; Whereas in the financial services sector, cooperatives including credit unions, farm credit banks, and financing organizations that lend to cooperatives ensure that all revenue is funneled back into the business to lower interest rates and provide other benefits to its member-owners; Whereas more than 100 million people in the United States belong to over 6,000 credit unions; Whereas in the insurance sector, the first cooperative was a mutual insurance company founded in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin; Whereas with no stockholders, policyholders vote in board elections and profits earned are cycled back into cost saving programs or returned as dividend payments; Whereas three of the largest mutual insurance providers represent 18 percent of the insurance market in the United States, employ 2.6 million people, and account for $1.2 trillion in net premiums; Whereas in purchasing and shared-service cooperatives, independent and franchise businesses who rely on them thrive; Whereas brands such as ACE and True Value Hardware, CARE Pharmacies, Carpet One, and Restaurant Services, Inc., number in strength to an estimated 750 in the United States, and are owned by their independent members and represent $1.1 trillion in collective assets, and $158 billion in revenue; Whereas top franchises such as Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell all use purchasing cooperatives; Whereas in the agriculture sector, cooperatives account for a significant portion of the economic activity in the United States agriculture and food markets; Whereas these producer cooperatives collectively help farmers buy required supplies and services to operate their individual farms and help more efficiently market their raw or processed products more than if they performed these duties individually; Whereas 2,106 such cooperatives exist and represent over 2 million owners and provide for over 190,000 jobs from familiar consumer names such as Blue Diamond Almonds, Florida’s Natural, Ocean Spray, Sun-Maid, and Sunsweet