[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 247 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 247

      Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 4, 2017

    Mr. Meeks (for himself, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Pallone, Ms. 
 Jayapal, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Clarke of New York, 
and Mr. Vargas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
          to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month.

Whereas according to the 2015 Household Survey of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
        Corporation, 26.9 percent of households in the United States, or close 
        to 31,500,000 households with approximately 83,000,000 adults, are 
        unbanked or underbanked and, subsequently, have missed opportunities for 
        savings, lending, and basic financial services;
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey of the National 
        Foundation for Credit Counseling, 44 percent of adults in the United 
        States, or more than 110,000,000 adults living in the United States, 
        gave themselves a grade of C, D, or F on their knowledge of personal 
        finance;
Whereas the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit 
        Research Institute found that only 21 percent of workers were ``very 
        confident'' about having enough money for a comfortable retirement, 
        reflecting a continuing discrepancy with pre-crisis confidence levels;
Whereas according to the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the 
        Employee Benefit Research Institute, less than half of workers and/or 
        their spouse (48 percent) in the United States have tried to calculate 
        how much they need to save for retirement;
Whereas according to the February 2017 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and 
        Credit by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, household debt stood at 
        $12,680,000,000,000 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2016, reflecting 
        a 1.8 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2016;
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey of the National 
        Foundation for Credit Counseling, 22 percent, or nearly 55,000,000 
        adults, admit to not paying all of their bills on time;
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey of the National 
        Foundation for Credit Counseling, only 40 percent of adults have a 
        budget and keep close track of their spending;
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey of the National 
        Foundation for Credit Counseling, 1 in 3 adults (34 percent) in the 
        United States, or 85,000,000 adults, report that they have no savings, 
        and only 26 percent of adults in the United States are now saving more 
        than they did a year ago because of the current economic climate;
Whereas according to the Council for Economic Education biennial Survey of the 
        States 2016: Economic, Personal Finance, and Entrepreneurship Education 
        in Our Nation's Schools, only 20 States require students to take an 
        economics course as a high school graduation requirement, two fewer than 
        in 2014;
Whereas according to the Council for Economic Education biennial Survey of the 
        States 2016: Economic, Personal Finance, and Entrepreneurship Education 
        in Our Nation's Schools, only 17 States require students to take a 
        personal finance course either independently or as part of an economics 
        course as a high school graduation requirement;
Whereas former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke in 2011 stressed, 
        before a Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the 
        Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, the importance of 
        making financial education a life-long pursuit, considering that well-
        informed consumers are a solid defense against the spread of financial 
        products and services that are ``unsuitable, unnecessarily costly, or 
        abusive'';
Whereas according to a 2014 study by Annamaria Lusardi from George Washington 
        University and Olivia S. Mitchell from the University of Pennsylvania, 
        econometric models and experiments are confirming the causal effect of 
        financial literacy on economic decision making, separating financial 
        literacy from other factors, such as education and cognitive ability;
Whereas expanding access to the mainstream financial system will provide 
        individuals with less expensive and more secure options for managing 
        finances and building wealth;
Whereas quality personal financial education is essential to ensure that 
        individuals are prepared to manage money, credit, and debt, and to 
        become responsible workers, heads of households, investors, 
        entrepreneurs, business leaders, and citizens;
Whereas increased financial literacy empowers individuals to make wise financial 
        decisions and reduces the confusion caused by an increasingly complex 
        economy;
Whereas a greater understanding of, and familiarity with, financial markets and 
        institutions will lead to increased economic activity and growth;
Whereas in 2003 and 2011, Congress found it important to coordinate Federal 
        financial literacy efforts and formulate a national strategy; and
Whereas in 2003, Congress passed the Financial Literacy and Education 
        Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9701 et seq.), establishing the Financial 
        Literacy and Education Commission: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of ``Financial Literacy 
        Month'', to raise public awareness about--
                    (A) the importance of personal financial education 
                in the United States; and
                    (B) the serious consequences that may result from a 
                lack of understanding about personal finances; and
            (2) calls on the Federal Government, States, localities, 
        schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and the people of 
        the United States to support the goals and ideals of 
        ``Financial Literacy Month'' with appropriate programs and 
        activities.
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