; Whereas the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives completed a research study in 2009 entitled, Research on the Economic Impacts of Cooperatives , whereby they built a comprehensive list of all United States cooperatives, gathered economic data from cooperatives, and conducted analysis on direct and indirect economic impacts, and developed approaches for measuring the unique economic and social impacts of cooperatives; Whereas it was found that 30,000 United States cooperatives operate at 73,000 places of business throughout the United States, that these cooperatives own $3 trillion worth of assets in the United States economy, provide more than $25 billion in wages, account for nearly $654 billion in revenue, employ 2 million people, and account for more than 350 million memberships nationwide; Whereas in the education sector, the collective purchasing for educational institutions, the direct delivery of education services to the children of parent-members, or affiliated worker-owned schools with teachers as member-owners account for $1 billion in revenue and $700 million in value-added income, provide 15,000 jobs with $500 million in wages paid, and account for 1,000 child care or early learning cooperatives throughout the United States; Whereas in the utility services sector, utility cooperatives are tasked with the delivery of public services such as electricity, water, and telecommunications, mainly throughout the rural United States, where investor-owned utility companies typically do not operate due to low profitability; Whereas in these types of cooperatives, power is literally in the hands of the communities in which they serve, as 42 percent of the United States electric distribution, 75 percent of the Nation’s land mass, and 900 of these member-owned cooperatives exist in 47 States and provide power to 18 million homes, schools, and businesses