Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) helped the National Cooperative Business Association kick off its 100th anniversary Wednesday by announcing the formation of a new bipartisan Congressional Cooperative Business Caucus.
Royce and Pocan will co-chair the newly-formed bipartisan caucus, which was created in conjunction with the NCBA. The caucus aims to forward the message of the cooperative business model within Congress, and educate both Congress and the public about the model.
Pocan said his home county in Wisconsin boasts the highest number of cooperatives in the country.
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"We have a lot to share with other members of Congress," he said.
The group's top priority will be to tell other members of Congress "what co-ops do," Royce told audience members during the announcement at the National Press Club in Washington.
NCBA Interim CEO Judy Ziewacz said during her opening remarks that unlike other corporations, "cooperatives don't pick up and move overseas."
Additionally, she and others discussed the results of a survey with the public on co-ops. The results revealed only 7% of 1,008 people surveyed had any significant knowledge of what co-ops are. The survey also found 25% of participants identified as members of co-ops, while one in three Americans were actually members of a cooperative.
Despite slim overall knowledge of the co-op business model, a large portion of participants – 70% – said co-ops are helpful to consumers.
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