Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 578, which my colleague the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) and I introduced to designate April as Financial Literacy Month. We did so in order to raise the public awareness about the importance of financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that come when young people and adults lack basic understanding of personal finances and economics.

Today, 60 percent of preteens do not understand the difference between cash, checks, and credit cards. We need to teach basic financial literacy skills so that they can understand the difference. But financial literacy is only part of the problem.

It is equally important they understand basic economic concepts, such as supply and demand, opportunity costs, what drives interest rates, and other economic principles. Why? Well, it is because financially literate students may learn what the credit card is, but the lesson will be meaningless if they do not understand the concept of compound interest.

Just look at the pay-off. Financial education, including economics, has been linked to lower delinquency rates for mortgage borrowers, higher participation and contribution rates in retirement plans, improved spending and savings habits, higher net worth, and more positive attitudes towards money.

If our young people learn how to manage money, credit, and debt, they can become responsible workers, heads of households, investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and citizens. It is through financial education these young consumers will learn to capitalize on the choices and flexibility that this new world has created. And financially literate children grow up to be financially savvy adults. And we need more of them.

Today, more than 42 million Americans participate in 401(k) plans. But a 2002 retirement confidence survey found that only 32 percent of workers surveyed have calculated how much money they will need to save by the time they retire. And less than one-third of those surveyed are confident in their ability to make the right financial decisions for themselves and their families. One-quarter of those workers, over 10 million Americans, have done no specific financial planning.

Many programs already exist in both the public and private sectors to address economic education and financial literacy; but no matter what their specific target, they all recognize that the most effective time to impart basic financial and economic knowledge is during a student's formative years through the K through 12 education system.

Many States have introduced outstanding financial literacy programs for children. In my home State of Illinois, State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka created the Bank At School program, which helps children learn the fundamentals of money management through the operation of an in- school bank. Schools are partnered with financial institutions which conduct a monthly bank day at the school where students open savings accounts and make regular deposits.

I believe that these kinds of programs provide the guidance that is desperately needed; but we need more, and we need them now. For instance, while 40 States have set standards for personal financial education in 2000, only 31 States renewed their standards in 2002. Of these 31 States, only four States, Idaho, Kentucky, Illinois, and New York, implemented a course that covers personal finance during a student's K through 12 education. In 2002, Jump$tart released a survey that showed high school seniors know even less about credit cards, retirement funds, insurance, and other personal finance basics than they did 5 years ago. This is a trend that we must reverse.

With only seven States currently recognizing financial literacy month, there is obviously a great deal of work to do. But if we take the time to take on this challenge, we can begin to turn things around and excite students about becoming the next generation of investors.

Mr. Speaker, the state of financial literacy among our children may not garner much in the way of headlines, but it is an issue nonetheless that should command our attention. While it is a problem that is serious and urgent, it is one that can be solved through education. This body would like to call special attention to that need during the month of April. It is our duty to help our youth succeed in today's increasingly sophisticated world of finance.

We must continue to keep the pressure on in terms of public awareness of the problem. I hope that we will use this month as a springboard to raise public awareness about the importance of financial education in the United States.

I want to thank my distinguished colleague and friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa), for his strong support and cosponsorship of this resolution. I would also like to thank the chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), and especially the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), also members of the Committee on Government Reform, for managing this resolution and the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) for his long-term work on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 578 that the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and I introduced earlier this year. The legislation supports the goals and ideals being acknowledged in naming April as Financial Literacy Month. I should note that the gentlewoman from Illinois and I have been working together on a number of financial literacy projects for quite some time, and I look forward to continuing to coordinate our efforts to improve financial literacy programs for our youth and for U.S. residents at all stages of their lives.

I want to thank the Committee on Government Reform for bringing this legislation to the floor today to celebrate April as Financial Literacy Month. Improving financial literacy, especially in the communities of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Central Texas, has been a top priority of mine. My ultimate goal is to educate our youth about financial issues in order to prepare them for the real world.

It is also important that we educate adults and seniors on the basics of financial literacy to bring them into the mainstream financial system and to protect them from payday lenders, as well as to protect them from predatory lenders and others who would take advantage of them. And so I have decided to act to address these concerns.

The chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the House Committee on Financial Services, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus), held a hearing at my request on bringing the unbanked into the mainstream financial system. The chairman of the Subcommittee on Education Reform of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), and the ranking member, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), held a hearing on financial literacy that allowed the gentlewoman from Illinois and myself to discuss the CENTS Act, which would establish a commission to educate our nation's teachers and students on financial literacy skills.

I also promoted financial literacy when I spoke at a panel with the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) at the FDIC's symposium on financial literacy held at the National Press Club. With the assistance of the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the ranking member on the Committee on Financial Services, I

was able to add a section to the FACT Act to ensure that the commission it creates on financial literacy will develop and promote financial literacy and education materials in languages other than English, including for the commission's Web site, a toll-free number, a national media campaign, and all the materials it disseminates.

Before I conclude, I want to point out some financial literacy programs of note. The FDIC has a well-written and helpful program in English, Spanish, and numerous other languages known as Money Smart that targets adults. It is being disseminated in my district, and it is helping to encourage the adults in my district to move into the financial mainstream.

Several large banks, such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America, have implemented financial literacy programs that are now being used in schools for K through 12 programs. The Independent Bankers in Texas have been attempting to encourage the Texas State legislature to include financial literacy programs as a requirement for graduation from high school for quite some time.

There are numerous other financial literacy programs out there: Freddie Mac's CreditSmart Espanol program to train the teachers to train other teachers how to teach their financial literacy program; NCEE's K through 12 program; ACB's Money Rules program; Fannie Mae's Homeownership program in English and Spanish; ICI's Investing for Success program; and Operation Hope's Banking on Our Future program, and many others.

There are too many other programs to mention in the time I have been allotted, which is why a financial literacy commission was created by the FACT Act. The gentlewoman from Illinois and I will monitor it with our colleagues in Congress to ensure that it is a success.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and her legislative assistant, Danielle English, for working with me on this important legislation and all other projects; and I especially want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), and Jaime Lizarraga, on his staff, for all their assistance on financial literacy issues.

On behalf of the Committee on Financial Services, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 578.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me this time and for his management of this legislation; and I want to begin by extending my compliments to my very distinguished colleague, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), who has long been a champion on this issue, as well as my friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa), who just gave a very thoughtful statement about where we go and why we need to focus on ensuring that we provide financial literacy education to young people in this country. And of course every single debate on the House floor is dramatically enhanced by the voice of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), so I want to express my appreciation as always to him for his presence here.

Several years ago, Mr. Speaker, I joined our colleague, the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy), in establishing an organization known as Jump$tart, realizing that many of us years and years ago took for granted the understanding of financial literacy. I will never forget, as a kid, when my father ensured that I started a savings account. I looked at that little passbook that I had, which saw only a relatively modest rate the money I had in there growing; but it was a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Today, when we look at the wide range of information that is flooding not only adults but young people as well, and we look at this 21st- century economy, we realize that everybody is deluged, whether it is through the mail by credit cards, on the Web, through advertising that we see; and it can be extraordinarily confusing. And so things that were taken for granted decades ago when many of us were growing up, we now have to focus on in the way of education for our young people.

On the Web today, people have the tremendous opportunity to pay their bills, they have the opportunity to have access to a wide range of financial services and products, and we also need to realize that today we have seen this growing investor class. Over half of the American people, Mr. Speaker, are members of the investor class. They are invested either through their 401(k), through individual retirement accounts, through pension funds, and of course those who directly invest in the markets or in real estate or in other areas. So more than half the American people are members of that investor class.

As that number grows, it seems to me, Mr. Speaker, that we need to do everything we possibly can to ensure that our young people have an awareness level of things that were so often taken for granted and seen as simple common sense in the past.

We passed last year legislation, the Federal Financial Literacy Commission, to promote and enhance financial literacy for all Americans. The initiative established a national financial literacy public service campaign to raise the awareness level regarding personal finance. I was pleased that we have had that in legislation that we have pursued in the past.

Last month there were a number of organizations that had spent time and effort focusing on and promoting financial literacy. They include Citigroup and the Citigroup Foundation's $200 million global financial literacy initiative; the Credit Union National Association's National Credit Union Youth Week; the American Bankers Association's National Teach Children to Save Day; the Jump Start Coalition's biennial Survey on the State of Financial Literacy among high schoolers; the National Council on Economic Education/NASDAQ Educational Foundation's National Teaching Awards Event; and last but not least, my Governor in California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, established April 2004 as California Financial Literacy Month with a proclamation.

Put very simply, Mr. Speaker, financial literacy is all about opportunity. It is about empowering individuals to make informed financial decisions, helping them to attain financial independence and to plan for their future prosperity. Working together, we can ensure that the young people in our country gain a fundamental understanding of personal finance to help them succeed later in life.

I again congratulate the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) for recognizing that focusing this month of April on financial literacy is the right thing to do. I know that all of my colleagues will want to join in support of this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 578) supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H. Res. 578, the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 578 supports the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month. The National Council on Economic Education, its State Councils and Centers for Economic Education and the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy have deemed April to be Financial Literacy Month. Along with my colleagues, especially the sponsor of this resolution, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), I am pleased to be highlighting this designation and the important cause of financial literacy.

This resolution aims to increase awareness of the significance of thoughtful and well-planned personal financial management. It can be overwhelming for people of any age to manage money, credit and debt, but learning simple financial principles can help protect you against severe family illness, short-term losses of employment, economic downturns, and other aspects of life that most of us will experience at one time or another.

Mr. Speaker, the resolution cites the fact that over the last 20 years personal savings have decreased from 7.5 percent of personal income to just over 2 percent today. This reality means more Americans have just a small cushion on which to fall back on when financial times become difficult. We all need to take steps to learn economic fundamentals and teach our children these principles as well. All of us can enjoy big returns on our investments in financial literacy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), my friend and distinguished Member from Illinois, for her work on H. Res. 578. I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), the sponsor of H. Res. 578.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for his comments, commend him for his significant work in promoting financial literacy, and associate myself with his comments about the importance of training especially children in financial literacy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), one of the most financially astute Members of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

The prior speaker, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), referred to the financial services products that we have available. I would just like to remind us all that we now have a new product in that array, that is, the health savings account which we passed in the recent Medicare package. It is good for all Americans. It is one of the elements of financial awareness that I hope is advanced through this financial literacy approach that we are taking here today.

I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) and also the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) for their support of this bill and bringing it to the floor today. I would also like to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis). It is

always a pleasure to work with him on projects like this.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the adoption of House Resolution 578.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 578, which recognizes and supports the goals of Financial Literacy Month.

Now more than ever, we live in a world that has become increasingly complicated when it comes to personal financial matters. A generation ago, a basic knowledge of balancing a checkbook and maintaining a savings account was adequate. However, in today's complex world many Americans are faced with difficult decisions such as determining what type of loan they need; whether to invest in stocks or bonds; how to best manage credit; and how soon to start planning for family education needs and their retirement. There are approximately 40,000 different credit products available, an intimidating thought for the most educated consumer.

Unfortunately, large numbers of consumers never learn the basics of maintaining their personal finances and may struggle unnecessarily with choices leading to financial freedom. Instead, many live paycheck to paycheck and acquire substantial debt.

Today, our nation's youth are bombarded with a multitude of financial options at an increasingly young age. Yet many are ill-equipped to make informed decisions about financial matters. According to a 2001 Teenage Research Unlimited survey, teenagers spend rather than save 98 percent of their money, a total of $172 billion in 2002. One out of every three teenagers has credit cards and even more have an ATM card.

Various public and private organizations have developed programs to promote public knowledge of basic finances. Many of these organizations are working with elementary and secondary students to provide them with a strong education in money management and provide teacher training on how to integrate basic financial education principles into curricula.

For example, in my home state of Delaware, MBNA opened the Financial Advisory Service (FAS) over ten years ago, which offers professional advice to MBNA people and their immediate family members. FAS, under the leadership of Tom Dibble, set out to offer professional personal money management education for all MBNA people. Since the service was established, MBNA has extended the service into the community and into the local school systems through the facilitation of basic credit and money management curriculum to all grade levels in elementary, high schools, and colleges throughout the country. FAS has educated nearly 1,500 students in Delaware 14,000 students throughout the country since 1995. Their extensively educated advisors teach, not only credit information, but, especially in the case of students, spend a great deal of time on financial basics like balancing a checkbook and budgeting.

This fall I held a hearing in my Subcommittee entitled, ``Financial Literacy Education: What Do Students Need to Know to Plan For the Future?'' I was particularly interested in learning what schools, government, and industry were doing to help educate youth about not only the intricacies of being financially sound, but also the very basics. I was pleased to learn that there is engagement across the spectrum. I am happy to support today's resolution--to recognize those that are already active, and to encourage more to become active.