[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 387 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 387

 Encouraging minority participation in the goals of Financial Literacy 
                         Month for April, 2006.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2006

 Ms. Millender-McDonald submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Encouraging minority participation in the goals of Financial Literacy 
                         Month for April, 2006.

Whereas in order to succeed in our dynamic American economy, it is imperative 
        that all young people have access to the skills, knowledge, and 
        experience necessary to manage their personal finances and obtain 
        general financial literacy;
Whereas it is important that social and economic factors do not hinder the 
        availability of educational tools that young adults need to make 
        informed financial decisions;
Whereas personal financial education integrates instruction in valuable life 
        skills with instruction in economics, including income and taxes, money 
        management, investment and spending, and the importance of personal 
        savings to prepare students for the workforce and for financial 
        independence by developing their sense of individual responsibility, 
        improving their life skills, and providing them with a thorough 
        understanding of consumer economics that will benefit them for their 
        entire lives;
Whereas recent studies have identified the lack of financial literacy as a 
        significant problem for minorities and immigrants in the United States, 
        and often these groups deal in informal cash economies, or rely on 
        ethnic savings and credit systems (such as the various cultural informal 
        ``round robin'' systems used to pool savings for large purchases), or 
        some combination of the two;
Whereas studies have found many of minority and immigrant individuals and 
        households are reluctant to engage in a formal financial relationship 
        with banks because of negative historical experiences or perceptions;
Whereas, in a ``new ownership society'', it is important that minorities are 
        taught that financial services can be useful tools to manage personal 
        finances more effectively and to provide a cushion against unforeseen 
        events;
Whereas awareness about the benefits of having a deposit relationship with a 
        financial institution will lead to greater access to credit for the 
        purpose of purchasing a home or other wealth-building items in these 
        communities;
Whereas this deposit relationship and access to credit will set into motion at 
        least 20 consumer protection laws and regulations aimed at ensuring that 
        historically disadvantaged consumers are safeguarded from unfair, 
        discriminatory, or predatory lending practices;
Whereas entrepreneurship is one of the pillars of American economics and 
        individual financial independence, understanding the finances is one of 
        the most important pieces to owning and operating a successful small 
        business;
Whereas, while the 4-year survival rates have risen in recent years to 72.6 
        percent for nonminority-owned businesses establishments, the survival 
        rates for minority-owned businesses were lower, including Asian and 
        Pacific Islander-owned at 72.1 percent, Hispanic-owned at 68.6 percent, 
        American Indian and Native Alaskan-owned at 67 percent, and Black-owned 
        at 61 percent;
Whereas, with proper management and financial training, survival rates rise to 
        80 to 90 percent;
Whereas at the heart of the reasons these businesses fail are poor financial 
        planning and the general mishandling of funds;
Whereas most Americans believe a long career of hard work equates to a fruitful 
        retirement in their older years, more than half of working Americans are 
        not putting aside enough to maintain anything like our present standard 
        of living upon retirement;
Whereas by the year 2010, when 78,000,000 Americans will be 65 years old or 
        older, 30 percent will have no retirement savings and today's average 
        50-year old has only $2,300 saved toward retirement;
Whereas homeownership is valued not only as a stabilizing factor for families 
        and communities, but also for its contributions to the nation's economic 
        stability through the housing sector;
Whereas minorities accounted for 40 percent of net new homeowners during the 
        past 5 years;
Whereas, despite these recent gains, a substantial ``homeownership gap'' 
        continues between white and minority households in the United States;
Whereas more than 70 percent of white Americans own their own homes, compared to 
        less than half of African Americans and Hispanic Americans;
Whereas, while 94 percent of 16- to 22-year-old students report that they are 
        likely to turn to their parents for financial advice, only 7 percent of 
        parents feel that their children understand financial matters well and 
        only 32 percent of parents talk to their children regularly about 
        personal finances;
Whereas 40 percent of Americans admit to living beyond their means;
Whereas an evaluation by the High School Financial Planning Program of the 
        National Endowment for Financial Education, undertaken jointly with the 
        Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the 
        United States Department of Agriculture, demonstrates that as little as 
        10 hours of classroom instruction can impart substantial knowledge and 
        affect significant change in how teens handle their money;
Whereas the programs such as Operation Hope's Banking on Our Future (BOOF) 
        program can deliver financial literacy education with a focus on urban, 
        under-served communities that impart the principles of such topics as 
        ``Basics of Banking'', ``Checking & Savings Accounts'', ``The Power of 
        Credit'', and ``Basic Investments'' for urban and historically 
        disadvantaged youths between the ages of 9 and 18 at no cost to school 
        districts;
Whereas, in addition to financial education, the students are left with a 
        message of empowerment, a message of responsibility, and most 
        importantly, a message of hope;
Whereas State educational leaders have recognized the importance of providing a 
        basic financial education to students in kindergarten through grade 12 
        by integrating financial education into State educational standards, but 
        by 2004, only 7 States required students to complete a course that 
        covered personal finance before graduating from high school;
Whereas ensuring teacher training and professional development are critical to 
        achieving youth financial literacy and teachers should be given the 
        tools they need to educate our Nation's youth on personal finance and 
        economics;
Whereas the consumers and investors of tomorrow are in our schools today and the 
        teaching of personal finance should be encouraged at all levels of our 
        Nation's educational system, from kindergarten through grade 12; and
Whereas educational and financial institutions; Federal, State, and local 
        government entities; and community-based organizations can work together 
        to ensure a stronger financial education system so that Americans can 
        make informed choices about their finances: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy 
        Month; and
            (2) supports the efforts of States, localities, schools, 
        non-profit organizations, businesses, other entities, and the 
        people of the United States who support financial literacy 
        programs and activities to promote wealth-building behavior in 
        minority and historically disadvantaged communities
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