[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 172 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 172
Affirming the commitment and leadership of the United States to improve
the lives of the world's 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty
and conditions of misery.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 26, 2005
Ms. McCollum of Minnesota (for herself, Mr. Leach, Mr. Shays, Ms.
Carson, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Olver, Ms. Watson, Mr. Serrano,
Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Kind, Mr. Markey, Mr. Jackson of
Illinois, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Lee, Mr. Sabo, Mr.
George Miller of California, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mrs. Christensen, Mr.
Case, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Farr, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Lynch,
Mr. Fattah, Mr. Honda, Mrs. Maloney, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Meeks of New York,
Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Payne) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Affirming the commitment and leadership of the United States to improve
the lives of the world's 1.3 billion people living in extreme poverty
and conditions of misery.
Whereas on March 14, 2002, President George W. Bush stated: ``[The] growing
divide between wealth and poverty, between opportunity and misery, is
both a challenge to our compassion and a source of instability. We must
confront it. We must include every African, every Asian, every Latin
American, every Muslim, in an expanding circle of development.'';
Whereas President Bush further stated at the Monterrey Summit on March 22, 2002:
``We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight
against poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human
dignity. We fight against poverty because faith requires it and
conscience demands it. We fight against poverty with a growing
conviction that major progress is within our reach.'';
Whereas the September 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States
provides: ``A world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of
the human race lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor
stable. Including all of the world's poor in an expanding circle of
development--and opportunity--is a moral imperative and one of the top
priorities of United States international policy.'';
Whereas on behalf of the American people, President Bush on March 14, 2002
stated: ``I have an ambitious goal for the developed world, that we
ought to double the size of the world's poorest economies within a
decade.'';
Whereas the bipartisan Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States recommends: ``A comprehensive U.S.
strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies that
encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities for people
to improve the lives of their families and enhance prospects for their
children.'';
Whereas the United States seeks to advance sustainable development and economic
growth, eliminate extreme poverty and contribute to upholding the
principals of human dignity, equality, and equity therefore enhancing
the well being and security of the American people by creating a world
that is safer, more secure, politically free, as well as free from
conditions of human misery;
Whereas despite the extraordinary economic prosperity of the world's wealthiest
nations, 1.3 billion human beings are living in extreme poverty on $1
per day or less in conditions of economic and physical misery;
Whereas more than 800 million children, women and men around the world are
suffering daily from hunger and lack of nourishment;
Whereas 10 million children are dying each year of preventable causes, including
4 million newborn babies in their first month of life;
Whereas one woman is dying every minute, nearly 1,500 per day, during pregnancy
and childbirth as a result of lack of access to basic health care;
Whereas in 2004 the global AIDS epidemic killed 3.1 million lives, nearly 5
million new people became HIV infected, nearly 40 million people on the
planet are living with HIV or AIDS and some 15 million children in
Africa alone have become orphans as a result of the HIV virus;
Whereas in the developing world over 100 million children of primary school age
are unable to attend school, including 60 million girls;
Whereas worldwide women and girls are suffering from physical and sexual
violence in epidemic proportions, women own less than 1 percent of land
worldwide, as well as confront cultural and economic barriers to
achieving equality with men and boys in accessing basic educational,
health, and economic opportunities;
Whereas the destruction and degradation of natural resources in developing
nations reduces food production, undermines local economies, and
contributes to hunger, poor health, and poverty;
Whereas the United States signed and committed to achieve the Millennium
Declaration along with 188 countries at the United Nations Millennium
Summit in September 2000;
Whereas the Millennium Declaration set forth the Millennium Development Goals
which seek to improve life for the world's poorest people by 2015
through a global commitment to halve extreme poverty and hunger, achieve
universal primary education, promote gender equity and women's
empowerment, improve maternal and child health, combat HIV/AIDS and
other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a
global partnership to achieve these goals; and
Whereas on March 14, 2002, President George W. Bush stated: ``America supports
the international development goals in the United Nations Millennium
Declaration and believes that the goals are a shared responsibility of
developed and developing countries.'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) reaffirms President George W. Bush's support for the
United Nations Millennium Declaration and supports a sustained
United States commitment to work with the world's wealthy,
middle income, and developing nations, especially G-8
countries, to advance the policy reforms, leadership, and
resources necessary for the attainment of the goals by 2015 to
reduce extreme poverty and promote human dignity as set forth
in the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development
Goals;
(2) urges the President, the Secretary of State, and other
executive branch officials to use every opportunity, including
at the forthcoming G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland and the
United Nations Summit on the Millennium Declaration in New
York, to provide continued United States leadership and put
forth the necessary United States share of resources to help
achieve the Millennium Development Goals; and
(3) expresses profound gratitude for the compassion and
generosity of the American people and their steadfast desire to
promote global security and prosperity while striving to
eliminate extreme poverty and human suffering.
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