IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 253 
Recognizing that it is the sense of the United States House of Representatives 
that Socialism poses a significant threat to the freedom, liberty, and 
economic prosperity. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 25, 2019 
Mr. BROOKS of Alabama (for himself, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, 
Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. PERRY, Mr. CALVERT, 
Mr. MCCLINTOCK, and Mr. KING of Iowa) submitted the following resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing that it is the sense of the United States House 
of Representatives that Socialism poses a significant 
threat to the freedom, liberty, and economic prosperity. 
Whereas, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Socialism as 
‘‘any of various economic and political theories advo-
cating collective or governmental ownership and adminis-
tration of the means of production and distribution of 
goods’’; 
Whereas, Merriam-Webster Dictionary also defines Socialism 
as ‘‘a system of society of group living in which there is 
no private property’’; 
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•HRES 253 IH 
Whereas, Merriam-Webster Dictionary also defines Socialism 
as ‘‘a system or condition of society in which the means 
or production are owned and controlled by the state’’; 
Whereas, Socialism and the policies advocated for by self-de-
scribed ‘‘democratic socialists’’ have an underlying histor-
ical connection to the Marxist theory, also known as 
Marxism; 
Whereas, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels originally estab-
lished Marxist theory when they published The Com-
munist Manifesto and Das Kapital; 
Whereas, the theory developed by these books and that of 
Marxism are a direct attack against the capitalist model 
of economic production and opposed the notion of secured 
private property rights; 
Whereas, Karl Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto that 
‘‘[w]hen in the course of development, class distinctions 
have disappeared, and all production has been con-
centrated in the hands of a vast association of the whole 
nation, the public power will lode its political character. 
Political power, properly so called, is merely the orga-
nized power of one class for oppressing another’’; 
Whereas, history has witnessed countless failed Marxist in-
spired regimes. Time and time again, without fail, Marx-
ist and Socialists inspired governments fail. Socialism is 
guaranteed to fail, no matter whether it takes the form 
of democratic Socialism, central planning socialism, or 
authoritarian Socialism, Socialist policies and programs 
do not work; 
Whereas, history has witnessed the rise and fall of enough 
Marxist inspired socialist regimes to recognize that Marx-
ism and Socialism are failed ideologies; 
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•HRES 253 IH 
Whereas, in the 20th century the ideologies of Marxism and 
Socialism spread throughout the world; 
Whereas, throughout the reign of the former Soviet Union, 
socialist policies and programs were responsible for the 
death of millions of his own citizens based on the devas-
tation caused by the implementation of socialist policies 
and programs, resulting in famine, death, and destruc-
tion; 
Whereas, socialist policies and programs failed in the Soviet 
Union, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and complete 
collapse of the Soviet Union. On December 25, 1991, the 
Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time 
over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tri-
color in the early 1990s; 
Whereas, Mao Zedong was the principal Chinese Marxist 
theorist, and the leader of the revolution that created the 
Chinese Communist Party. Mao Zedong served as Chair-
man of the Chinese Communist Party 1943 through 
1976; 
Whereas, socialist policies and programs continue to destroy 
countries in the 21st century; 
Whereas, today, in 2019, the country of Venezuela is in mas-
sive turmoil, with riots in the streets, massive protests, 
disputed elections, and challenges to establish a working 
government that is supported by its citizens; 
Whereas, Venezuela is run by two rival political organiza-
tions, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and Pop-
ular Will, a progressive social-democratic party; 
Whereas, due to the perverse incentives and inherent flaws of 
Marxist theory, Socialism inevitably leads to societal rot, 
resulting in devastation and destruction; 
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•HRES 253 IH 
Whereas, existing socialist policies are destabilizing Ven-
ezuela’s economy and national stability; 
Whereas, Venezuela is rich in natural resources. Venezuela 
has the largest proven barrels of oil reserves in the entire 
world, reported to be 300 million barrels, by World Atlas 
in January of 2019; 
Whereas, because of the socialist policies and leaders in Ven-
ezuela, their inflation rate had soared to 80,000 percent 
by the end of 2018, with nearly 90 percent of the citizens 
of Venezuela living below the poverty line; 
Whereas, because of the socialist policies and leaders in Ven-
ezuela, the average Venezuelan has lost 24 pounds in the 
last year due to malnutrition and lack of access to food, 
water, and other basic nutrients; 
Whereas, there is an alarming amount of support for social-
ism and democratic socialism spreading across the United 
States of America; 
Whereas, a 2018 Gallup Poll showed 57 percent of Demo-
crats have a favorable opinion of socialism, while only 47 
percent of Democrats polled have a positive view of cap-
italism; 
Whereas, an increasing number of Democrat politicians have 
labeled themselves as ‘‘democratic socialists’’ over recent 
years. The line between democrat and socialist has been 
increasingly blurred.; 
Whereas, Senator Bernie Sanders, a top 2016 Democrat 
presidential candidate, has declared, ‘‘I am a democratic 
Socialist’’ and went on to advocate that ‘‘it’s time we had 
Democratic Socialism for working families’’; 
Whereas, freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 
and Rashida Tlaib are registered members of the Demo-
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•HRES 253 IH 
cratic Socialists of America and are self-described social-
ists; 
Whereas, in October of 2018 The White House’s Council of 
Economic Advisers published a report entitled The Op-
portunity Costs of Socialism; 
Whereas, this report highlighted the inherent failure of social-
ism. The report stated that ‘‘[i]n assessing the effects of 
socialist policies, it is important to recognize that they 
provide little material incentive for production and inno-
vation and, by distributing goods and services for ‘free’, 
prevent prices from revealing economically important in-
formation about costs and consumer needs and wants’’; 
Whereas, this report from the Council of Economic Advisers 
is quoted as ‘‘[w]e find that historical proponents of so-
cialist policies and those in the contemporary United 
States share some of their visions and intents. They both 
characterize the distribution of income in market econo-
mies as the unjust result of ‘exploitation’, which should 
be rectified by extensive state control’’; 
Whereas, the report by the Council of Economic Advisers also 
found that there is ‘‘a strong association between greater 
economic freedom and better economic performance’’; 
Whereas, Margaret Thatcher (1976), once argued, ‘‘Socialist 
governments . . . always run out of other people’s 
money’’, and thus the way to prosperity is for the state 
to give ‘‘the people more choice to spend their own money 
in their own way.’’; 
Whereas, free-market capitalism is the greatest engine for 
human advancement in the history of the world, bringing 
more people out of poverty and into prosperity than any 
economic model in the history of mankind; 
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•HRES 253 IH 
Whereas, the United States of America is the single greatest 
Nation in the history of the world, due in large part be-
cause of its system of government that secures private 
property rights of all citizens through the genius of The 
United States Constitution; and 
Whereas, on February 5, 2019, in the State of the Union ad-
dress, President Donald J. Trump declared that ‘‘we are 
alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country’’ 
and that ‘‘America will never be a socialist country’’: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) acknowledges that Marxism and Socialism 
are failed ideologies; 
(2) Socialism poses a significant threat to the 
freedom, liberty, and economic prosperity to all 
countries and citizens around the world; 
(3) Socialism is a failed experiment of govern-
ance that inevitably ends in misery and suffering; 
(4) throughout the history, tradition, and na-
tional civic spirit of the United States of America, 
our country has been a beacon of light shining like 
a lighthouse to the rest of the world demonstrating 
that freedom and liberty are the surest forms of gov-
ernment; and 
(5) stand with President Trump and affirm 
that America will never be a socialist nation. 
Æ 
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