[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 148 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         April 6, 2005.
Whereas the financial services industry in the United States benefits millions 
        of people in the United States, providing products and services that 
        allow individuals and families to build homes, buy cars, finance 
        educations, start businesses, and meet everyday needs;
Whereas personal financial education is essential to ensure that individuals are 
        prepared to manage money, credit, and debt, and become responsible 
        workers, heads of households, investors, entrepreneurs, business 
        leaders, and citizens, yet a study completed in 2004 by the Jump$tart 
        Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy found that high school seniors 
        know less about principles of basic personal finance than did high 
        school seniors 7 years earlier;
Whereas financial education has been linked to lower delinquency rates for 
        mortgage borrowers, higher participation and contribution rates in 
        retirement plans, improved spending and saving habits, higher net worth, 
        and positive knowledge, attitude, and behavior changes, yet a 2004 
        survey completed by the National Council on Economic Education found 
        that the number of States that include personal finance in education 
        standards for students in kindergarten through high school has improved 
        since 2002 but still falls below 2000 levels;
Whereas expanding access to the mainstream financial system provides individuals 
        with lower-cost and safer options for managing finances and building 
        wealth and is likely to lead to increased economic activity and growth, 
        yet studies show that as many as 10 million households in the United 
        States are ``unbanked'' or are without access to mainstream bank 
        products and services;
Whereas personal financial management skills and lifelong habits develop during 
        childhood, and 55 percent of college students acquire their first credit 
        card during their first year in college, and 92 percent of college 
        students acquire at least one credit card by their second year in 
        college, yet only 26 percent of people between the ages of 13 and 21 
        reported that their parents actively taught them how to manage money;
Whereas although more than 42,000,000 people in the United States participate in 
        qualified cash or deferred arrangements described in section 401(k) of 
        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (commonly referred to as ``401(k) 
        plans''), a Retirement Confidence Survey conducted in 2004 found that 
        only 42 percent of workers surveyed have calculated how much money they 
        will need to save for retirement and 4 in 10 workers say that they are 
        not currently saving for retirement;
Whereas personal savings as a percentage of personal income decreased from 7.5 
        percent in the early 1980s to 1.1 percent in the last two quarters of 
        2004;
Whereas Congress sought to implement a national strategy for coordination of 
        Federal financial literacy efforts through the establishment of the 
        Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) in 2003, the 
        designation of the Office of Financial Education of the Department of 
        the Treasury to provide support for the Commission, and requirements 
        that the Commission's materials, website, toll-free hotline, and 
        national multimedia campaign be multilingual;
Whereas Members of the United States House of Representatives established the 
        Financial and Economic Literacy Caucus (FELC) in February 2005 to (1) 
        provide a forum for interested Members of Congress to work in 
        collaboration with the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, (2) 
        highlight public and private sector best-practices, and (3) organize and 
        promote financial literacy legislation, seminars and events, such as 
        ``Financial Literacy Month'' in April 2005 and the annual ``Financial 
        Literacy Day'' fair on April 27, 2005; and
Whereas the National Council on Economic Education, its State Councils and 
        Centers for Economic Education, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal 
        Financial Literacy, its State affiliates, and its partner organizations 
        have designated April as `Financial Literacy Month' to educate the 
        public about the need for increased financial literacy for youth and 
        adults in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month; and
            (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation calling on the 
        Federal Government, States, localities, schools, nonprofit 
        organizations, businesses, other entities, and the people of the United 
        States to observe the month with appropriate programs and activities.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.