[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 357 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 357
Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month 2009, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 23, 2009
Mr. Hinojosa (for himself, Mr. Baca, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Bachus, Mr.
Becerra, Mrs. Biggert, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Campbell, Mrs. Capito, Mr.
Capuano, Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Castle, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Costa, Mr. Cuellar,
Mr. Davis of Kentucky, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Ehlers, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Garrett
of New Jersey, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr.
Barrett of South Carolina, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Himes, Mr.
Hodes, Ms. Jenkins, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Jones, Mr.
King of New York, Mr. Lee of New York, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Lujan,
Mr. Marchant, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. McCotter, Mr. McHenry, Mr.
Meeks of New York, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Murtha, Mrs. Napolitano,
Mr. Neugebauer, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Pastor of Arizona, Mr. Pierluisi, Mr.
Price of Georgia, Mr. Putnam, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Roskam, Ms.
Roybal-Allard, Mr. Royce, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Salazar, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez
of California, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Sires, Ms. Velazquez, Ms.
Watson, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Paulsen, and Mr. Hensarling) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month 2009, and
for other purposes.
Whereas personal financial literacy is essential to ensure that individuals are
prepared to make informed financial choices, as well as manage money,
credit, debt, and risk and become responsible workers, heads of
households, investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and citizens;
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 a 2008 survey of high school seniors conducted by the Jump$tart
Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy revealed that students in 2008
answered correctly only 48.3 percent of the survey's questions, a
decline from those posted by students in 2006, who correctly answered
52.4 percent of the questions;
Whereas 84 percent of undergraduates had at least one credit card in 2008, up
from 76 percent in 2004, with the average number of cards increasing to
4.6 according to Sallie Mae's National Study of Usage Rates and Trends
2009 entitled ``How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards'';
Whereas personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 4.2
percent in February, compared with 4.4 percent in January, and up from a
12-month average of 1.7 percent in 2008, according to the Bureau of
Economic Analysis;
Whereas the average baby boomer has only $50,000 in savings apart from equity in
their homes, according to the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer
Finances for 2007;
Whereas studies show that as many as 10,000,000 households in the United States
are ``unbanked'' or are without access to mainstream financial products
and services;
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, websites, and one-on-one financial
counseling for individuals;
Whereas bankers across the United States taught savings skills to young people
on April 21, 2009, during Teach Children to Save Day, which was started
by the American Bankers Association Education Foundation in April of
1997 and has now helped more than 72,000 bankers teach savings skills to
nearly 3,200,000 young people;
Whereas staff from America's credit unions are making presentations to young
people at local schools on financial topics such as student loans,
balancing a checkbook, and auto loans during National Credit Union Youth
Week, April 19-25, 2009;
Whereas more than 100 Federal agencies have collaborated on a website,
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 (FELC) 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, collaborate with the private sector, and nonprofit and
community-based organizations, and organize and promote financial
literacy legislation, seminars, and events, such as ``Financial Literacy
Month'' in April, 2009, and the annual ``Financial Literacy Day Fair''
on April 30, 2009; 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.
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