[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 148 Engrossed in House (EH)]
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
April 6, 2005.
Whereas the financial services industry in the United States benefits millions
of people in the United States, providing products and services that
allow individuals and families to build homes, buy cars, finance
educations, start businesses, and meet everyday needs;
Whereas personal financial education is essential to ensure that individuals are
prepared to manage money, credit, and debt, and become responsible
workers, heads of households, investors, entrepreneurs, business
leaders, and citizens, yet a study completed in 2004 by the Jump$tart
Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy found that high school seniors
know less about principles of basic personal finance than did high
school seniors 7 years earlier;
Whereas financial education has been linked to lower delinquency rates for
mortgage borrowers, higher participation and contribution rates in
retirement plans, improved spending and saving habits, higher net worth,
and positive knowledge, attitude, and behavior changes, yet a 2004
survey completed by the National Council on Economic Education found
that the number of States that include personal finance in education
standards for students in kindergarten through high school has improved
since 2002 but still falls below 2000 levels;
Whereas expanding access to the mainstream financial system provides individuals
with lower-cost and safer options for managing finances and building
wealth and is likely to lead to increased economic activity and growth,
yet studies show that as many as 10 million households in the United
States are ``unbanked'' or are without access to mainstream bank
products and services;
Whereas personal financial management skills and lifelong habits develop during
childhood, and 55 percent of college students acquire their first credit
card during their first year in college, and 92 percent of college
students acquire at least one credit card by their second year in
college, yet only 26 percent of people between the ages of 13 and 21
reported that their parents actively taught them how to manage money;
Whereas although more than 42,000,000 people in the United States participate in
qualified cash or deferred arrangements described in section 401(k) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (commonly referred to as ``401(k)
plans''), a Retirement Confidence Survey conducted in 2004 found that
only 42 percent of workers surveyed have calculated how much money they
will need to save for retirement and 4 in 10 workers say that they are
not currently saving for retirement;
Whereas personal savings as a percentage of personal income decreased from 7.5
percent in the early 1980s to 1.1 percent in the last two quarters of
2004;
Whereas Congress sought to implement a national strategy for coordination of
Federal financial literacy efforts through the establishment of the
Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) in 2003, the
designation of the Office of Financial Education of the Department of
the Treasury to provide support for the Commission, and requirements
that the Commission's materials, website, toll-free hotline, and
national multimedia campaign be multilingual;
Whereas Members of the United States House of Representatives established the
Financial and Economic Literacy Caucus (FELC) in February 2005 to (1)
provide a forum for interested Members of Congress to work in
collaboration with the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, (2)
highlight public and private sector best-practices, and (3) organize and
promote financial literacy legislation, seminars and events, such as
``Financial Literacy Month'' in April 2005 and the annual ``Financial
Literacy Day'' fair on April 27, 2005; and
Whereas the National Council on Economic Education, its State Councils and
Centers for Economic Education, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal
Financial Literacy, its State affiliates, and its partner organizations
have designated April as `Financial Literacy Month' to educate the
public about the need for increased financial literacy for youth and
adults in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month; and
(2) requests that the President issue a proclamation calling on the
Federal Government, States, localities, schools, nonprofit
organizations, businesses, other entities, and the people of the United
States to observe the month with appropriate programs and activities.
Attest:
Clerk.