[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 59 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E643-E644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH, 
                                  2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2010

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support House Resolution 1257, 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Financial Literacy Month.
  In these tough economic times, increasing financial literacy is one 
of the best ways we can accomplish a complete recovery and take 
significant steps to prevent another crisis.
  Every day, many Americans struggle with their finances. These 
problems are especially prevalent among young adults and minorities.
  In fact, the FDIC found in a recent study that approximately 
60,000,000 people in the U.S. are underbanked.
  These numbers are more disturbing when we look at the percentage of 
underbanked people among minorities: 43.3 percent of Hispanic 
households and close to 54 percent of Black households are either 
unbanked or underbanked.
  We must do more to educate every American on how to safely manage 
their wealth and build a stable foundation for themselves and their 
family's future.
  In the fall, Mr. Hinojosa, Mrs. McCarthy, and I introduced an 
amendment that would create a new consumer education office within the 
proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
  This office will operate programs and develop initiatives to ensure 
that all financial institutions are doing their part to come up with 
innovative ways to increase financial literacy among their consumers.
  Throughout my time in Congress I have been a consistent supporter of 
improving financial literacy efforts and I am committed to remaining 
one as long as I hold office.
  I want to commend Mr. Hinojosa on his hard work on this issue and for 
bringing this resolution to this floor.
  I urge my colleagues to vote in support of House Resolution 1257, 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Financial Literacy Month, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.

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