[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 157 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 157

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a Global 
Marshall Plan holds the potential to demonstrate the commitment of the 
United States to peace and prosperity through poverty reduction in the 
                       United States and abroad.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2011

 Mr. Ellison submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a Global 
Marshall Plan holds the potential to demonstrate the commitment of the 
United States to peace and prosperity through poverty reduction in the 
                       United States and abroad.

Whereas after World War II, the United States established a program to provide 
        for the reconstruction of Europe, named after General George C. Marshall 
        and commonly referred to as the ``Marshall Plan'';
Whereas by providing assistance to Europe through the Marshall Plan, the United 
        States recognized the direct link between economic growth and political 
        stability;
Whereas in 1948, United States financial support of the Marshall Plan 
        represented a generous 13 percent of the Federal budget;
Whereas the Marshall Plan made possible new measures of international 
        cooperation by promoting European economic integration which has 
        enhanced the security, freedom, and prosperity of the United States and 
        the world;
Whereas the United States established foreign assistance programs, as prescribed 
        by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, with a goal of the 
        ``encouragement and sustained support of the people of developing 
        countries in their efforts to acquire the knowledge and resources 
        essential to development and to build the economic, political, and 
        social institutions which will improve the quality of their lives'';
Whereas, in announcing the Millennium Challenge Account on March 15, 2002, 
        President George W. Bush stated ``The advance of development is a 
        central commitment of American foreign policy. As a nation founded on 
        the dignity and value of every life, America's heart breaks because of 
        the suffering and senseless death we see in our world. We work for 
        prosperity and opportunity because they're right. It's the right thing 
        to do.'';
Whereas the World Bank reports that more than 1,400,000,000 people worldwide 
        live on less than $1.25 per day, and another 1,600,000,000 people 
        struggle to survive on less than $2 per day;
Whereas the United States has one of the highest levels of poverty among 
        industrialized countries;
Whereas the United States should also work towards improving the life of its own 
        poorest population, as over 14 percent live below the Federal poverty 
        level;
Whereas over 16,000,000 people in the United States live in extreme poverty and 
        almost 21 percent of all children living in the United States live in 
        poverty;
Whereas there are more than 43,000,000 persons living on incomes less than the 
        Federal Poverty Level, including nearly 10,000,000 African-American 
        persons, nearly 2,000,000 Asian persons, and over 12,000,000 Hispanic 
        persons;
Whereas, at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States 
        joined more than 180 countries in committing to work toward the United 
        Nations Millennium Development Goals to improve life for the world's 
        poorest people by 2015;
Whereas more than halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium 
        Development Goals, major advances in the fight against poverty and 
        hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global 
        economic and food crises, a progress report by the United Nations has 
        found;
Whereas empowering people in the United States and abroad to support themselves 
        will provide a solid foundation for global economic recovery;
Whereas the economic gap between the rich and the poor is even greater today 
        than it was following World War II, when the United States Congress 
        deemed the Marshall Plan essential to the security of the United States;
Whereas reducing poverty may assist in warding off harsh conditions that 
        extremists may exploit to rally support for political violence;
Whereas United States citizens and nongovernmental organizations have proposed a 
        new Global Marshall Plan including--

    (1) providing increased funding to eliminate poverty, homelessness, 
hunger, inadequate education, and health care domestically and globally in 
addition to restoring the global environment;

    (2) revising existing trade and other agreements in which the United 
States is currently involved so that such agreements favor improving the 
lives of the poor around the world, and approaching future agreements with 
like intent; and

    (3) providing training to children and adults worldwide in techniques 
of nonviolent communication, diversity, environmental sustainability, 
family and parental support, stress reduction, emergency health techniques, 
diet and exercise, and caring for others who are in need of help; and

Whereas a Global Marshall Plan, embracing a strategy of generosity, would 
        reaffirm the United States commitment to ending global and United States 
        poverty: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the elimination of poverty and hunger should remain key 
        foreign and domestic policy goals for the United States;
            (2) a Global Marshall Plan holds the potential to transform 
        development assistance in a manner that would significantly 
        reduce poverty; and
            (3) the President should implement a Global Marshall Plan 
        to increase United States assistance towards the elimination of 
        poverty.
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