[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2234-S2235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, my friend and colleague from Wyoming, 
Senator Enzi, and I have once again submitted a resolution to designate 
April as ``Financial Literacy Month'' to raise public awareness of this 
important issue. I would like to first thank the cosponsors of the 
resolution, Senators Baucus, Blunt, Brown of Ohio, Cardin, Carper, 
Cochran, Coons, Crapo, Durbin, Hagan, Inouye, Johnson of South Dakota, 
Kohl, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Menendez, Murray, and Wicker. I appreciate 
their hard work and support in working to increase the level of 
financial literacy for people of all ages across America. I also thank 
the Senate for taking up this resolution and passing it with unanimous 
consent last night.
  This is the tenth and final year that I have introduced this 
resolution, which highlights our Nation's need for investments in 
financial literacy, commends current efforts and initiatives to promote 
financial education, and encourages the administration and private 
institutions to continue to work toward creating a more financially 
literate public.
  Financial literacy empowers individuals to be able to appropriately 
evaluate credit opportunities, successfully

[[Page S2235]]

save and invest for long-term financial goals in an increasingly 
intricate marketplace, and responsibly manage their personal, 
professional, and family finances. It is essential that we continue to 
make strides toward improving education and consumer protection, while 
giving individuals the necessary tools to build more financially stable 
families, businesses, and communities. As we continue along the path to 
economic recovery, it is imperative that the basics of economics, 
credit, and personal finance become a fundamental fixture in the 
American school system.
  The Council for Economic Education recently released their 2011 
``Survey of the States: Economic and Personal Finance Education in Our 
Nation's Schools.'' According to this survey, there have been great 
improvements in financial literacy since the first survey in 1998. 
However, troublingly, in the past 2 years, progress has slowed and in 
some cases even reversed. Specifically, only 22 States require students 
to take an economics course as a high school graduation requirement, 
and only 16 States require the testing of student knowledge in 
economics. In addition, only 12 States require students to take a 
personal finance course either independently or as part of an economics 
course as a high school graduation requirement.
  Also, alarmingly, according to the Gallup-Operation HOPE Financial 
Literacy Index, while 69 percent of American students strongly believe 
that the best time to save money is now, only 57 percent believe that 
their parents are saving money for the future. Despite clear progress 
in this area over the past 15 years, these most recent trends are 
disturbing.
  There is no better time than now to invest in a better-educated, more 
financially savvy public. With the increased complexity of and access 
to today's financial products, the unscrupulous nature of predatory 
lenders as they enticed millions of families into complicated loans 
they could not afford nor understand, and people having to make 
important life decisions at a younger and younger age, it is critical 
that we ensure that students are empowered by a sound financial 
education by the time they graduate from high school. Our Nation cannot 
afford another housing crisis, and the best way to safeguard against 
that risk is education and promotion spreading knowledge.
  I would like to thank the various organizations and individuals who 
are doing their part to ensure the education of personal finance 
reaches as many Americans as possible. Teachers, parents, financial 
institutions, nonprofit organizations, Governors, legislators, and 
other decision makers must be leaders on this issue just as all of us 
owe it to ourselves and our country to have adequate knowledge of 
personal finance.
  As policymakers, we must champion these issues year round, not just 
in the month of April. However, focusing on Financial Literacy Month in 
April allows us to have a designated month when we can focus our 
efforts, take stock of what has been working, and improve on our work 
for the coming year. I thank my colleagues again for passing this 
resolution.

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