[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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