[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE ON FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR YOUTH MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 7, 2003

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, over the years, I have worked with Chairman 
Dreier to promote financial literacy skills within our schools and am 
proud to be an original cosponsor of this House Resolution. House 
Resolution 127 expresses the sense of the House that a month should be 
designated as ``Financial Literacy for Youth Month.''
  Our youth desperately need to have higher levels of financial 
literacy. According to a recent Jump$tart Coalition survey, today's 
high school seniors fail when it comes to a basic knowledge of personal 
finance including credit cards, saving for retirement and insurance. 
When seniors were tested on basic financial literacy, they answered 
only 50 percent of the questions correctly.
  Unfortunately, the lack of basic money management skills by young 
people often leads to serious financial problems for families and 
individuals, which, in turn, damage the Nation's economy. The results 
are skyrocketing consumer debt, low savings rates, home foreclosures, 
lost job opportunities, bankruptcy and poverty.
  To help stem this tide, Chairman Dreier and I are working with our 
Senate colleagues, Senators Akaka and Cochran, to host a ``Financial 
Literacy for Youth Day,'' on Monday, April 28, 2003. This event will 
culminate a month of activities organized around the nation by federal 
agencies, states, localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, 
businesses, and other entities to empower our youth with the financial 
and economic knowledge necessary to make sound personal choices. The 
event will include an educational fair, coordinated by Jump$tart, where 
federal agencies and organizations will have information booths 
displaying their efforts to further economic and financial literacy.
  As with other life skills, good money management skills and habits 
are best formed during childhood. In partnership with interested 
entities at the state and local levels, we can do more to give our 
youth the knowledge that will empower them to make sound financial 
decisions, now and in the future. I urge my colleagues to support and 
recognize the importance of increasing financial literacy among our 
youth.

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