[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 3, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H7798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
        INTRODUCTION OF FINANCIAL LITERACY COMMISSION CENTS ACT

  (Mrs. BIGGERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, the state of financial literacy among our 
children is not good. Sixty percent of preteens do not know the 
difference between cash, credit and checks; 28 percent of 12-year-olds 
do not know that credit cards are a form of borrowing; and almost 40 
percent of them do not know that banks charge interest on loans. That 
is why I am introducing today a bill that will better coordinate public 
and private sector efforts to enhance financial literacy among our 
youth.
  The CENTS legislation, as in dollars and cents, establishes a 
commission that will provide recommendations on how to interrogate 
high-quality, standards-based economic and financial education. The 
commission will identify the best practices in the teaching of 
economics and personal finance and it will recommend how to better 
coordinate Federal, State and private sector efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring the 
CENTS Act to improve the financial literacy of our Nation's young 
people.

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