[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 721 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 721

  Encouraging greater public-private sector collaboration to promote 
           financial literacy for students and young adults.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 11, 2014

  Mr. Foster (for himself, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. 
   Cohen, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Holt, Ms. Eddie 
    Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Lance, Mr. 
Langevin, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, Mr. Meeks, 
Ms. Norton, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Schneider, and Mr. 
 Tiberi) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Encouraging greater public-private sector collaboration to promote 
           financial literacy for students and young adults.

Whereas personal financial literacy is essential to ensuring that individuals 
        are prepared to make informed decisions about financial planning, wealth 
        accumulation, higher education loans, 529 savings plans, managing credit 
        cards, and other debt along with budgeting;
Whereas many young people are ill-equipped to handle major financial decisions 
        in an increasingly complex financial marketplace;
Whereas personal financial management skills begin to develop during childhood;
Whereas the move away from traditional pensions to defined contribution plans 
        requires more financial education, so workers need to be equipped with 
        the financial aptitude to not only save and accumulate assets, but they 
        need to be prepared to turn those savings into lifetime income;
Whereas the Council for Economic Education found that only 16 States require 
        that some sort of personal finance education be offered in high schools 
        and only 15 States require that course for graduation;
Whereas a bi-annual study by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial 
        Literacy found that only 5 percent of high school seniors and only 25 
        percent of graduating college students can be considered financially 
        literate;
Whereas, according to a study conducted by Sallie Mae, an increasing number of 
        high school seniors are obtaining credit cards and the average 
        graduating college student has a credit card debt of $4,100;
Whereas a longitudinal research study by the University of Arizona found that 
        high school and college students who have been exposed to ongoing 
        financial education show an increase in financial knowledge;
Whereas the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created to educate 
        consumers and help them make better-informed financial decisions by 
        helping make the financial markets safer for consumers, increasing 
        transparency to enable individuals to compare products and make informed 
        decisions and promote policies that help consumers improve their 
        financial knowledge and capability;
Whereas the Bureau issued a report in 2013 that included a number of 
        recommendations to improve financial literacy for students;
Whereas section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
        Act directs the Federal financial regulatory agencies to partner with 
        industry organizations and high schools in targeted areas to help 
        promote financial literacy and create ``industry internships, summer 
        employment and full-time positions'' for talented minorities and women;
Whereas the 2012 National Financial Capability Study, developed in consultation 
        with the Department of the Treasury and President Obama's Advisory 
        Council on Financial Capability, updates key measures from the 2009 
        National Financial Capability Study of American adults and deepens the 
        exploration of topics that are highly relevant today, including student 
        loans and medical debt;
Whereas the Money as You Learn Initiative, a coalition of non-profit and for 
        profit organizations, teachers, and academics, provides concrete tools 
        for educators to show how personal finance can provide appropriate 
        context and content for mathematics and English language arts teaching;
Whereas the Federal Reserve offers publications in English and Spanish that 
        provide consumers tips on a broad range of topics, from avoiding 
        mortgage foreclosure scams to managing a checking account; and
Whereas a study entitled Financial Literacy, Financial Education and Downstream 
        Financial Behaviors, conducted by Daniel Fernandes, John G. Lynch, Jr., 
        and Richard Netemeyer, found that it ``is best to provide assistance 
        just before a decision is made in what is known as `just-in-time 
        education''': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) emphasizes the importance of raising awareness of 
        individual financial capability by providing relevant 
        information, financial workshops, and other decisionmaking 
        tools to consumers of all ages;
            (2) supports the efforts of the President's Advisory 
        Council on Financial Literacy in working with the public and 
        private sectors to increase financial education for youth in 
        school and for adults in the workplace, to increase access to 
        financial services, to establish measures of national financial 
        literacy, to conduct research on financial knowledge, and to 
        strengthen financial education programs;
            (3) reaffirms the purposes of section 342 of the Dodd-Frank 
        Act, which directs Federal financial agencies and the entities 
        which they regulate to partner with organizations that are 
        focused on developing opportunities for minorities and women to 
        place talented young minorities and women in industry 
        internships, summer employment, and full-time positions;
            (4) supports the efforts of the Consumer Financial 
        Protection Bureau to provide consumers with relevant 
        information and decisionmaking tools regarding important 
        financial decisions; and
            (5) urges the Secretary of the Treasury to consult with the 
        Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and implement future 
        national financial capability studies.
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