[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 387 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 387
Encouraging minority participation in the goals of Financial Literacy
Month for April, 2006.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 6, 2006
Ms. Millender-McDonald submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Encouraging minority participation in the goals of Financial Literacy
Month for April, 2006.
Whereas in order to succeed in our dynamic American economy, it is imperative
that all young people have access to the skills, knowledge, and
experience necessary to manage their personal finances and obtain
general financial literacy;
Whereas it is important that social and economic factors do not hinder the
availability of educational tools that young adults need to make
informed financial decisions;
Whereas personal financial education integrates instruction in valuable life
skills with instruction in economics, including income and taxes, money
management, investment and spending, and the importance of personal
savings to prepare students for the workforce and for financial
independence by developing their sense of individual responsibility,
improving their life skills, and providing them with a thorough
understanding of consumer economics that will benefit them for their
entire lives;
Whereas recent studies have identified the lack of financial literacy as a
significant problem for minorities and immigrants in the United States,
and often these groups deal in informal cash economies, or rely on
ethnic savings and credit systems (such as the various cultural informal
``round robin'' systems used to pool savings for large purchases), or
some combination of the two;
Whereas studies have found many of minority and immigrant individuals and
households are reluctant to engage in a formal financial relationship
with banks because of negative historical experiences or perceptions;
Whereas, in a ``new ownership society'', it is important that minorities are
taught that financial services can be useful tools to manage personal
finances more effectively and to provide a cushion against unforeseen
events;
Whereas awareness about the benefits of having a deposit relationship with a
financial institution will lead to greater access to credit for the
purpose of purchasing a home or other wealth-building items in these
communities;
Whereas this deposit relationship and access to credit will set into motion at
least 20 consumer protection laws and regulations aimed at ensuring that
historically disadvantaged consumers are safeguarded from unfair,
discriminatory, or predatory lending practices;
Whereas entrepreneurship is one of the pillars of American economics and
individual financial independence, understanding the finances is one of
the most important pieces to owning and operating a successful small
business;
Whereas, while the 4-year survival rates have risen in recent years to 72.6
percent for nonminority-owned businesses establishments, the survival
rates for minority-owned businesses were lower, including Asian and
Pacific Islander-owned at 72.1 percent, Hispanic-owned at 68.6 percent,
American Indian and Native Alaskan-owned at 67 percent, and Black-owned
at 61 percent;
Whereas, with proper management and financial training, survival rates rise to
80 to 90 percent;
Whereas at the heart of the reasons these businesses fail are poor financial
planning and the general mishandling of funds;
Whereas most Americans believe a long career of hard work equates to a fruitful
retirement in their older years, more than half of working Americans are
not putting aside enough to maintain anything like our present standard
of living upon retirement;
Whereas by the year 2010, when 78,000,000 Americans will be 65 years old or
older, 30 percent will have no retirement savings and today's average
50-year old has only $2,300 saved toward retirement;
Whereas homeownership is valued not only as a stabilizing factor for families
and communities, but also for its contributions to the nation's economic
stability through the housing sector;
Whereas minorities accounted for 40 percent of net new homeowners during the
past 5 years;
Whereas, despite these recent gains, a substantial ``homeownership gap''
continues between white and minority households in the United States;
Whereas more than 70 percent of white Americans own their own homes, compared to
less than half of African Americans and Hispanic Americans;
Whereas, while 94 percent of 16- to 22-year-old students report that they are
likely to turn to their parents for financial advice, only 7 percent of
parents feel that their children understand financial matters well and
only 32 percent of parents talk to their children regularly about
personal finances;
Whereas 40 percent of Americans admit to living beyond their means;
Whereas an evaluation by the High School Financial Planning Program of the
National Endowment for Financial Education, undertaken jointly with the
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the
United States Department of Agriculture, demonstrates that as little as
10 hours of classroom instruction can impart substantial knowledge and
affect significant change in how teens handle their money;
Whereas the programs such as Operation Hope's Banking on Our Future (BOOF)
program can deliver financial literacy education with a focus on urban,
under-served communities that impart the principles of such topics as
``Basics of Banking'', ``Checking & Savings Accounts'', ``The Power of
Credit'', and ``Basic Investments'' for urban and historically
disadvantaged youths between the ages of 9 and 18 at no cost to school
districts;
Whereas, in addition to financial education, the students are left with a
message of empowerment, a message of responsibility, and most
importantly, a message of hope;
Whereas State educational leaders have recognized the importance of providing a
basic financial education to students in kindergarten through grade 12
by integrating financial education into State educational standards, but
by 2004, only 7 States required students to complete a course that
covered personal finance before graduating from high school;
Whereas ensuring teacher training and professional development are critical to
achieving youth financial literacy and teachers should be given the
tools they need to educate our Nation's youth on personal finance and
economics;
Whereas the consumers and investors of tomorrow are in our schools today and the
teaching of personal finance should be encouraged at all levels of our
Nation's educational system, from kindergarten through grade 12; and
Whereas educational and financial institutions; Federal, State, and local
government entities; and community-based organizations can work together
to ensure a stronger financial education system so that Americans can
make informed choices about their finances: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy
Month; and
(2) supports the efforts of States, localities, schools,
non-profit organizations, businesses, other entities, and the
people of the United States who support financial literacy
programs and activities to promote wealth-building behavior in
minority and historically disadvantaged communities
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