[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 349 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 349
Encouraging the consumption of Fair Trade Certified coffee.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 25, 2003
Mr. Stark (for himself, Ms. Lee, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr.
Farr, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Brown of
Ohio, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Sabo, Mr. Filner, and
Ms. Millender-McDonald) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the
Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Encouraging the consumption of Fair Trade Certified coffee.
Whereas in the context of the global economy, consumer choices and institutional
purchases affect communities and the environment throughout the world;
Whereas since 1997 the price of coffee has declined nearly 70 percent on the
world market and has recently reached its lowest level in a century;
Whereas the collapse of coffee prices has resulted in a widespread humanitarian
crisis for 25 million coffee growers in more than 50 developing
countries where coffee is a critical source of rural employment and
foreign exchange earnings;
Whereas coffee accounts for approximately 80 percent of export revenues for
Burundi, 54 percent of export revenues for Ethiopia, 34 percent of
export revenues for Uganda, 31 percent of export revenues for Rwanda, 30
percent of export revenues for Nicaragua, 26 percent of export revenues
for El Salvador, and 25 percent of export revenues for Honduras;
Whereas according to the International Coffee Organization, coffee producing
countries are now only earning $5.5 billion in revenue from a $70
billion global coffee industry, while in 1989, coffee producing
countries earned $12 billion in revenue from a $30 billion global coffee
industry;
Whereas the International Coffee Organization reports that in Guatemala, the
coffee harvest labor force has been cut in half to 250,000, while in
Columbia the coffee harvest labor force has decreased by 200,000 jobs;
Whereas the World Bank reports that 600,000 permanent and temporary coffee
workers in Central America have been left unemployed in the last two
years;
Whereas the World Food Program estimates that low international coffee prices
have created 150,000 refugees, hundreds of whom have died while
thousands have illegally immigrated to the United States in search of
work;
Whereas small-scale coffee farmers who receive local market prices for their
harvests cannot meet their costs of production and are therefore forced
into a cycle of poverty, unemployment, debt, and migration;
Whereas The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal
report that coffee farmers are switching to cultivating illegal crops,
such as coca and opium poppy, because these crops are more profitable in
light of low international coffee prices in traditional coffee-growing
countries;
Whereas the Office of National Drug Control Policy reports that illegal drug
usage has cost the United States over $160 billion dollars;
Whereas Fair Trade Certification is a solution that ensures a minimum price per
pound of coffee of $1.26 for producers and grants them access to credit;
Whereas Fair Trade Certification requires the implementation of sustainable
environmental management plans and encourages the cultivation of organic
and shade grown coffee, which eliminates the use of harmful chemicals
and preserves the critical biodiversity and habitat for migratory birds
and other animals;
Whereas coffee is a cash crop and the income earned through the sale of Fair
Trade Certified coffee enables coffee farmers and their cooperatives to
invest in community development programs, such as health care and
education, and in environmentally sound technologies that save water,
protect soils, and conserve biodiversity;
Whereas Fair Trade Certification enables small-scale farmers to support their
families and invest in their farms and communities, thereby maintaining
economic and social stability in rural areas and increasing overall
foreign exchange earnings for their countries;
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee markets provide a critical economic
alternative for more than 675,000 coffee farmers and their families in
23 countries around the world who are able to bypass exploitative
middlemen and sell their coffee directly to markets in North America and
Europe;
Whereas the Fair Trade Certified coffee market is growing at a rapid rate of
more than 50 percent a year, and more than 160 companies, including
Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Seattle's Best, Green Mountain, and Sara Lee,
now offer Fair Trade Certified coffee;
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee is now served in dining halls, cafes, and at
catered events on more than 200 college campuses nationwide, including
Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, the
University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Michigan, Duke
University, Oklahoma State University, Georgetown University, and the
University of Iowa;
Whereas there is an independent market for Fair Trade Certified coffee, but the
overall supply of Fair Trade Certified coffee far exceeds current market
demand by at least 130 million pounds;
Whereas the United States Agency for International Development supports several
Fair Trade farmer cooperatives in developing countries;
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee is already served in several locations in
the House of Representatives and the Senate, in all dining and cafe
venues in the World Bank, and in many European government agencies,
including the European Parliament, the British House of Commons, the
British Departments of Trade and Industry and International Development,
and in the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices;
Whereas Fair Trade Certified coffee is of a comparable price and taste to other
high-quality coffees and has been recognized as such by independent,
internationally respected coffee tasting experts; and
Whereas support for Fair Trade Certified coffee furthers United States foreign
policy goals by stemming the wave of illegal immigrants from coffee-
growing regions, providing critical economic alternatives to the
planting of illegal crops, and helping to promote economic and social
stability and community development in rural areas: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the legislative and executive branches of the Federal
government have a responsibility to set a high standard of
ethics with regard to their economic activities, and should
therefore ensure that the goods and services they purchase and
use are produced in the fairest manner possible;
(2) Fair Trade Certified coffee should be made available at
all events and food service locations in the legislative and
executive branches of the Federal government, including through
indirect purchases by food service providers; and
(3) information should be made available to the public and
to State and local governments about the importance of Fair
Trade Certified coffee.
<all>