Image Credits: RamConnect (Students for Socialism)
On Friday, Nov. 21, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Con.Res.58: the Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism Resolution. The vote passed 285-98.
Eighty-six Democratic representatives voted to approve the measure, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Pennsylvania Representative Chrissy Houlahan, joining 199 Republicans on the matter.
The resolution has not been moved to the Senate since its passing in the House, according to the resolution’s page on the Congress website. There are no laws being proposed in this text; this resolution is purely a symbolic gesture.
Introduced Oct. 24 by Florida Republican Representative Maria Salazar, the resolution lines up with Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor of New York City, who would win the election a week later. Mamdani has proved to be a polarizing figure in the political world, with President Donald Trump calling him a “100% Communist Lunatic” on Truth Social and New York Democratic Representative Thomas Suozzi labeling him a “bad example” on his website, saying he has the “wrong solutions” and “show how the [Democrat] party is falling short.” The date the resolution passed in the House could also be interpreted as a symbolic gesture, being passed hours before Mamdani met with President Trump in the Oval Office.
What H.Con.Res.58 Includes
The resolution begins with stating that the socialist ideology “necessitates a concentration of power” that has “collapsed into communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships.” The resolution claims that the socialist ideology has led to “famine, mass murders, and killing of over 100,000,000 people worldwide,” attributing these actions and “the greatest crimes in history” to figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, among other figures with the communist and socialist ideologies. It also states how millions died and were sent to concentration camps during the Bolshevik Revolution, how the Great Leap Forward in China led to mass starvation, how millions are starving in North Korea, how Cuban citizens were left with “nothing but the clothes on their backs” under Castro, and how the implementation of socialism in Venezuela has turned it into a “failed state.”
The second half of the resolution includes quotes from former presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The quote by Jefferson is especially important, stating that taking from one to give to others when “it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers have acquired too much” violates everyone’s “guarantee of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it,” essentially criticizing socialism by asserting that people have the right to what they earn, even if they earn more than others. The final line of the resolution exemplifies this quote, and where Congress stands on the matter, stating that they “denounce socialism in all its forms” and “oppose the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.” Again, there are no measures to prevent said policies in this resolution.
However, this is not the first time this bill has shown up in Congress. On Jan. 25, 2023, Rep. Salazar introduced H.Con.Res.9, also referred to as the Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism resolution. This resolution was passed on Feb. 2, 2023, with 328 representatives (including 109 Democrats) voting in favor, but did not make it to the Senate, according to the resolution’s page on the Congress website. Rep. Houlahan also voted in favor of this resolution. The 2023 resolution is nearly identical to the 2025 one, with the only differences being that the 2023 version wrote, “Whereas the author of the Declaration of Independence, President Thomas Jefferson …” and “Whereas the ‘Father of the Constitution’, President James Madison …” and the 2025 version wrote, “Whereas President Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence …” and “Whereas President James Madison, the ‘Father of the Constitution’ …”
WCU’s Students for Socialism President Responds
Patrick Baker-Evans, the President of WCU’s Students for Socialism (SFS) club was willing to answer questions relating to this resolution and if it were to impact the club. When asked for his initial reaction, he said he was indifferent, saying, “Congress likes to do these performative condemnations every so often. The US government has historically never been friendly towards socialism, so I wasn’t surprised about this. Especially now, with socialist politicians like Mamdani gaining status nationally, I expected the establishment Democrats might unite with Republicans to do something like this.”
When asked if anything in the resolution stood out, Baker-Evans replied, “The resolution has the same talking points against socialism we see all the time. There’s nothing new. My response to it is [that] the heart of socialism comes from the grassroots activity of the working class and the marginalized. It does not come from great men, or political parties. It is these people coming together and fighting for a better world.” He continued after being asked if he was worried about potential precedents regarding how socialism would be viewed. “I don’t think this will significantly impact how people view socialism. There has been over a century of anti-socialism in America. The ruling class, who these politicians represent, are terrified of politicians like Zohran Mamdani being elected by the people.”
When asked about the potential impact on SFS, such as perception and membership, Baker-Evans stated, “This resolution won’t impact SFS much. We’re at a public university, so our club is protected by the First Amendment. As for the question on if it will impact our membership, I doubt it. The people who typically join our club are usually already fully on board with socialism or are fellow travelers.” Despite not thinking this resolution would impact the club, Baker-Evans said, “If it does, we’ll do what we always do and organize against it.”
Jack Snock is a fourth-year Political Science major with a Journalism minor. AS993182@wcupa.edu.