[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 111 (Thursday, August 2, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1495]]



                      FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAMS

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 1, 2001

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, most of us learned our first money management 
lesson when watching our parents pay bills, earning our first 
allowance, or getting that first job. But in a fast changing world, 
parents and young adults could use a little help in life's money 
lessons. As we move more toward an e-commerce world, it is important 
that our young people are able to manage their money and have the 
skills it takes to plan, invest and save in a fast-paced transaction 
culture.
  Traditionally, education has been based on the three R's--reading, 
writing, and arithmetic--but recent surveys show that parents are ready 
to add a fourth pillar to basic education: financial literacy. 
According to a survey recently released by Visa, 82 percent of parents 
say that teaching practical money skills in schools is very important. 
In addition 93 percent of parents said that high school students should 
be required to take a class in practical money skills, yet 69 percent 
say that their children have not taken any such classes. Similar 
results have been seen in research conducted by Jump$tart Coalition for 
Financial Literacy and consumer groups, including Americans for 
Consumer Education and Competition headed by our former colleague, 
Susan Molanari.
  As policy makers and parents, we need to bring basic financial facts 
and skills to young adults across America. It is true that providing an 
educational framework for financial literacy is easy to say, but more 
complex to accomplish. Yes, financial maturity does initially begin at 
home, as it should, but it would be very beneficial to extend into the 
classroom. To that end, we should do our best to provide teachers with 
the necessary tools needed to integrate financial literacy into their 
curriculum in order to ensure that today's young adults grow up with 
financial know-how.
  Some states such as Wisconsin and Delaware have already passed 
legislation that would incorporate financial literacy into their 
curriculums and many others are planning similar legislation. Lawmakers 
on both the state and national levels recognize the importance of 
integrating personal-finance management courses into the daily lessons 
of our education system and work with educators and parents to bring it 
into our local schools.
  A number of companies have added their support to these efforts. I 
would like to commend Visa U.S.A. for working with the teachers and 
parents to help teach young adults basic economic and personal money 
management through their Practical Money Skills for Life program. 
Unfortunately, many young adults are never taught the basic principals 
of personal finances and have to learn money management through the 
school of hard knocks. Therefore, I am pleased that Visa, U.S.A. has 
created the practical Money Skills for Life curriculum, calculators and 
interactive games available to everyone, free of charge, over the 
Internet, making its ability to reach students unlimited.
  Practical Money Skills for Life is an online educational resource for 
personal financial education tools to help parents and educators teach 
young adults personal financial responsibility. It lets teachers use 
the Internet as an educational solution and, because it is an Internet 
based program, parents can also access the curriculum from their homes. 
It gives students the basics like budgeting, saving, and investing--the 
essentials for a healthy and prosperous future.
  Students are learning how to balance a checkbook, avoid irresponsible 
spending, understand the importance of a good credit history, and most 
importantly: how to make and live by a budget. The Practical Money 
Skills For Life program actually makes it fun for students to learn 
about finance.
  With an understanding that many schools are suffering from a digital 
divide, Visa takes their program one step further by donating computer 
labs to high schools in need across the country. Coupled with teacher 
training on their financial literacy curriculum, this contribution to 
our nation's schools, teachers and students is invaluable.
  In addition to free curriculums and tools being offered by Visa, 
there are many other organizations that are raising awareness about the 
importance of educating the youth on personal finances. Two such groups 
that I would like to recognize is the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal 
Financial Literacy, and Americans for Consumer Education and 
Competition.
  The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, is a 
nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC whose goal is to ensure 
that students have skills to be financially competent upon graduation 
from high school. They work with a number of organizations to work to 
raise awareness of the need for financial literacy for our young 
people.
  Americans for Consumer Education and Competition (ACEC), chaired by 
my former colleague from the State of New York Susan Molinari is 
another group working to improve financial literacy skills. Ms. 
Molinari has been working with state legislatures to introduce 
financial literacy curriculum into the education system.
  We recognize that more still needs to be done. We can all do our part 
to ensure that parents, teachers and students have tools they need to 
become financially savvy. Practical Money Skills for Life and 
curriculums like it, are a step in the right direction.

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