[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 12881]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNITION OF ECONOMIC EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENTS

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I am proud to recognize the 
achievements of several individuals from Hawaii who have excelled in an 
area of great interest to me, economic education.
  I wish to recognize the students from Iolani High School in Honolulu, 
HI, who won the 2006 National Economics Challenge in New York City. 
They are the first team ever to win the national competition 2 years in 
a row. Seniors Bryce Aisaka, Robert (Egen) Atkinson, Megan Cholk, and 
Dean Ushijima coached by their teacher, COL Richard Rankin, beat more 
than 1,000 teams from 35 States to win the Economics Challenge 
championship in the Adam Smith Division. Hawaii's State-level 
competition was sponsored by the Hawaii Council on Economic Education, 
which has done a wonderful job in fostering economic education in 
Hawaii. The national competition was sponsored by the National Council 
on Economic Education and the Goldman Sachs Foundation. I am very 
pleased to know that Hawaii is producing such high-quality young people 
knowledgeable about economics.
  As the economy is intricately tied to the welfare of our Nation, 
economic and financial literacy is vital to ensuring our country's 
future. I have been very active in promoting economic and financial 
literacy in the United States. For example, I have introduced several 
pieces of legislation including the Mutual Fund Transparency Act, the 
College Literacy in Finance and Economics Act and the enacted 
Excellence in Economic Education Act. As the economy grows increasingly 
complex, everyone needs to be able to make informed financial decisions 
which will greatly impact their financial well-being.
  We must strive to educate all sectors of society about financial 
literacy, especially our young people, so that they grasp essential 
concepts such as the importance of saving, budgeting, maintaining good 
credit histories, and applying economic principles to daily decisions. 
Our Nation's future is in our children hands. I am proud to extend my 
sincere congratulations and appreciation to the Iolani Economics Team 
for their hard work and dedication.

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