[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 215 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 215


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 15, 2003

        Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Honoring and congratulating chambers of commerce for their efforts that 
 contribute to the improvement of communities and the strengthening of 
                     local and regional economies.

Whereas chambers of commerce throughout the United States contribute to the 
        improvement of their communities and the strengthening of their local 
        and regional economies;
Whereas in the Detroit, Michigan area, the Detroit Regional Chamber, originally 
        known as the Detroit Board of 


Commerce, typifies the public-spirited contributions made by the chambers 
of commerce;

Whereas, on June 30, 1903, the Detroit Board of Commerce was formally organized 
        with 253 charter members;
Whereas the Detroit Board of Commerce played a prominent role in the formation 
        of the United States Chamber of Commerce;
Whereas the Detroit Board of Commerce participated in the ``Good Roads for 
        Michigan'' campaign in 1910 and 1911, helping to gain voter approval of 
        a $2,000,000 bond proposal to improve the roads of Wayne County, 
        Michigan;
Whereas, in 1925, the Safety Council of the Detroit Board of Commerce helped 
        develop the first traffic lights in Detroit;
Whereas, in 1927, the Detroit Board of Commerce brought together all of the 
        cities, villages, and townships in southeast Michigan to tentatively 
        establish boundaries for a metropolitan district for Detroit, embracing 
        all or parts of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, and Washtenaw Counties 
        at the request of the United States Census Bureau in advance of the 1930 
        census;
Whereas, in 1932, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board designated the Detroit Board 
        of Commerce as the authorized agent for stock subscriptions in the 
        Federal Home Loan Bank, as an early response to the Great Depression;
Whereas, in 1945, the Detroit Board of Commerce promoted the extension of 
        Victory Loans to veterans returning from service in the United States 
        Armed Forces during World War II as a way of expressing gratitude for 
        the veterans' wartime service, and raised more than half of the total 
        amount contributed in Wayne County, Michigan;
Whereas, in 1969, the Detroit Board of Commerce, then known as the Greater 
        Detroit Chamber of Commerce, was instrumental in the establishment of a 
        bus network connecting inner-city workers with their jobs, which 
        resulted in the creation of the Southeast Metropolitan Transportation 
        Authority, now known as SMART;
Whereas the Detroit Board of Commerce has been known by several names during its 
        century of existence, eventually becoming known as the Detroit Regional 
        Chamber in November 1997;
Whereas the Detroit Regional Chamber is the largest chamber of commerce in the 
        United States and has been in existence for over 100 years;
Whereas more than 19,000 businesses across southeast Michigan have decided to 
        make an initial investment in the Detroit Regional Chamber to help 
        develop the region;
Whereas the Detroit Regional Chamber has supported the concept of regionalism in 
        southeast Michigan, representing the concerns of businesses and the 
        region as a whole;
Whereas the mission of the Detroit Regional Chamber is to help power the economy 
        of southeastern Michigan;
Whereas the Detroit Regional Chamber successfully advocates public policy 
        concerns on behalf of its members at the local, regional, State, and 
        National levels;
Whereas the Detroit Regional Chamber has implemented programs promoting 
        diversity in its work force and has won recognition for such efforts;
Whereas the Detroit Regional Chamber is committed to promoting the interests of 
        its members in the global marketplace through economic development 
        efforts; and
Whereas on June 30, 2003, the Detroit Regional Chamber celebrates its 100th 
        anniversary: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress honors and congratulates chambers of commerce for their 
efforts that contribute to the improvement of their communities and the 
strengthening of their local and regional economies.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 14, 2003.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.