more than 8,000 facilities, employ $96 billion 
in assets, and generate nearly $204 billion in business; 
Whereas the majority of America’s 2 million farmers belong 
to an agricultural cooperative; 
Whereas agricultural cooperatives offer members the oppor-
tunity to tap into 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; 
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Whereas agricultural cooperatives add significant benefits to 
the economic well-being of rural America by providing 
over 250,000 jobs with annual wages totaling over $8 bil-
lion; 
Whereas agricultural cooperatives provide resources such as 
low-cost supplies, effective marketing, and services to 
their member-owners; 
Whereas farmer members in agricultural cooperatives have 
the opportunity to pool resources and reinvest profits into 
its members’ communities; 
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, and aggregated sales and mar-
keting; 
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 American history to advance civil rights and 
to help ensure that all people have equal access to eco-
nomic 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-
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ness model to advance international development, nutri-
tion, resilience, and economic security; 
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 4 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 Eco-
nomic Census, asked each business if the business was 
organized as a cooperative, and the responses of busi-
nesses yielded both quantitative and qualitative data on 
the effects and importance of cooperatives across the 
economy of the United States; 
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Whereas throughout the rural United States, many utility 
services providers operate as cooperatives and are tasked 
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 evolving 
needs of their member-owners and help rural individuals 
in the United States prosper; 
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 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 
buying clubs to multistore regional giants that compete 
with chain stores with locations across the United States; 
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-
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native for students at colleges throughout the United 
States; 
Whereas shared equity housing cooperatives are a critical op-
tion for preserving long-term, affordable housing; 
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 2019, not less than 1,000 manufactured home 
communities were resident owned, accounting for ap-
proximately 2 percent of all manufactured home commu-
nities; 
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 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-
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 
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(C) its positive impacts on local commu-
nities; 
(3) expresses confidence in, and support for, co-
operatives to continue their successes; 
(4) will seek to pass legislation that provides for 
studying, supporting, encouraging, and promoting 
the use of the cooperative business model across all 
policy areas; and 
(5) 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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