[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1257 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1257
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Financial Literacy Month,
2010, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 15, 2010
Mr. Hinojosa (for himself, Mrs. Biggert, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of
Texas, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Castle, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Scott of
Georgia, Mr. Himes, Mr. Pomeroy, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. Baca,
Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. Clarke, Ms.
Hirono, Mr. Walz, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Speier, Mr. Polis of Colorado, Mr.
Lee of New York, Mr. Paulsen, and Mr. Lance) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Financial Literacy Month,
2010, and for other purposes.
Whereas personal financial literacy is essential to ensure that individuals are
prepared to make informed financial choices so that they can become
successful heads of households, investors, entrepreneurs, and business
leaders;
Whereas financially informed individuals are better able to take control of
their circumstances, improve their quality of life, and plan for their
financial future;
Whereas personal financial management skills and lifelong habits begin to
develop during childhood, making it all the more important to support
youth financial education;
Whereas financial education is the first line of defense against financial
fraud;
Whereas the results of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's fourth
annual Consumer Financial Literacy Survey suggest that while many United
States adults are improving how they manage their money, and more
consumers now have a budget and nonretirement savings, many Americans
continue to struggle with their finances, especially young adults and
minorities;
Whereas the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's ``National Survey of
Unbanked and Underbanked Households, December 2009'' found that
approximately 60,000,000 people in the United States are either unbanked
or underbanked;
Whereas almost 54 percent of Black households, 44.5 percent of American Indian/
Alaskan households, and 43.3 percent of Hispanic households are either
unbanked or underbanked;
Whereas personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 3.1
percent in February 2010, compared with 3.4 percent in January 2010, and
a reduction from a 12-month average of 4.1 percent in 2009, according to
the Bureau of Economic Analysis;
Whereas public, community-based, and private sector organizations throughout the
United States are working to increase financial literacy rates for
Americans of all ages and walks of life through a range of outreach
efforts, including media campaigns, Web sites, and one-on-one financial
counseling for individuals;
Whereas the National Endowment for Financial Education provides consumers with
the tools necessary to manage their money wisely and empower them to
turn their financial education into action;
Whereas bankers across the United States will teach savings skills to young
people on April 27, 2010, during ``Teach Children to Save Day'', which
was launched by the American Bankers Association Education Foundation in
April 1997 and has now helped more than 80,000 bankers teach savings
skills to more than 3,200,000 young people;
Whereas staff from America's credit unions will focus on the financial needs of
young people, provide financial literacy education, and teach youth
under the age of 18 the benefits of saving and goal setting during
``National Credit Union Youth Week'', April 18-24, 2010;
Whereas more than 100 Federal agencies have collaborated on a Web site,
www.consumer.gov, which helps consumers shop for a mortgage or auto
loan, understand and reconcile credit card statements and utility bills,
choose savings and retirement plans, compare health insurance policies,
and understand their credit report and how it affects their ability to
get credit and on what terms;
Whereas Members of the United States House of Representatives established the
Financial and Economic Literacy Caucus in February 2005 to provide a
forum for interested Members of Congress to review, discuss and
recommend financial and economic literacy policies, legislation, and
programs; to collaborate with the private sector, and nonprofit and
community-based organizations; and to organize and promote financial
literacy resolutions, legislation, seminars, and events, such as
``Financial Literacy Month'' in April 2010, and the annual ``Financial
Literacy Day Fair'' on April 27, 2010; and
Whereas the Council for 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, and JA
Worldwide 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, including raising public awareness about financial
education;
(2) recognizes the importance of managing personal
finances, increasing personal savings, and reducing personal
debt in the United States; and
(3) 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 with the goal of increasing
financial literacy rates for individuals of all ages and walks
of life.
<all>