Title: 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.
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Commends the cooperative business model for its contributions to the nation's and the world's economy, the jobs it creates, and its social impacts on communities.
Expresses confidence in and support for cooperatives continuing their successes.
Declares that the House of Representatives will: (1) seek to enact legislation ensuring that cooperatives won't be adversely affected; (2) be mindful that proposed legislation affecting other business models does not adversely affect the cooperative business model's competitive position; and (3) seek to enact legislation studying, supporting, encouraging, and promoting the use of the cooperative business model across all policy areas.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 561 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 561

     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

                            October 6, 2017

   Mr. Polis (for himself, Mr. Pocan, and Ms. Pingree) 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;

    (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 and inclusion of vulnerable groups 
        to ensure access to women and youth;
Whereas the Global Food Security Act identified cooperatives among key 
        stakeholders who are actors engaged in efforts to advance global food 
        security programs and objectives and listed cooperatives as part of a 
        comprehensive whole of Government strategy where the President would 
        leverage the resources and expertise of cooperatives as part of our 
        national security interests to promote global food security, resilience, 
        and nutrition consistent with national food security investment plans 
        which are reinforced through programs, activities, and initiatives that 
        lead to--

    (1) self-sufficiency;

    (2) accelerated economic growth, reducing poverty, hunger, and 
malnutrition, especially among women and children;

    (3) increased productivity, income, and livelihoods of small-scale 
producers, especially women;

    (4) building resilience and reduce reliance on emergency food;

    (5) promoting property rights;

    (6) improving nutritional status of women and children;

    (7) aligning and leveraging broader United States strategies in science 
and technology in water, sanitation, and hygiene;

    (8) partnering with higher education; and

    (9) ensuring effective use of taxpayer dollars;

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 the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and 
        Related Agencies appropriations Acts included appropriations in fiscal 
        years 2006 through 2010 for the Department of Agriculture to enter into 
        agreements with academic institutions to conduct research on the 
        national economic impact on all types of cooperatives, which totaled 
        $2,095,000;
Whereas the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives completed a research 
        study in 2009 entitled, ``Research on the Economic Impacts of 
        Cooperatives'', whereby they built a comprehensive list of all United 
        States cooperatives, gathered economic data from cooperatives, and 
        conducted analysis on direct and indirect economic impacts, and 
        developed approaches for measuring the unique economic and social 
        impacts of cooperatives;
Whereas it was found that 30,000 United States cooperatives operate at 73,000 
        places of business throughout the United States, that these cooperatives 
        own $3 trillion worth of assets in the United States economy, provide 
        more than $25 billion in wages, account for nearly $654 billion in 
        revenue, employ 2 million people, and account for more than 350 million 
        memberships nationwide;
Whereas in the education sector, the collective purchasing for educational 
        institutions, the direct delivery of education services to the children 
        of parent-members, or affiliated worker-owned schools with teachers as 
        member-owners account for $1 billion in revenue and $700 million in 
        value-added income, provide 15,000 jobs with $500 million in wages paid, 
        and account for 1,000 child care or early learning cooperatives 
        throughout the United States;
Whereas in the utility services sector, utility cooperatives are tasked with the 
        delivery of public services such as electricity, water, and 
        telecommunications, mainly throughout the rural United States, where 
        investor-owned utility companies typically do not operate due to low 
        profitability;
Whereas in these types of cooperatives, power is literally in the hands of the 
        communities in which they serve, as 42 percent of the United States 
        electric distribution, 75 percent of the Nation's land mass, and 900 of 
        these member-owned cooperatives exist in 47 States and provide power to 
        18 million homes, schools, and businesses;
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 more than 100 million people in the United States belong to over 6,000 
        credit unions;
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 three of the largest mutual insurance providers represent 18 percent of 
        the insurance market in the United States, employ 2.6 million people, 
        and account for $1.2 trillion in net premiums;
Whereas in purchasing and shared-service cooperatives, independent and franchise 
        businesses who rely on them thrive;
Whereas brands such as ACE and True Value Hardware, CARE Pharmacies, Carpet One, 
        and Restaurant Services, Inc., number in strength to an estimated 750 in 
        the United States, and are owned by their independent members and 
        represent $1.1 trillion in collective assets, and $158 billion in 
        revenue;
Whereas top franchises such as Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell all 
        use purchasing cooperatives;
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 2,106 such cooperatives exist and represent over 2 million owners and 
        provide for over 190,000 jobs from familiar consumer names such as Blue 
        Diamond Almonds, Florida's Natural, Ocean Spray, Sun-Maid, and Sunsweet;
Whereas in the food and grocery sector, cooperatives are consumer-owned grocery 
        retail businesses that provide high-quality, organic, and locally 
        sourced products to their member-owners and customers;
Whereas food cooperatives range in size from small, local buying clubs to 
        multistore regional giants that go head-to-head with national chain 
        stores, having combined annual sales of nearly $2 billion, where 38 
        percent of revenue is spent locally, accounting for $1,600 returned to 
        the community for every $1,000 spent;
Whereas these cooperatives do 2.5 times more business with local farms and 
        producers than conventional stores;
Whereas in the housing sector, housing cooperatives and resident-owned 
        communities are an alternative to conventional rental apartments, mobile 
        home parks, and condominiums;
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 
        Washington, DC, and increasingly are becoming an alternative for 
        students at colleges throughout the United States;
Whereas over 6,400 housing cooperatives provide housing to over 1.2 million 
        families;
Whereas 23 colleges and universities offer access to housing cooperative units, 
        saving students an average of 50 percent on their room and board;
Whereas consumer or storefront cooperatives serve a number of the Nation's 
        consumer needs and wants in many industries;
Whereas stores that offer outdoor gear such as REI, automotive parts such as 
        NAPA, as well as those that make and sell baked goods, beer, and wine, 
        and services such as taxi services and pedicabs, are increasing in 
        popularity and use;
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 there are an estimated 350 worker-owned cooperatives that employ over 
        4,500 people in the United States and generate over $500 million in 
        annual revenue;
Whereas one of the largest worker-owned cooperatives, Cooperative Home Care 
        Associates, has been able to reduce their once high employee turnover 
        rate of 60 percent down to 15 percent by providing a more equitable work 
        environment;
Whereas cooperatives are a proven strategy in helping people build a more 
        inclusive economy that is more equitable, participatory, growing, 
        sustainable, and stable;
Whereas a survey of Americans was conducted in April of 2015 and found that 
        cooperatives are preferred over for-profit, investor-owned business 
        models for the values of having the best interests of the consumer in 
        mind, running the business in a trustworthy manner, commitment to and 
        involvement in their communities, commitment to the highest quality of 
        service, offering fair and competitive prices, being counted on to meet 
        a customer's needs, and providing products or services of high value;
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 was established 
        and approved by the Committee on House Administration of the House of 
        Representatives in the 114th and 115th Congress, which united 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 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, will include 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, annually, the National Cooperative Bank publishes the ``NCB Co-op 
        100'', the only annual report of its kind to track the profits and 
        successes of the top 100 revenue-earning cooperative businesses in the 
        United States; and
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
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the cooperative business model for its 
        contributions to the Nation's and the world's economy, the jobs 
        it creates, and its social impacts on the communities in which 
        they operate;
            (2) expresses its confidence in and support for 
        cooperatives toward continuing their successes;
            (3) will seek to enact legislation ensuring that 
        cooperatives won't be adversely affected;
            (4) will be mindful in crafting legislation affecting other 
        business models so that the legislation does not adversely 
        affect the cooperative business model's competitive position; 
        and
            (5) will seek to enact legislation studying, supporting, 
        encouraging, and promoting the use of the cooperative business 
        model across all policy areas that can be an additional 
        alternative toward helping solve a number of the Nation's and 
        the world's policy issues and concerns.
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