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EMPOWERING CONSUMERS: CAN FINANCIAL 

LITERACY EDUCATION PREVENT 

ANOTHER FINANCIAL CRISIS? 

FIELD HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

AUGUST 24, 2010 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Financial Services 

Serial No. 111–152 

( 

(II) 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES 

BARNEY FRANK, Massachusetts, Chairman 

PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania 

MAXINE WATERS, California 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York 

LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois 

NYDIA M. VELA ́ ZQUEZ, New York 

MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

DENNIS MOORE, Kansas 

MICHAEL E. CAPUANO, Massachusetts 

RUBE ́ N HINOJOSA, Texas 

WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri 

CAROLYN MCCARTHY, New York 

JOE BACA, California 

STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts 

BRAD MILLER, North Carolina 

DAVID SCOTT, Georgia 

AL GREEN, Texas 

EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri 

MELISSA L. BEAN, Illinois 

GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin 

PAUL W. HODES, New Hampshire 

KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota 

RON KLEIN, Florida 

CHARLES WILSON, Ohio 

ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado 

JOE DONNELLY, Indiana 

BILL FOSTER, Illinois 

ANDRE ́ CARSON, Indiana 

JACKIE SPEIER, California 

TRAVIS CHILDERS, Mississippi 

WALT MINNICK, Idaho 

JOHN ADLER, New Jersey 

MARY JO KILROY, Ohio 

STEVE DRIEHAUS, Ohio 

SUZANNE KOSMAS, Florida 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

JIM HIMES, Connecticut 

GARY PETERS, Michigan 

DAN MAFFEI, New York 

SPENCER BACHUS, Alabama 

MICHAEL N. CASTLE, Delaware 

PETER T. KING, New York 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma 

RON PAUL, Texas 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

WALTER B. JONES, JR., North Carolina 

JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois 

GARY G. MILLER, California 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia 

JEB HENSARLING, Texas 

SCOTT GARRETT, New Jersey 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

JIM GERLACH, Pennsylvania 

RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas 

TOM PRICE, Georgia 

PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina 

JOHN CAMPBELL, California 

ADAM PUTNAM, Florida 

MICHELE BACHMANN, Minnesota 

KENNY MARCHANT, Texas 

THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan 

KEVIN McCARTHY, California 

BILL POSEY, Florida 

LYNN JENKINS, Kansas 

CHRISTOPHER LEE, New York 

ERIK PAULSEN, Minnesota 

LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey 

JEANNE M. ROSLANOWICK, Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

(III) 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS

DENNIS MOORE, Kansas, Chairman 

STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts 

RON KLEIN, Florida 

JACKIE SPEIER, California 

GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin 

JOHN ADLER, New Jersey 

MARY JO KILROY, Ohio 

STEVE DRIEHAUS, Ohio 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois 

PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina 

RON PAUL, Texas 

MICHELE BACHMANN, Minnesota 

CHRISTOPHER LEE, New York 

ERIK PAULSEN, Minnesota 

(V) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on: 

August 24, 2010 ................................................................................................ 1 

Appendix: 

August 24, 2010 ................................................................................................ 37 

WITNESSES 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010 

Glendening, Hon. Kevin, Deputy Commissioner, Consumer and Mortgage 

Lending Division, Office of the State Bank Commissioner, State of Kansas .. 12 

McKinney, Hon. Dennis, Treasurer, State of Kansas ........................................... 4 

Mitchell, Shawn P., President and Chief Executive Officer, Community Bankers Association of Kansas .................................................................................... 27 

Petty, Taylor, Master’s in accounting student, University of Kansas ................. 21 

Praeger, Hon. Sandy, Commissioner of Insurance, State of Kansas ................... 6 

Smith, Hon. John P., Administrator, Kansas Department of Credit Unions ..... 8 

Tuttle, Kathryn Nemeth, Vice Provost for Student Success, University of 

Kansas ................................................................................................................... 23 

Voyles, Gayle, Director, University of Missouri-Kansas City Center for Economic Education ................................................................................................... 25 

Wilson, Hon. Marc S., Securities Commissioner, State of Kansas ...................... 10 

Wolgamott, Chris, Community Development Liaison, Meritrust Credit Union . 29 

APPENDIX 

Prepared statements: 

Moore, Hon. Dennis .......................................................................................... 38 

Hinojosa, Hon. Ruben ....................................................................................... 39 

Glendening, Hon. Kevin ................................................................................... 41 

McKinney, Hon. Dennis ................................................................................... 46 

Mitchell, Shawn P. ........................................................................................... 51 

Petty, Taylor ..................................................................................................... 56 

Praeger, Hon. Sandy ........................................................................................ 61 

Smith, Hon. John P. ......................................................................................... 65 

Tuttle, Kathryn Nemeth .................................................................................. 73 

Voyles, Gayle, .................................................................................................... 77 

Wilson, Hon. Marc S. ....................................................................................... 81 

Wolgamott, Chris .............................................................................................. 92 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

Moore, Hon. Dennis: 

Written statement of the Financial Education and Counseling Alliance .... 95 

Letter from the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) . 102 

Written statement of Dennis M. Dice, CEO, NavPoint Institute for Financial Literacy ................................................................................................... 103 

(1) 

EMPOWERING CONSUMERS: CAN FINANCIAL 

LITERACY EDUCATION PREVENT 

ANOTHER FINANCIAL CRISIS? 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT

AND INVESTIGATIONS, 

COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES, 

Washington, D.C. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., in the 

Simons Media Room, The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas, 2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, Kansas, Hon. 

Dennis Moore [chairman of the subcommittee] presiding. 

Members present: Representatives Moore and Jenkins. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Good morning. This field hearing 

of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House 

Financial Services Committee will come to order. Our hearing 

today is entitled, ‘‘Empowering Consumers: Can Financial Literacy 

Education Prevent another Financial Crisis?’’ Inspired from the 

April 6, 2009, Time magazine cover, ‘‘The End of Excess: Why this 

Crisis is Good for America,’’ this is the third and final hearing in 

a series where we look at key issues that may not be receiving 

enough attention following the recent financial crisis so we can 

learn more and work towards a stronger and more stable financial 

system. 

Before we begin with the formal proceedings, I want to take a 

moment of personal privilege to first thank Dole Institute Director 

Bill Lacy and the staff here for hosting today’s field hearing, as 

well as my alma mater, the University of Kansas Chancellor, 

Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, and all the students, faculty, 

and staff who make this one of the finest places for higher education in the country. 

I also want to thank the other member, Representative Lynn 

Jenkins from the 2nd District of Kansas, who has taken time to be 

here today. I really appreciate that. 

This is our second hearing. As some of you know, we had one 

yesterday. 

We will begin this hearing with members’ opening statements, 

up to 10 minutes per side. Then, we will hear testimony from our 

witnesses. For each witness panel, members will each have up to 

5 minutes to question our witnesses. The Chair advises our witnesses to please keep your opening statements to 5 minutes to keep 

things moving so we can get to member questions. 

2 

Without objection, members’ opening statements will be made a 

part of the record and I now recognize myself for 5 minutes for an 

opening statement. 

Our economy continues to slowly recover following the worst financial crisis we have seen in generations. Everyone knows, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, that lax oversight and poor 

regulation of our financial system for too many years sowed the 

seeds of a near collapse of our entire economy, the worst of its kind 

since the Great Depression. 

And who paid the price for these mistakes? Unfortunately, it was 

not those ‘‘too-big-to-fail’’ firms on Wall Street, but rather our constituents and businesses here in Kansas and across the country. 

American households lost about $14 trillion in net worth over the 

course of 2 years—$14 trillion. Retirement accounts saw an over 20 

percent decline in value, forcing many Americans to delay their retirement. Millions of Americans lost their homes through foreclosure. Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme defrauded $65 billion from 

investors. 

Given the economic damage we did suffer, it is not surprising 

that many Americans have lost their faith in our financial system. 

This is why I was proud to work with my colleagues on the House 

Financial Services Committee and in Congress in drafting the 

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that 

the President recently signed into law. 

A key lesson that we have learned from the financial crisis is 

that we need to do a better job across sectors—local, State, and 

Federal Governments, private industry, nonprofits—to utilize 

scarce resources to better promote financial literacy education. 

That is why I am glad the Dodd-Frank Act includes some lessnoticed provisions that will aid in this effort. A key provision creates an Office of Financial Education—imagine that, an Office of 

Financial Education—within the newly created Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. This office will be responsible for ‘‘developing and implementing initiatives intended to educate and empower consumers to make better informed financial decisions.’’ The 

new law also establishes in the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development an Office of Housing Counseling, which will conduct 

activities relating to homeownership and rental housing counseling. 

Additionally, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission 

recently announced the launch of its redesigned financial literacy 

education Web site, which can be found at www.mymoney.gov. The 

new Web site provides new calculators and checklists to assist individuals and families with savings and various life events with financial implications. 

There are other examples of what is happening to promote financial literacy on the Federal level, but today we will hear from State 

regulators here in Kansas and efforts they are taking to promote 

financial literacy. We will also hear from representatives in the 

education and local financial community to learn what projects 

work best to strengthen financial literacy. I look forward to hearing 

from our witnesses on this very, very important issue. 

Will better financial literacy, on its own, prevent the next financial crisis? Maybe not, but I know if we do not do a better job of 

promoting financial education, we only increase the likelihood of 

3 

another crisis. I hope that with today’s hearing, we can begin to explore ways in which the Federal Government can be a better partner with State and local governments, and others, to provide the 

education and resources everyone needs to make better financial 

decisions. 

I now recognize for up to 10 minutes Representative Lynn Jenkins, a member of the House Financial Services Committee; and 

thank you for being here with us today, Lynn. 

Ms. JENKINS. Thank you, Chairman Moore, and thank you for 

holding this hearing on a very important topic. I, too, would like 

to thank KU and our panelists and the individuals who have taken 

the time to come out this morning. 

And I would like to welcome everybody to the 2nd District, even 

if it is by just about 100 yards. 

[laughter] 

Ms. JENKINS. Financial literacy is such an important issue and 

I am proud of these elected officials and the industry professionals 

represented here today for their good work in partnering with one 

another in an effort to better educate Kansans on their financial 

health. 

As a certified public accountant, a former lawmaker, and a 

former State Treasurer, I understand firsthand the significance of 

financial literacy. It is an issue that is near and dear to my heart 

and one that I continue to have a personal passion for. CPAs have 

a long history of helping people take control of their financial future, and it was during my tenure on the Board of Directors of the 

Kansas Society of CPAs that I received my initial introduction to 

the critical importance of educating the public on fiscal issues 

through programs like one called ‘‘360 Degrees of Financial Literacy’’ and the ‘‘Feed the Pig’’ initiative which was originated by 

CPAs across the Nation. We created programs in which individuals 

might increase their financial literacy. 

My interest was further peaked when I was elected to the legislature where Jill Dawkin and a group of folks brought the issue of 

financial literacy to our attention in our education committee. 

Their good work raised awareness among individuals in the State 

House on the importance of education and financial skills. And finally, during my time in the State Treasurer’s office and as president of the National Association of State Treasurers, we had the 

privilege of learning even more about the needs of cradle-to-grave 

financial education and that approach. 

It was such a thrill to see organizations like the Kansas Credit 

Unions step up to the plate in a big way to help us create programs 

that addressed the needs of Kansans. And upon my election to Congress, I immediately joined the Financial and Economic Literacy 

Caucus, whose goal is to promote financial education. And I cosponsored legislation promoting Financial Literacy Month. 

I look forward to learning of additional ways that the Federal 

Government can encourage this panel working together with us to 

continue the good work that has been started. And I believe we 

must continue to promote strong financial literacy programs that 

are aimed at educating individuals and helping them take control 

of their financial destiny. 

4 

I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses on successful 

programs that they have used to promote financial literacy and 

other ideas our witnesses might have for tying together the patchwork of programs at the local, State, and Federal level to ensure 

Americans are receiving the information that they need. 

With that, I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you to my colleague. 

And I am now pleased to introduce our first panel of witnesses: 

Dennis McKinney, Treasurer, State of Kansas; Sandy Praeger, 

Commissioner, Kansas Insurance Department; John P. Smith, Administrator, Kansas Department of Credit Unions; Marc Wilson, 

Securities Commissioner, State of Kansas; and Kevin Glendening, 

Deputy Commissioner, Consumer and Mortgage Lending Division, 

Office of the State Bank Commissioner, State of Kansas. 

Without objection, your written statements will be made a part 

of the record. 

Treasurer McKinney, you are now recognized for up to 5 minutes 

to provide a brief summary of your written statement. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DENNIS McKINNEY, 

TREASURER, STATE OF KANSAS 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know to a great extent, I am preaching to the choir here, because some of these programs in our office were started by my predecessor, then-State 

Treasurer Lynn Jenkins. 

As State Treasurer, I believe financial literacy is a national priority. And as a result, my office provides a variety of financial literacy programs to Kansans of all ages. Among other initiatives, we 

offer an in-school savings program and financial management 

workshops for grade school and middle school aged students. We 

also host financial seminars and online resources for adults. These 

programs are a great resource to Kansas teachers, students, and 

families. Our goal is to help hard-working Kansans save, invest, 

and grow to create more opportunities to improve families and communities across Kansas. I might add that in doing this, we try to 

partner as often as we can with other organizations such as inState agencies, as often as we can, to get connections within the 

communities. Our largest partner has been the Kansas Credit 

Unions. 

The Save@School program provides the early education that is 

critical in shaping young minds in financial management. With the 

leadership of educators and the cooperation of local financial institutions, this program is reaching thousands of students across Kansas. The curriculum for the Save@School program is designed to 

make students aware of the benefits of saving, encourage good habits relating to saving and spending, and carry over to the student’s 

family as a way to make positive changes in their own financial 

lives. 

The Save@School program joins the State Treasurer’s office, local 

financial institutions, and schools with the common goal of teaching children so that they become educated consumers who will 

make responsible financial decisions in the future. Participants 

open savings accounts and make deposits to their accounts on 

5 

scheduled savings days at their school. The students learn the importance of savings through hands-on experience and classroom exercises with the guidance of an employee of the financial institution 

and the curriculum provided by the State Treasurer’s Office. This 

curriculum aligns with current Kansas State mathematics standards. 

The Treasurer’s LIFE reading list provides lessons on cost-benefit analysis, barter and exchange, having a job, having and earning money, and saving techniques for kids from preschool through 

high school. This list is designed to get kids to begin thinking about 

and engaging in dialogue on some basic financial concepts. 

As State Treasurer and as a parent myself, I recommend that 

parents talk to their children about finances early and often. Reading these books to kids is a great way to communicate the message 

of financial responsibility and get those conversations started. I appreciate the important role that parents and caregivers play in 

shaping our children’s future. I would just quickly add that some 

of us like Congresswoman Jenkins and myself had the advantage 

of 4–H experience, which many of our students do not have today. 

Another initiative at the Treasurer’s office for parents and children is the Kansas Investments Developing Scholars programs. 

This is a unique opportunity for Kansas families who want to begin 

planning for their child’s education beyond high school but may 

need some assistance to make the goal of saving a reality. The K.I.D.S. matching grant program will match the first $600 

that participants contribute to a Learning Quest 529 Education 

Savings Program account each year that they are eligible. K.I.D.S. 

was developed for families with incomes less than 200 percent of 

the Federal poverty level. To be eligible, participants must be Kansas residents. Whether it is community college, technical schools or 

university, the challenge of paying for a child’s education will only 

increase in the future. 

We reach the middle school students through a one-day work- shop called Money$mart Financial Management. This event was 

created specifically for Kansas middle school students. Money$mart 

is designed to offer middle school students training in sound personal financial philosophies. 

The ABCs of Credit Card Finance is a program aimed at educating high school seniors and young adults entering college. It was 

created by the Center for Student Credit Card Education and instructs students how to wisely choose and responsibly use a credit 

card. 

The Treasurer’s office provides seminars specifically for women 

and for seniors. In 2009, we were a strong partner on the Women 

& Money Coalition and we sponsored an 8-week series for 90 

women to gain control over their finances. This was hosted at 

Washburn University in Topeka. 

Partnering with a number of organizations, we have offered financial literacy programs in Topeka starting with State employees 

as a pilot project. Based on the success of these pilot sessions, we 

have decided to expand these opportunities to other people in Kansas. 

You asked the question, what kinds of programs have worked 

well in promoting greater financial literacy? The best programs are 

6 

the ones that can entertain the participants as well as educate 

them. Students of all ages consider finances a boring topic. But 

money is fun to talk about. Once the word finance or budget is 

mentioned, eyes start glazing over. So our folks work hard to try 

engage the students and make the topic fun and then it is easier 

for the learning to take place. That is one of the goals in the Money$mart Program where we 

also engage college age students in helping with the program because college age students quite often find it easier to get the interest and attention of middle school students and talk to them about 

what they need to do to prepare for college as well as prepare for 

better financial management. 

You also posed the question, how can we coordinate efforts at the local, State, and national levels? The Jump$tart Coalition is a big 

step in the right direction. The national Jump$tart encourages 

public and private entities to come together with the purpose of 

promoting and teaching financial education. Their primary audience is children, pre-kindergarten through college age youth. In 

Kansas, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy 

has taken that a step further to include Kansans of all ages (prekindergarten through senior citizens). The Coalition efforts encourage partners to work together, combining resources and creating 

win-wins for the citizens of our State. I would also add the Kansas 

State Department of Education has been a great partner and is expanding their efforts and we are working with them to be sure that 

we are coordinated to provide all the resources our office has to 

offer as they seek to increase financial literacy through our public 

schools in Kansas. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. McKinney can be found on page 

46 of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you, sir. 

Next, the Chair will recognize Commissioner Praeger for up to 5 

minutes. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE SANDY PRAEGER, 

COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE, STATE OF KANSAS 

Ms. PRAEGER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the 

House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and especially Congresswoman Jenkins, distinguished 

guests and audience members, and my fellow panel members. I am 

Sandy Praeger, the Insurance Commissioner for the State of Kansas, and I have served in that capacity since being elected in 2002. 

I am pleased to testify before the committee on empowering consumers with financial literacy education in order to prevent another financial crisis, and especially on the necessity of including 

insurance information for consumers in any such initiative. 

The Kansas Insurance Department’s mission is threefold: to regulate insurance companies; to educate consumers about insurance 

issues; and to advocate for consumers when needed. So it is the 

educational aspect of our mission that I am here to promote and 

talk about today. 

The need for financial education, especially among youth, is always important. However, the earliest segments of those activities 

7 

often focus on saving and spending wisely, both parts of financial 

freedom. 

These are tangible financial ideas. They teach a child to save his 

or her money early, and then the money will be available for them 

when he or she needs it. By teaching them to shop wisely and compare quality, price, and the need for those particular items, when 

you do that, the money-saving cycle is repeated and extended. 

It has long been my belief that any educational component of financial literacy has to contain a segment on insurance. The idea 

of spending money to avert risk is a more abstract concept and 

sometimes harder to convey. It is hard for young people to understand that you spend money buying insurance without receiving 

any kind of immediate gratification for your expenditure. Probably 

the best example is when they want to own a car and then have 

to understand that buying the car is just the first price, it is also 

the gasoline, the maintenance and the insurance. So that is a little 

tougher concept to get across. The need for immediacy in our youth 

carries over into adulthood, with unfortunate consequences when it 

comes to understanding insurance. 

Surveys from our National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the NAIC, have shown that 60 percent of adults cannot answer even basic questions about insurance correctly. 

Add to that the ever-increasing bombardment of financial offers 

to the general public and it is no wonder that money management 

skills, especially when it comes to insurance topics, are misunderstood and misused. 

The NAIC, which I am a member of, has responded to the need 

for increased consumer insurance awareness through its Insure U 

program. Insure U is an online educational curriculum customized 

for consumers in eight different life stages beginning with young 

adults with young families, progressing to mature families and 

empty nesters on into grandparents as parents, military—a whole 

variety of questions and answers that relate to those different life 

stages. 

At InsureU.org, the program includes a basic introduction to the 

four major types of insurance—auto, home, health, and life—as 

they pertain to people at different ages and in these different life 

situations. Consumers can test their knowledge about insurance by 

taking an online quiz. Since its inception in 2006, Insure U has 

achieved national media and Web site attention and is promoted 

heavily by State insurance departments. 

Our own Kansas Insurance Department, as part of our continuing consumer education priority, has made its insurance experts available throughout the State through speaker presentations 

and exhibits. We have been to more than half of the State’s counties in just the last 2 years, making presentations on insurance 

issues to a variety of audiences. Annually, our State fair booth in 

Hutchinson gives our department instant access to fairgoers and 

Kansans from across the State. 

Our Assistant Commissioner, Bob Tomlinson, who is a former 

teacher, has made understanding insurance for young people a personal project. He has developed many presentations for high school 

youth on insurance, and has spoken to dozens of high school classes. 

8 

And finally, our Government and Public Affairs Division with the 

department is responsible for producing and maintaining more 

than 30 publications and brochures on all aspects of consumer insurance information. We even make an educational coloring book 

available that explains basic insurance concepts to kids. 

The Kansas Insurance Department and the NAIC are working to 

help Kansas consumers of all ages become literate in insurance 

matters. But, there is still more work to be done. If we can collaborate with other agencies—and we have done that—and organizations in getting the word out, then we are certainly open to doing 

even more. 

Successful financial literacy education needs to be available 

through designated lifelong learning environments. Emphasis on 

basics in the elementary school classroom, followed by advanced 

high school curriculum and continuing refresher courses in adult 

life would be ideal. Increased public/private partnerships should be 

emphasized. There are many insurance education foundations in 

the United States, but they need more of a coordinated effort to be 

really successful. 

So thank you, Congressman Moore and Congresswoman Jenkins, 

for the opportunity to be part of this subcommittee hearing. Please 

call on me or our department and staff any time to assist you in 

promoting financial literacy. 

[The prepared statement of Commissioner Praeger can be found 

on page 61 of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you, Commissioner 

Praeger. 

Mr. Smith, Administrator Smith, you are recognized for 5 minutes, sir. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOHN P. SMITH, 

ADMINISTRATOR, KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CREDIT UNIONS 

Mr. SMITH. Chairman Moore and Representative Jenkins, I am 

John P. Smith, the Administrator for the Kansas Department of 

Credit Unions. I appreciate the opportunity today to appear before 

the subcommittee. My credit union background includes 21 years 

as a volunteer credit union board member prior to appointments as 

a credit union regulator; first, in 1993, by Governor Joan Finney, 

as Administrator of the Department of Credit Unions and then in 

1999, I was appointed by Governor Mel Carnahan as Director of 

the Missouri Division of Credit Unions. I returned to Kansas in 

2006 to accept the appointment as Administrator again from Governor Sebelius. 

The Kansas Department of Credit Unions is the State credit 

union financial regulatory agency authorized by the Kansas legislature to provide for management, control, regulation, and general 

supervision of State-chartered Kansas credit unions. 

The department is fully funded as a fee fund agency, operating 

solely on the revenue produced through fees collected from Statechartered credit unions examined and returned by the agency. 

The department supervises and examines 82 natural person 

credit unions and one corporate credit union. As of March 31st of 

this year, total assets in Kansas chartered credit unions were about 

$3.9 billion. Total credit union membership is 538,983 or roughly 

9 

21 to 22 percent of Kansas’ population belongs to a credit union. 

The largest Kansas chartered credit union has $659 million in 

asset; the smallest has $160,000. The 5 largest credit unions make 

up about 44 percent of the total assets while the 10 largest make 

up 64 percent of the assets. 

I quote these statistics to point out that most of our credit unions 

are small in assets and, therefore, they have to follow generally the 

same regulations that the larger credit unions do. 

I should also mention that Kansas has 21 federally-chartered 

credit unions regulated and examined by the National Credit 

Union Administration, or NCUA. 

Share deposits in Kansas credit unions are federally insured up to $250,000 per account through the National Credit Union Share 

Insurance Fund, which is an arm of the NCUA. 

In addition to examinations, the statutes and regulations provide 

for the department to grant new charters, merge and liquidate 

credit unions when necessary, and handle consumer complaints. 

Most importantly, credit unions are member-owned cooperatives. 

Their boards and committees are non-paid volunteer members. 

As a regulatory agency, the department has no mandate by law 

to provide financial literacy education, nor have we been asked to 

do so. However, we do recognize the importance of financial literacy 

in a variety of ways. The consumer resources section of our Web 

site has links to the consumer protection laws and a brief description of each law. As these are listed in my written testimony, I will 

not take the time to go through them, but they are there for the 

use of consumers. 

I want to next turn to financial literacy. In preparation for the 

testimony today, since we do not have a mandate, I did contact 

some of our credit unions and asked them what they are doing as 

far as financial literacy and I included a synopsis of what was reported to me from a sampling of our credit unions in our written 

testimony. Many of them are involved with the programs by the 

State Treasurer’s office that began when Representative Jenkins 

was State Treasurer and continue on under the current State 

Treasurer. Several credit unions as well as the Kansas Credit 

Union Association are involved in those programs. The Jump$tart 

Coalition is another program and as far as the department, I attend meetings and am involved with the Jump$tart Coalition. 

I want to turn now to promotion of financial literacy outside of 

schools. Credit unions with close ties to companies that are experiencing effects of the economic conditions often provide financial 

counseling to their members. A recent example of this is the sponsor company of Cessna Credit Union recently reduced its workforce 

by over 55 percent. Cessna Credit Union made a concerted effort 

to buffer the impact of job loss by deferring payments, restructuring loans, offering a safe place to deposit severance or early retirement funds, and offering financial education and counseling 

programs. 

We have observed similar efforts in other credit unions. Two 

years ago, I recall a cement plant closing in southeast Kansas. The 

credit union is still functioning today because they took the appropriate steps so that they could continue, even with the loss of their 

members’ high paying jobs, at least for that community. We enVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:52 Dec 06, 2010 Jkt 061856 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 K:\DOCS\61856.TXT TERRIE
10 

courage credit unions to become proactive if an economic downturn 

may affect their members’ financial ability to handle their financial 

obligations. 

Encouraging financial literacy in this group goes beyond 

schools—again, as I stated earlier, as we have no mandate under 

the law to promote or provide financial literacy education, I do support a role for the department in that. 

The financial literacy of credit union members enhances the department’s position as a safety and soundness regulator. Fewer delinquent loans and bankruptcies improve the financial performance 

of a credit union, which influences the ability of that credit union 

to loan money at a competitive rate and pay improved dividends. 

So it is a win-win solution; if you have financial literacy, you 

should have a good credit union member. 

I want to conclude with a few suggestions. To be financially literate is a life-long venture. New financial products such as individual retirement accounts or IRAs, debit cards, different types of 

home mortgages and home equity loans—these new products continue to be developed. While financial literacy education is part of 

the K through 12 educational system, in my opinion, more could be 

done to promote life-long financial literacy, to keep informed about 

new products and how to budget for their proper use. With the current focus on the recent financial crisis, public policymakers have 

an opportunity to support and encourage financial institutions to 

provide financial education regarding consumer safeguards such as 

overdraft protection for their members/customers and the general 

public. While another crisis may not be prevented, the general public will be better prepared. 

As a caveat, Federal agencies should not preempt State consumer protection laws that offer greater protection than Federal 

laws. 

In adopting Federal regulations implementing the Dodd-Frank 

Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Federal agencies 

must not overregulate and must allow the marketplace to function. 

Additional regulations are a difficult burden to our smaller asset 

size credit unions. As I pointed out, we have a number in our 

State. 

I thank you for allowing me to present the testimony today on 

this important topic. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Smith can be found on page 65 

of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you very much, Mr. Smith. 

Commissioner Wilson, you are recognized, sir, for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE MARC S. WILSON, 

SECURITIES COMMISSIONER, STATE OF KANSAS 

Mr. WILSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Congresswoman Jenkins, distinguished panelists, and especially I would like to thank 

the University of Kansas for hosting us today. It is fantastic to be 

back on the campus of my undergraduate alma mater. 

As Kansas Securities Commissioner, I am responsible for protecting and informing Kansas investors, promoting integrity and 

full disclosure in the marketing of financial services, and fostering 

capital formation. As you may know, in 1911 Kansas became the 

11 

first State to regulate securities, predating the Federal securities 

acts by over 20 years and forming the basis for the system of registration and disclosure that we have today. Like the SEC, the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner, or KSC, examines both 

investment advisers and broker-dealers located in Kansas. Unlike 

the SEC, KSC also has trained and duly sworn law enforcement officers who investigate allegations of illegal and unregistered activities. Additionally, in cooperation with district and county attorneys, 

KSC prosecutes its own cases. We are not reliant upon local, State, 

or Federal prosecutors to take and try these cases. Consequently, 

securities fraud receives the specialized attention it deserves from 

law enforcement in Kansas. 

As I mentioned, one of the goals of our office, statutorily mandated, is to educate Kansas consumers. And that is what I am 

going to focus on today. 

We have found that because of our mission of fraud prevention, 

one of the target groups for education are senior citizens and those 

nearing retirement. They are often the target of people who are attempting to defraud them of their nest eggs that they are building 

for retirement. This population also has very specific investment 

needs as far as the reduction of risk in their portfolio. Therefore, 

we do many outreach activities to senior citizens throughout the 

State. Our staff goes to senior meetings, our staff will visit Rotary 

Clubs, student groups and just about anybody else who invites us 

to come and give a presentation. 

But I think one of the things that we do that is especially relevant to the hearing today is our outreach to younger people 

through the Kansas Council for Economic Education. We have an 

investor education fund. The Kansas legislature set up this fund in 

the early part of the decade. And those companies and individuals 

who pay fines for breaking the law or violating acceptable business 

practices, those funds go into the fund, which we then can turn 

around and use for investor education. Some of it funds the travel 

and expenses for our own staff when they do outreach, but we also 

provide grants to organizations. Some of them have been mentioned by other panelists. 

The largest grant that we give is the Kansas Council for Economic Education to fund a game called the Stock Market Game. 

This game targets students in grades 3 through 12 and what it 

does—and it is certainly more complicated for the older students 

who can understand better, but what it does is it allows students 

to manage a hypothetical portfolio of $100,000 in an actual stock 

market situation. And far from the kids eyes glazing over, I hear 

reports back of kids who are cutting class so they can go make 

trades. So I think this particular program is very special in that 

regard. Once kids do it, they very much want to participate and 

their interest really is peaked in what happens with financial services. 

And really, despite our mandate of fraud prevention and despite 

our targeting of an older population, despite the need to do that 

outreach, the integration of financial literacy in the school curriculum from an early age gives consumers a foundation from 

which they can update their knowledge throughout their lifetime as 

their financial needs change. I think targeting those young people 

12 

is a very important thing and I know that Mr. Glendening is probably going to address this as well, because they are even larger financial supporters of the Kansas Council for Economic Education. 

Our funds—we increased our donation and support of the Stock 

Market Game so that every Kansas student who wants to participate can do so regardless of their financial situation. And when we 

did that, the participating teams rose from 443 to over 1,300 and 

that includes 701 teams that came from teachers who were new to 

the program. So what I am hoping to do is work with the Kansas 

Council for Economic Education and get the word out to teachers 

that there is this curriculum that is available, not just the Stock 

Market Game, but many others that are free, they are ready-made, 

they take very little preparation time, and they fit very well with 

the mandates for consumer education and mathematics that Kansas schools must comply with. 

I see that I am running out of time, I will leave certain matters 

to my written testimony. I do agree with you, Mr. Chairman, and 

some of the other panelists that there is no guarantee that financial literacy by itself will prevent another financial crisis. But it 

would certainly make a financial crisis less likely. 

Financial literacy is the key to creating or recreating, as the case 

may be, an American economy that is not driven by consumption, 

but instead balances consumption with savings and investment. 

Were Americans as prodigious savers as they are consumers, the 

United States would have an alternative path out of the recession, 

the same path that throughout its history, the United States rode 

to greatness. That approach is to make capital available to the private sector, not by purchasing unneeded or unnecessary goods, but 

instead by placing excess cash into bank deposits, commodities, equities and government and corporate bonds, as did our forefathers. 

Transforming consumers into investors through financial literacy 

is a goal that is greater than preventing hardship or fraud. It is 

also the path toward turning our Nation from the world’s largest 

debtor into once again the world’s largest creditor nation. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wilson can be found on page 81 

of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you. 

The Chair will next recognize Deputy Commissioner Glendening. 

You are recognized, sir, for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE KEVIN GLENDENING, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, CONSUMER AND MORTGAGE LENDING 

DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE STATE BANK COMMISSIONER, 

STATE OF KANSAS 

Mr. GLENDENING. Thank you, and good morning, Mr. Chairman, 

and Representative Jenkins. I am Kevin Glendening, Deputy Bank 

Commissioner and Administrator of the Kansas Uniform Consumer 

Credit Code. 

In my position, I have the primary responsibility for supervision, 

regulation, and enforcement of Kansas Consumer credit and mortgage lending laws. In that capacity, I have witnessed the often devastating consequences the absence of financial literacy can have on 

consumers. These consequences, including unmanageable debt levVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:52 Dec 06, 2010 Jkt 061856 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 K:\DOCS\61856.TXT TERRIE
13 

els, poor credit, repossessions, and foreclosures can have severe effects on both the individual’s personal and family life. These outcomes are sometimes a result of illegal or deceptive actions on the 

part of an unscrupulous lender or broker, but are frequently simply 

the result of a lack of understanding of basic financial, credit, and 

borrowing issues. 

Aware of the relationship between informed consumers and lowering the incidence of predatory or deceptive lending practices, in 

1999, my office was successful in adding provisions to the Kansas 

Uniform Consumer Credit Code which allowed us to fund financial 

literacy programs by utilizing monies received through fines levied 

against lenders who engage in illegal activities. The advantage of 

this approach was to avoid reliance on tax dollars and place that 

responsibility more centrally on that small percentage of lenders 

who engage in deceptive and illegal activities. 

Once a potential source of funding for these programs was in 

place, our attention turned to what types of financial literacy programs were out there. At that point, several issues became clear 

to us. Among them, there was a significant amount of financial literacy materials available although with varying degrees of quality 

and accuracy. Second, one of the primary challenges with any financial literacy programs or material is getting someone to use it 

in a meaningful way. Third, the method by which financial literacy 

is both effectively presented and delivered depends greatly on the 

target audience. Lastly, the realization that, at least in my case, 

I am primarily a regulator, not an educator, and that partnering 

with groups who have expertise in working with the target audiences you wish reach can be an effective way to leverage available 

resources. 

Our financial literacy initiatives generally fall into two groups, 

those targeted toward school age children and those geared toward 

the needs of adults. Two of our most successful programs directed 

at school age children involve partnerships with nonprofit organizations. As Commissioner Wilson mentioned, the Kansas Council on 

Economic Education is one of those groups. It has as its mission 

the enhancement of curriculum for school teachers to facilitate economic and personal finance education. My office has been the primary sponsor of the KCEE for several years, including the development and distribution of a computer-based financial literacy curriculum called ‘‘Financial Foundations.’’ This interactive 

courseware is designed to help kindergarten through 8th grade 

teachers and students understand personal finance issues and is 

made available free of charge to all elementary and middle schools 

in Kansas. Last year, nearly 7,000 students participated in the online program in 246 schools, representing 92 school districts in 

Kansas. 

More recently, our office has partnered with a nonprofit organization known as Communities in Schools of Wichita and Sedgwick 

County. This organization attempts to bring businesses, schools, 

and community groups together to assist in meeting student and 

family needs. Our office sponsors one component of their work 

known as ‘‘Reality University,’’ a financial literacy exercise that 

provides a hands-on learning experience for students to help prepare them for life after high school and the responsibilities of adult 

14 

life. Students plan their budget, pay bills, and apply decision-making and problem-solving skills within a level of income based on a 

predetermined level of education. The goal is to develop the skills 

needed to make good decisions in practical, real-life situations involving the use of money and show how life choices can affect financial well-being. This past year, over 5,000 students in middle 

and high schools participated in Reality University in 17 schools in 

the Wichita/Sedgwick County area. We hope to expand this financial literacy program across the State in the future. 

To the extent possible, we have made an effort to take financial 

literacy information to the consumer rather than making the consumer seek us out. This may take the form of presentations in the 

workplace, on college campuses or participation in financial fairs or 

other community meetings and neighborhood events. This is I believe a critically important aspect of a successful adult financial literacy program. Unlike school-based programs, where you generally 

have a captive audience, financial literacy programs geared toward 

adults can be considerably more challenging. 

Many of the problems and behaviors that can contribute to an individual’s financial distress are the same issues that can make delivering financial literacy information to adults difficult. Participating in events that also provide other information of interest to 

adult audiences, for instance home purchase or tenant/landlord 

issues, parenting and child care issues, or specific community interest areas can create a value added element and attract more interest. In 2009, more than 11,000 individuals attended one of our 

sponsored adult programs. 

While our own financial literacy initiatives have had a measure 

of success, it is difficult to quantify the extent to which these and 

other programs may ultimately contribute to the stability of our financial future. This, however, should not deter additional efforts at 

both the State and Federal level to invest in greater financial literacy efforts. The benefit of these programs, particularly those 

aimed at children, will not be fully apparent until those children 

enter adulthood and become the primary users of financial products 

and services. The recent financial crisis has generated more interest and awareness of financial literacy issues; however, it is important to remember this must be an ongoing long-term educational 

goal. Ultimately, encouraging more aware and better informed consumers is at least part of the solution to ensuring the financial crisis is not repeated. 

Again, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee today and I would be happy to answer any questions. 

[The prepared statement of Deputy Commissioner Glendening 

can be found on page 41 of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you to our witnesses for 

your testimony. I will now recognize myself for 5 minutes for questions. 

The FDIC conducted a nationwide survey last year, and that 

study showed that roughly 8 percent of U.S. households, approximately 9 million, are unbanked, meaning those households do not 

have a checking or savings account. And roughly 18 percent of U.S. 

households, roughly 21 million, are underbanked, meaning those 

15 

households have a checking or savings account but rely on alternative financial services. 

Treasurer McKinney, is that something we should be concerned 

about? And if so, what can be done about it? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We agree that is a 

major problem and there are several organizations in different communities that are working with families to help them become 

banked and have and understand banking services and utilize 

banking services on a regular basis. But we agree that is a problem 

and there are a number of groups, particularly in the urban areas 

in Kansas, that are working on that issue. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you, sir. 

Administrator Smith or Deputy Commissioner Glendening, any 

comments? 

Mr. SMITH. I agree that this is a problem and I think those numbers are accurate. Again, as Commissioner McKinney pointed out, 

there are a number of organizations working with those, as well as 

I think individual credit unions are working in their communities 

to try to provide services to non-banked individuals. 

Mr. GLENDENING. Mr. Chairman, my only comment would be 

that we have interviewed fairly extensively individuals who frequently utilize small loan products, payday loans, title loans, those 

type products, and one of the key factors that we hear over and 

over again is that rapid accessibility to the credit, which to me, 

that is one of the major stumbling blocks for the more traditional 

methods, the bank model so to speak, of obtaining credit, is the 

time involved to fill out the applications and do the underwriting. 

That is not to say there should not be underwriting, there certainly 

should be, but what attracts consumers to that type of product is 

that rapid ability to get cash quickly. 

Mr. MCKINNEY. If I might add, Mr. Chairman, the BEST Coalition in Wichita is working extensively on this as well as the Kansas Partnership— 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Excuse me, the what coalition? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. BEST Coalition, ‘‘B–E–S–T,’’ Building Economic 

Stability Together, is working on collaborative relationships in that 

regard as well as Kansas Partners for Asset Development is active. 

And that one is also supported extensively by the Kansas Action 

for Children. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you, sir. 

The FDIC conducted a nationwide survey last year and that 

study—I’m sorry, excuse me. I’ll ask this question of the whole 

panel, starting with Treasurer McKinney. Is there good coordination between various State offices here in Kansas, and how would 

you describe the level of coordination or cooperation with your 

counterparts at the Federal level? Also, what suggestions should 

Congress consider in supporting efforts to better coordinate and cooperate so we do not have redundant efforts and maximize limited 

resources in promoting financial literacy? 

Mr. MCKINNEY. I would say we have had excellent cooperation 

among State agencies, the ones here, with the Attorney General’s 

office. Just recently, in a meeting with senior citizens, we were distributing some of the publications from Commissioner Praeger’s office, and the Kansas State Department of Education has also taken 

16 

steps in this direction as well. And we have had extensive cooperation with the Commissioner’s office. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Any other comments from panelists? 

Ms. PRAEGER. I would just agree with Treasurer McKinney. We 

do try to coordinate our efforts and then our National Association, 

that is the main function of the National Association of Insurance 

Commissioners, is to coordinate among the States and with other 

entities at the Federal level. We have lots of opportunities after 

2008 to collaborate with the whole AIG and financial meltdown, 

which required everybody coming together and talking about ways 

to avoid that going forward. And I think obviously those discussions continue. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Mr. Smith? 

Mr. SMITH. I would agree. We meet, we share information. Also 

as far as our Federal insurer, the NCUA, we meet periodically. We 

have good communications with them, we may not always agree on 

regulations and we feel sometimes they need to have a better overreach, but we do have good communications and cooperation. 

Mr. WILSON. With all my vast experience of 21⁄2 months on the 

job, I would agree also. 

[laughter] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. How long on the job? 

Mr. WILSON. Two and a half months, sir. 

I think that we must cooperate. Some of us have better access 

to expertise or personnel or financial resources than others, but 

working together, there is no reason why we cannot reach every 

Kansan we need to. We just need to take some time and make a 

point of it. 

Mr. GLENDENING. I concur with that, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. And my final question for this 

panel, this question is for Commissioners Praeger and Wilson: I 

think most people think about financial literacy in terms of checking and savings accounts, but it would seem to me that learning 

about investments for purposes of saving for college or retirement 

as well as learning about car or life insurance is just as important. 

Commissioner Praeger, I will start with you, do insurance issues 

get left out of this conversation too much and how do we make sure 

financial literacy efforts cover insurance issues? And Commissioner 

Wilson, next to you, the same question with respect to securities, 

how do we ensure securities are covered in financial literacy? 

Commissioner Praeger? 

Ms. PRAEGER. I do think that has been the reason we have really 

tried to step up our efforts on education on insurance issues, because I do think too often insurance does get left out of the equation. Insurance is a product you buy to ensure that when you have 

any sort of financial stress in your family, you are able to use the 

insurance and pick up and move on, whether it be a house fire or 

a car accident, or an unexpected illness. So it definitely—I think 

it is cornerstone to financial security for families and it should be 

incorporated. We do work closely with our counterparts, the other 

financial services areas in Kansas, to ensure that we have appropriate regulation so that things do not fall through the cracks, but 

17 

yes, I think insurance, as I said, is the cornerstone of financial security. 

Mr. WILSON. I would agree with those statements because before 

one starts investing in securities or amassing a retirement nest 

egg, if you have a car or a spouse or children, insurance has to be 

the first thing you think about. Knowing what level and what type 

of insurance you need is a very fundamental financial issue that 

people should understand. Hopefully once you have crossed that 

threshold and one begins earning enough money to think about 

putting some away for a rainy day, retirement or funding education, hopefully programs like the Stock Market Game will at 

least provide young people with basic information about what an 

equity is, what risks are involved with investing in those particular 

types of investments, and what others are out there that they can 

put their money into that is not only tax advantaged but also reduces their investment risk. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you to our panelists. My 

time has expired and I will now recognize Representative Jenkins 

for 5 minutes for questions. 

Ms. JENKINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I think we can all agree here that we have some work to do in 

this area and I am very impressed by the good work that you all 

are doing to improve the situation. But I would be interested to 

hear what each of you might believe is the most significant impediment to improving America’s financial literacy and maybe why. 

And if you believe there is a way that Congress or those of us at 

the Federal level can help to overcome that impediment. 

Mr. MCKINNEY. I will start, I guess. We have found—it is our belief that as schools had to move more to focusing on what they had 

to do to meet testing standards, then financial education was somewhat dropped from curriculums. That is being reversed now, we believe. We have new interest in that at the Kansas State Department of Education, because we believe that financial literacy can 

be incorporated with lessons on math that are designed to meet the 

standards. If you are studying math, you can obviously incorporate—this particular type of math problem can be built around 

a financial literacy education problem. And that is where we are 

receiving more cooperation from the Department of Education. So 

we think that barrier is being overcome. 

And then at the Federal level, which goes back to the question 

that Congressman Moore asked, what would we like Federal agencies to do; number one, we would like the Federal Reserve Bank 

to continue their efforts with their Money$mart week, which works 

in the greater Kansas City area, maybe expand that to more areas 

in the 10th District. I think in fact they are having a meeting on 

that today, which we have personnel attending that meeting. 

And the second thing I would like to see is the new office of Financial Education that was created by the Dodd-Frank bill, we 

would like for them to come out and talk to us first before they 

start anything to see how we build a cooperative relationship instead of respond to what they start, because like I said, we already 

have, I think, excellent cooperation at the State level among various State agencies; if they would come out and see how can they 

18 

plug into this effort and build on it instead of coming out with an 

initiative that we would then have to respond to and work around. 

Ms. PRAEGER. I think even some of our Federal regulatory entities oftentimes overlook insurance as well and I know the Treasury 

several years ago had a financial literacy forum in Washington and 

we had to, through our national association, remind them that perhaps it would be important to have a component in that day-long 

seminar on insurance, which they did. And since then, they have 

included insurance. So I think even some of our Federal agencies 

sort of forget insurance and part of that I think is because insurance has been, as you all know, traditionally regulated at the State 

level. But the Dodd-Frank bill does include a provision for a Federal insurance office, the FIO. And I think it will be interesting to 

see how we can use that office in a way that can help coordinate 

activities between the Federal entities and State entities. I still am 

a passionate believer that Federal insurance regulation should be 

avoided and that it should remain at the State level, because insurance is a product that we all buy to use in the future, as has been 

pointed out, and the services that our department provides in 

terms of assisting consumers is just invaluable. We are a small 

State, and we answer 20,000 to 25,000 calls a year. I cannot imagine what a congressional office would have to do to expand if we 

were not there to answer those consumer questions. 

So I think working more collaboratively, and I think the FIO, 

this newly created office, gives us the opportunity to build on what 

we do best, which is be there for the consumers and advocate for 

consumers, and educate. But also create a greater awareness in 

Washington, in our Nation’s Capitol, of the important role insurance plays in the whole financial services area. 

Mr. SMITH. I think the new office not only should listen but perhaps they should fund too, maybe at the State level. Kansas is a 

strong State-chartered State as far as credit unions and banks too. 

It is obvious that Kansans have selected the State charter and I 

think they believe that our examiners, our departments are the 

ones who know the economy, know the situations and the services 

are better delivered at the local and State level rather than the 

Federal level. 

Mr. WILSON. Send money. 

[laughter] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Pardon me? 

Mr. WILSON. I see in the Dodd-Frank bill that there were funds 

made available, grant funds made available for States that have 

adopted certain securities policies and certain insurance policies 

and I know that my staff has had staff level conversations with 

Commissioner Praeger’s office about seeking those funds. So we 

greatly appreciated that. I think the provision of funds, even in 

small amounts, can go a long way toward alleviating this problem. 

Mr. GLENDENING. I think obviously the coordination of the State 

and Federal efforts is critical. The CFPB, the Consumer Financial 

Protection Board’s education component, I would think a mandate 

to at least engage the State regulators through their associations, 

for instance NACCA, National Association of Consumer Credit Administrators, which I am a board member of, it would be I think 

worthwhile to take the financial literacy programs that the States 

19 

have developed, oftentimes fine-tuned, and incorporate that perhaps on the larger scale rather than building a new bicycle. I think 

that would be a far more effective way to go about it. 

Ms. JENKINS. Thank you. Does that mean I am yielding back 

zero time or do I have time? 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Go ahead. 

Ms. JENKINS. Maybe just one more then. I agree with our Treasurer that schools are a great place to start to address this issue, 

but so many times our teachers are feeling overwhelmed that we 

are just throwing one more thing on them to teach within the same 

amount of hours every day. And so that’s, I think, the need for all 

of the different programs outside of a regular school day that you 

all do. But I am concerned that perhaps the people who need the 

information most might not be accessing many of the programs. 

And I wondered if just finally you might have any thoughts about 

how to get to those kids who cannot go to a Money$mart camp or 

a senior who does not go to Rotary Club, or how we can better get 

the information to perhaps those people who need it most. 

Ms. PRAEGER. In the education area, I know Emporia State has 

a financial literacy education component where they train teachers. 

And I think one of the goals there is to incorporate, so that you are 

not having a separate section on financial literacy or how to manage your money. But you can incorporate those skills and those lessons into probably just about every aspect of education. So I think 

finding more creative ways to build it into the curriculum rather 

than having it be separate or where it is more difficult. So that 

would be one approach from an education standpoint, just to find 

ways to build it into existing curriculum. 

Mr. WILSON. I agree with that and none of us obviously have any 

authority over curriculum in Kansas. However, I can tell you that 

just looking at what our increased support for the Stock Market 

Game did, when you go from 443 teams to 1,304, that is between 

3,000 and 5,000 students who participated, extra students who participated in that activity. And reaching the teacher certainly had 

a much greater impact than if we would send personnel out on a 

road trip to various parts of the State to try to reach young people 

individually. There just are not those sorts of groups out there who 

have the impact that the schools can have. 

Regarding outreach to seniors, that is something where we can 

simply learn working through area agencies on aging and various 

other groups who have contact with seniors around the State. They 

are a lot easier to reach with specific useful information. 

Ms. JENKINS. That Stock Market Game is a perfect example. I 

had to limit little Hayden Ross Jenkins’ 6th grade computer time 

when he was back at that stage because he was so obsessed with 

his portfolio, and he was doing far better than his parents at the 

time. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. You should have listened to him. 

Ms. JENKINS. I should have listened to him. It was just such a 

fabulous experience, but I am afraid that only some of the special 

education students were able to be exposed to that and it just 

would have been nice for the entire population there at Jay 

Shideler Elementary, to have had that experience and to peak their 

curiosity. So we will just continue to work on that. 

20 

I will yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. MCKINNEY. Mr. Chairman, there are two programs in greater Kansas City—Bank on America Saves program and as I mentioned the Kansas Partnership for Asset Development that are targeting exactly the populations that you mentioned need to be addressed, particularly to help move those families and children from 

being unbanked into a banking environment and learn those basic 

concepts. 

Ms. PRAEGER. Can I just give you a quick example of the kinds 

of things that can be built into the curriculum? 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Absolutely. 

Ms. PRAEGER. Taking the Stock Market Game approach, instead 

of actually doing investing which I think in the younger grades 

they probably do not, but you can build teams within the math program and pair up a really strong math student with one who is not 

as strong and work on averages. And so the average in a sense becomes their market value. And it is team building, it helps both of 

them, you learn more when you teach than I think kids realize. 

But there is an example of using the concepts, some financial literacy concepts, but just using them within the existing math curriculum. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. I thank our panel of witnesses 

here who testified and I really truly believe that this is a very, very 

important topic that we need to continue talking about in the future because I think there is a lot of lack of understanding of our 

financial system out in the country at large and I think it would 

be a great gift to future generations in this country if we educate 

our children and grandchildren about this and people have a better 

understanding overall of how this system works. Because there is 

just a lot of just lack of understanding and I just do not think we 

can underestimate—I think all of us understand how important 

that is and I think we owe that to future generations of our country. 

So I want to thank our panelists for being here today and you 

are excused at this time. 

I will invite the second panel, if you will come up, we are going 

to take about a 3-minute break while we change panelists here. 

But thank you all. 

[recess] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. If I could ask the people in the 

room, please, to take your seats. We are going to start the second 

portion of our hearing this morning. I appreciate the people who 

have come to hear the witnesses’ testimony, and I appreciate especially our witnesses who are here today, our second panel of witnesses, to testify. 

I am pleased at this time to introduce our second witness panel: 

Taylor Petty, Master’s in Accounting Student at the University of 

Kansas, welcome; Kathryn Nemeth Tuttle, Assistant Vice Provost 

for Student Success, University of Kansas; Gayle Voyles, Director, 

University of Missouri-Kansas City Center for Economic Education; 

Shawn Mitchell, President and CEO, Community Bankers Association of Kansas; and Chris Wolgamott, Community Development Liaison, Meritrust Credit Union. 

21 

Without objection, the written testimony of each of the witnesses 

will be made a part of the record, and you will each have up to 5 

minutes to summarize your written statements. 

Mr. Petty, sir, you are recognized for up to 5 minutes for your 

statement. 

STATEMENT OF TAYLOR PETTY, MASTER’S IN ACCOUNTING 

STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS 

Mr. PETTY. Thank you, Chairman Moore, and Representative 

Jenkins. I appreciate the opportunity to testify today about how the 

University of Kansas partnered with the Wichita School District in 

providing financial literacy education. 

I want to begin by saying that it is hard to care about something 

that you do not understand. We found this to be the opinion of 

many high school students. National assessments show that high 

school students, American high school students, are only scoring at 

less than half correctly on assessments of their understanding of 

basic financial topics. 

We have already seen the consequences of that lack of understanding. The credit crisis and mortgage meltdown are largely because many American consumers do not understand their financial 

decisions. 

Evidence shows that we are failing our youth. Eighteen to 25 

year olds are the fastest growing age group of bankruptcy filers. 

One in five bankruptcy filers are college students. So we see that 

particularly in this age group of young Americans, making not only 

necessarily core bad financial decisions, but also not really understanding financial basics. 

With this background, we partnered with the Wichita School District to develop a financial literacy curriculum that was going to be 

implemented in all of the high schools, eventually in all the high 

schools in the State of Kansas. 

The State of Kansas authorized in a bill the addition of questions 

involving financial literacy on State assessments. In order to meet 

these assessments, the Wichita School District partnered with the 

University of Kansas to develop this financial literacy curriculum. 

We were responsible for authoring financial literacy curriculum 

on five topics: budgets and savings; identity theft; credit; home 

mortgages; and taxes. It was interesting that these five topics were 

actually ones excluded from the financial literacy curriculum because they did not feel like they had adequate material to cover 

these topics. 

So we began by examining existing financial literacy curriculums 

to see what was being taught in these areas. And we found that 

for a large part, financial literacy curriculum is not designed to appeal to high school students. I know that we have already had testimony to this, but what we found was that there is not really an 

appeal to high school students because the curriculum are not designed around situations and decisions that high school students 

will face. 

What we found was that education made practical motivates students. And so in developing our curriculum, we really looked at 

these five areas and ways in which we can appeal to their interests. In some of the areas, for instance in the area of credit, we 

22 

looked at a credit card application. And we literally walked the students through a credit card application so that they could look and 

see the interest rate that they are going to be charged and other 

factors that they need to consider. We also have them decide what 

they want to learn about. So in the area of credit, they can choose 

whether they are going to examine things such as saving for a car 

or saving for college, depending on what really is of interest to 

them at that time. 

Another important area that we focused on was home mortgages. 

Obviously, the home mortgage crisis that we have seen was precipitated in large part by consumers not understanding financial information. And so in this area, we do not start with the idea that 

everyone is going to own a home because the simple reality is not 

everyone will own a home. 

So we provide them with access to tools such as calculators 

where they can look at making the decision to rent versus buy and 

also understanding basic terms that come with home mortgage. 

Another area that we considered in the curriculum is that much 

existing curriculum tends to only emphasize learning definitions 

and this simply is not adequate to train students in making real 

decisions that they will be faced with in just a few years. So our 

curriculum emphasizes practical applications in real-life decisions 

that they will make. So in many ways, they are not just learning 

that the definition of interest is something—a charge for lending 

money, but they are learning to apply an interest rate to decisions 

such as owning a home and the interest rate that they will be 

charged on their home mortgage. 

We consulted with the Wichita School District for this curriculum, and in developing it, we realized that not all teachers in 

the State of Kansas are proficient in these topics. And so in our 

curriculum, we included not only teaching notes that provide the 

teachers with references to materials from financial publications 

such as the Wall Street Journal, but also just access to resources 

from the Federal Government and also from State agencies that 

provide information on financial literacy. 

In partnering with the Wichita School District, we really became 

aware of the fact that teaching financial literacy is difficult because 

it does not appeal to students and also that there really is a lack 

of financial literacy within the schools. That includes teaching faculty as well. So in providing this curriculum, it was important not 

just to provide handouts for the students, but also to provide information so that the teachers themselves can become informed about 

these topics. 

I want to thank the two co-authors in the graduate program who 

helped me author it—Rebecca Feickert and Kristen Hageman, both 

of them helped in authoring it and I also want to thank the Wichita School District as well as the Office of Dennis McKinney for 

partnering with us on our project. 

Five minutes is a short period of time to cover a curriculum that 

we developed that covers 9 weeks of schooling, but what we really 

hope is that this curriculum will start— 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. We do not have 9 weeks. 

[laughter] 

23 

Mr. PETTY. We really hope that we can start, not only in the 

State of Kansas, but also use this curriculum to really spur other 

programs throughout the United States. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Petty can be found on page 56 

of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you very much for your testimony. 

Ms. Tuttle, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF KATHRYN NEMETH TUTTLE, VICE PROVOST 

FOR STUDENT SUCCESS, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS 

Ms. TUTTLE. Thank you. Chairman Moore and Representative 

Jenkins, I appreciate this opportunity to testify today about a new 

financial literacy program for KU students at the University of 

Kansas. 

Financial literacy for college students is a significant concern 

across the country. Not only does it affect students’ financial lives, 

but it also affects their ability to persist and graduate, another nationwide issue. 

KU students returning to campus this week were greeted with 

a new way to improve their financial literacy and their ability to 

graduate, when Student Money Management Services opened its 

doors in the Kansas Union. It is dedicated to improving KU students’ financial situations by empowering them to analyze their finances, develop a budget, manage funds, make sound decisions, 

and commit to controlling their financial lives at KU and into the 

future. 

The need for this service is clear and convincing. We are in the 

midst of a financial crisis. The average debt for KU graduating seniors is $22,478, and this is an increase of $4,200 in just 6 years. 

So we have an increasing loan indebtedness for our graduates. Interestingly, we have evidence of both KU students’ lack of financial 

knowledge and their understanding that this education is important. The evidence is from research from the KU Financial Task 

Force where they found the average literacy score in a study of KU 

students was 3.26 on a scale of 1 to 6, probably about a C+, where 

1 indicated no understanding and 6 indicated complete understanding. However, 82 percent of these students said that it is important to learn about money management and credit and debt 

management and 84 percent said they want to learn about saving 

and investing. 

Leticia Gradington, a KU alumna with extensive experience in financial planning and with teaching college students, has been 

hired as our new program coordinator. And right now, we are in 

the process of hiring several peer educators. These will be very well 

trained KU students who will do one-on-one work with students, 

give class presentations, and do outreach to student groups and organizations. As has been mentioned in some of the comments about 

having students teach students, I think this peer educator part 

could be one of the most important parts of our program. Information will also be provided through publications, Web sites, and 

other electronic communication methods. 

The staff will provide the information to students, as mentioned, 

on personal finances, developing budgets, tracking expenses, underVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:52 Dec 06, 2010 Jkt 061856 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 K:\DOCS\61856.TXT TERRIE
24 

standing credit cards and loan indebtedness, and planning for life 

after graduation. We are also very fortunate at KU that we can 

refer them to very specific offices to help with those things, such 

as Financial Aid and Scholarships, we have Legal Services for Students that can deal with issues like landlord/tenant, Bursar’s Office 

for payments and the School of Business Personal Finance 101 

course that I will tell you a little bit more about in a minute. 

This program is important to us too because it is collaborative, 

we are working with the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Success, the School of Business, Student Senate which is our student 

governance entity and they played a leadership role in this in the 

past and a new initiatives program fund. We also have an advisory 

board that will have campus members in terms of faculty, staff and 

students, as well as community members to help guide us in our 

future development. 

Student response has already been enthusiastic. We had a job 

fair last week and hundreds of students stopped by our table to 

find out more about our center. 

Let me mention just a couple of other things that are available 

to KU students along this line. We have an excellent financial literacy guide that is on our Financial Aid and Scholarships Web site 

which provides information on a wide range of these topics. Cash 

Course is a free, online personal finance course developed by the 

National Endowment for Financial Education, which includes 

budgeting and financial planning and debit and credit cards and 

economic survival tips. It is quite good. And we have a new program this fall that we are very excited about. It is called Financial 

Aid TV for the U2 generation. It is short online videos on a variety 

of topics including money basics, saving and borrowing money, 

credit cards, and credit scoring. Also, all the range of financial aid 

information. And that is on our Financial Aid and Scholarships 

Web site. 

Interestingly, in the task force that we did, students indicated 

that their preferred way to get information was via the Web site. 

So I think for today’s college students, we need to think about 

other electronic media such as social media. Facebook should be 

considered for utilization to connect with students on this important issue. 

I want to talk for a moment about the School of Business Finance 101 class, a three credit semester long course open to all KU 

students. It provides some of the more in-depth information that 

has been discussed already today. For example, mortgages, renting 

and leasing, savings, investments, and insurance. About 140 students take that course every semester, and I really think this indepth education is almost a necessity for getting to that next level 

of financial literacy. We are going to be choosing from the students 

who got A’s in this course for our peer educators. 

Barriers to greater financial literacy—many have been discussed 

today. I do think coordination between the K–12 efforts and higher 

education is crucial and we have already had discussion about how 

KU is doing that today. Efforts should be made with faculty members on the college level to integrate financial literacy more in their 

courses. Special attention should be paid to better help low-income 

and first generation college students in this area. And I think anVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:52 Dec 06, 2010 Jkt 061856 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 K:\DOCS\61856.TXT TERRIE
25 

other point could be when students are employed in campus jobs 

but also in their first professional employment. This is when questions about insurance, withholding—we could do much more with 

employers perhaps in educating students and young adults at that 

point. 

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this opportunity to provide information on the efforts made by the University of Kansas to improve the 

financial literacy of our students. Improving the education, the financial education, of our citizens is a vital issue for the University 

of Kansas, our State, and our Nation. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Tuttle can be found on page 73 

of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you. 

Ms. Voyles, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF GAYLE VOYLES, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF 

MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY CENTER FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION 

Ms. VOYLES. I also would like to thank Chairman Moore and 

Representative Jenkins for the opportunity to testify today. The 

views I am expressing are my own personal beliefs and they are 

not the views of the University of Missouri at Kansas City. 

I would like to talk to you a little bit about the Council for Economic Education Web site which points out that in coming years, 

young people will face unprecedented economic opportunities and 

challenges. They also ask whether young people will be ready to 

meet the economic opportunities and challenges head on. And then 

they answer it and say yes, provided they understand the economic 

way of thinking. 

I know there has been a lot of discussion about the division between economics and personal finance, how do they all fit together. 

In the State of Missouri, we have been very active in the Missouri 

Council on Economic Education in trying to promote a K–12 spiraling curriculum that would integrate economics and personal finance across the curriculum. However, what really transpired was 

a half credit personal finance course that is State-mandated for 

every student before they graduate from high school. 

The Missouri Council led the movement to try and at least make 

sure that students, before they graduate, will have some economic 

and personal finance experience. But we decided that was not really enough. To have a class with a half credit course for so many 

things that everyone has talked about today is really hard. And 

then when you look at—we heard so many people say the teachers 

do not always feel comfortable. Who is going to teach the course? 

How do we make sure that it is a quality course and that our students are really learning? 

I personally have been an elementary and high school teacher for 

7 years as well as teaching at the college level for the past 15 

years. My experience has taught me that it is much easier to teach 

and influence student behavior at a younger age in developing this 

economic way of thinking. When students are not introduced to economics and personal finance concepts prior to entering high school, 

the broad range of knowledge and skills that the students bring to 

class make it very difficult for a high school teacher to know where 

to start. 

26 

I had written in my testimony that the Stock Market Game and 

the Personal Finance Challenge that the Missouri Council on Economic Education runs helps motivate students to actually take an 

interest and get involved. I think we have heard a lot of testimony 

today on how important it is to get the students actively engaged. 

There are three national studies out that prove that the Stock Market Game does increase academic achievement in math, economics, 

and financial skills. 

What I wanted to share is what was said by the teachers in Missouri who have been teaching personal finance courses for 3 years. 

I have two master personal finance educators from the Blue 

Springs School District, Mike Hagerty and Kevin Clevenger, who 

highlighted for me the importance of personal finance education. 

They start by saying, ‘‘Can the Missouri required Personal Finance 

Course prevent another financial crisis? In our opinion; no. However, if one is asking whether the personal finance course can make 

a substantial difference for the future of citizens in our State and 

our country; absolutely yes.’’ 

There is not a day that goes by that we do not have a parent 

or an adult tell us that they only wished they had taken a course 

like Personal Finance when they were in school. 

Our youth are starting to get it, they are asking the right questions and seeking answers to the economy’s current issues. We feel 

strongly that the classroom forum and in particular Personal Finance class will continue to allow students to seek out the answers. 

I also wanted to quickly share some of the data that came from 

the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Ed. Because we do have this required course, there has been a State test, 

but the problem is that not every district has to register their students and have them take the course, because if they have a standalone personal finance class, it is up to the district to decide how 

they decide mastery level. However, the students in the State who 

have embedded the personal finance competencies into another 

course are required to take the test. So the data that is in my written testimony and a little of it that I will share with you in my 

remaining minute shows that only 23 districts’ students who were 

enrolled last year’s second semester course participated in the 

State level personal finance pre- and post-tests. 

The overall gains between the pre- and post-tests were reflected 

for the following areas of personal finance from highest gains to 

lowest: spending and credit, approximately a 16 percent gain; 

money management, a 15.3 percent gain; saving and investing, a 

14.19 percent gain; and income, an 11.99 percent gain. 

So we know that we are making a difference. 

Now, if you look at how many students overall have taken the 

pre- and post-test in the 3 years, Missouri has had 15,094 students. 

How did they do? How many are an A? Eight percent. B’s, 17 percent. C’s, 20 percent. D’s, 18 percent. F’s, 36 percent. 

The rest of my written testimony really attests to the fact that 

I believe in K–12 spiraling curriculum and I do believe that these 

are habits and skills that are developed young, practiced throughout life that will really have the highest chance of helping us have 

stronger communities in our nation. 

27 

I did mention children’s literature, which someone else mentioned, is a great way to start young children. They really make the 

connection. KU’s Center for Economic Education hosts a Web site 

that provides over 600 annotated book suggestions for teaching economic concepts. 

The School of Economics in Missouri is a community involvement 

Economic Education and provides K–5 economic and personal finance simulations. Over 11,000 students visit that school per year 

on one-day simulations. 

There are all kinds of financial literacy programs. 

One other one I wanted to mention, ‘‘Yes You Can’’ Financial 

Education from American Century Investments, provides a wealth 

of resources. 

I also am aware that Representative Cleaver introduced a bill referred to as the ‘‘Financial Literacy for Youth Act of 2009’’ and I 

have read the bill and I am very much in support of it. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Voyles can be found on page 77 

of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you, Ms. Voyles. 

Mr. Mitchell, you are recognized for up to 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF SHAWN P. MITCHELL, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF 

EXECUTIVE OFFICER, COMMUNITY BANKERS ASSOCIATION 

OF KANSAS 

Mr. MITCHELL. Thank you, Chairman Moore and Representative 

Jenkins. I am Shawn Mitchell, President and CEO of the Community Bankers Association of Kansas. CBA represents currently 298 

banking locations through Kansas. We are also the Kansas State 

affiliate of the Independent Community Bankers of America. IBCB 

represents 5,000 community banks across the country and has an 

ongoing commitment to promoting financial literacy throughout the 

nation. I speak on behalf of both associations. 

I have personally been a community banker in Kansas for the 

last 15 years. I currently serve as the CEO for CBA, which I have 

been for the last 20 months. Previously, I was president and CEO 

of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank in Wakefield. 

Managing money wisely and making effective financial decisions 

is critical to excelling in life and enjoying a secure financial future. 

Unfortunately, too many Americans lack the skills and knowledge 

to make those appropriate financial decisions. Our Nation’s mounting consumer debt, falling savings rates, skyrocketing personal 

bankruptcies, and the proliferation of high-cost non-bank fringe 

providers point to a need for better financial education. 

Community banks engage in a wide range of financial educational efforts, many in conjunction with local schools and civic 

groups. Whether showing students how to manage credit responsibly, helping a family understand the home buying process or 

teaching foreign-born residents the benefits of having a checking 

account, financial literacy programs build a strong future for all. 

I did bring a few examples of some different initiatives by Kansas banks. One example is the First National Bank of Frankfort. 

They have purchased textbooks for the consumer family science 

teacher for use in that classroom. This specific textbook leads stuVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:52 Dec 06, 2010 Jkt 061856 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 K:\DOCS\61856.TXT TERRIE
28 

dents through a lesson in which they write checks and balance 

their own checkbooks. The checks are used then in the community 

for real life items such as gas, groceries, etc. The students are able 

to know their balances and track their expenses as part of the 

class. 

Another example is the First Option Bank in Osawatomie and 

Paola. They supply check balancing kits for business classes where 

they learn how to also balance checkbooks, how to interpret and 

reconcile monthly bank statements as well as information about 

debit cards, ATMs, credit cards, and online banking. During Community Bank Week, which is held every April, First Option Bank 

is present in five area schools touching over 1,100 students with information and encouragement to begin saving during Community 

Bank Week that is done all over the entire State by the community 

banking institutions. 

What are some of the barriers to greater financial literacy? Financial literacy is a complex issue with many variables. We are 

constantly bombarded with the message that we deserve—no, that 

we are entitled to that new car, new house, new clothing, newest 

electronic gadget, etc. What we do not hear is that those things 

have to be paid for from what we earn. 

We have a responsibility to teach prudent money management 

skills to our children so that they will create good financial habits 

and carry them into their adult life. We see too many examples of 

good people who have made themselves victims of poor financial 

management simply because they do not understand what they can 

truly afford. 

One banker observed that our children are extremely technologically literate, but they are very financially illiterate when it 

comes to dealing with real world financial concepts. Due to the 

structure of current curriculums, which are geared for preparing 

students for college and passing assessment tests, our educational 

system has neglected to teach our young people real life skills. The 

importance of these life skills classes is being overlooked and undervalued. We are sending our children out into the world with a 

PC and the latest checkbook software and assuming that they are 

smart enough to become financially literate on their own. 

There are actually two key initiatives that I believe need to be 

considered—financial literacy and appropriate government regulation of the financial sector. Banks have seen a massive wave of regulatory restructuring and increased government intervention. An 

unfortunate side effect of the massive regulatory push is that financial products are becoming more difficult to understand, even 

by the savviest of consumers. What was once a 1-page loan contract 

is now a 25-page document full of government-required disclosures. 

Instead of reading— 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Of course, people read that, do 

they not? 

Mr. MITCHELL. Oh, absolutely. 

[laughter] 

Mr. MITCHELL. Instead of reading the entire document, consumers look at the payments and where do I sign. Does this help? 

Or do we just make it easier for the unscrupulous non-bank firms 

to victimize our consumers? Increasing regulatory burdens on comVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:52 Dec 06, 2010 Jkt 061856 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 K:\DOCS\61856.TXT TERRIE
29 

munity banks is not a substitute for an educated consumer. Overregulation hurts banks and consumers alike. 

In conclusion, American consumers were abused by many of the 

non-bank financial firms of Wall Street as well as unscrupulous 

mortgage brokers pushing the ‘‘American dream’’ without consideration for the consumer’s actual welfare. We will recover from this 

crisis, and community banks will continue to serve a vital role in 

their respective communities. Increasing financial literacy protects 

consumers, fosters financial stability and benefits individuals, communities, and our Nation as a whole. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Mitchell can be found on page 

51 of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Mr. Wolgamott? 

STATEMENT OF CHRIS WOLGAMOTT, COMMUNITY 

DEVELOPMENT LIAISON, MERITRUST CREDIT UNION 

Mr. WOLGAMOTT. Good morning, and thank you, Chairman 

Moore and Representative Jenkins. 

I am Chris Wolgamott, Community Development Liaison at 

Meritrust Credit Union. For the past 5 years, I have been working 

as the financial literacy provider for our credit union. It just goes 

to show how our credit union values financial literacy, that they 

have hired a full-time individual to do nothing but financial literacy. I am the only financial literacy representative who is hired 

full time to do my job in the State of Kansas for credit unions, so 

I consider it an honor to talk to you today. 

Financial literacy encompasses a broad range of topics and spans 

a lifetime of learning. Learning how to save, share, spend, invest, 

and protect money have become key components to financial literacy curricula around the Nation and around the State of Kansas. 

In 2003, the Wall Street Journal reported that 70 percent of 

Americans lived paycheck-to-paycheck and also the Harris Interactive Study in 2009 for financial literacy reported that about 50 

percent of Americans do not live on a budget and 20 percent of 

Americans regularly pay bills late and receive late payment fees 

due to that. 

The credit union movement is founded on the principle of people 

helping people. From July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010, credit union 

employees and volunteers around the Nation conducted more than 

13,500 presentations reaching over 413,000 young individuals as 

reported by the National Youth Involvement Board, which is a support organization for credit unions nationwide, to provide financial 

literacy. 

Credit unions in Kansas are also extremely involved in financial 

literacy across the State. This year, just in the State of Kansas, 

over 6,000 students were reached by credit union staff members 

and volunteers, including myself. Meritrust Credit Union is also 

very involved. I have been able, with the support of my credit 

union, to reach over 2,200 students in the State of Kansas, spanning from Dodge City out to Atchison, Kansas, using a variety of 

curriculum, both provided by the State Treasurer’s Office as well 

as what we have written on our own. 

30 

I want to quickly highlight three different curriculums that are 

very important that I deem very educational for students. One of 

them you have already heard talked about, so I will refrain from 

comment on that. First of all, the Money$mart Financial Camp 

provided by the State Treasurer’s Office was originally started with 

a partnership by former Treasurer Lynn Jenkins and is now endorsed by Dennis McKinney and the KCUA Credit Union Association here in the State of Kansas. We have reached over 600 students in the State with this curriculum, teaching over 7 camps in 

the past 2 years. We have 3 more camps scheduled for the next 3 

months, September, October, and November, that will reach a potential of 200 more students. By the end of this school year, we are 

hoping to have reached about 1,000 students in the State of Kansas 

over the past 2 years. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. How old are these students? 

Mr. WOLGAMOTT. They are geared toward middle school students, so 6th to 8th grade students. 

Communities in Schools was talked about earlier, the Reality U 

that they run in the high schools in the Wichita area. Students are 

given an income based on their GPA. So if they have a high GPA, 

they usually receive a higher income; if they have a low GPA, they 

receive a lower income. If they wanted to be an athlete, a professional athlete and they have a lower GPA, they are a high school 

PE coach or maybe a middle school PE coach. So the income they 

receive is structured very closely to the grades that they earn, and 

that is a really great teaching point to bring their grades up. 

Many, many organizations in the Wichita area sponsor and support the Communities in Schools effort with the Reality U. I have 

been invited with Reality U to go into the schools, in a couple of 

the schools, while they are not in Reality U, I have gone into the 

classrooms and taught a budgeting exercise to kind of broaden the 

scope of what they are able to teach. 

As I mentioned, Meritrust Credit Union is very involved in our 

community. We have partnered with organizations such as Youth 

Entrepreneurs of Kansas, Gear-Up, Upward Bound, Americorps, 

various Wichita State University classes, classes at Butler County 

Community College, VanGo which is an organization here in Lawrence, TRIO, ComCare and we partnered with the Kansas State Attorney General’s Office for National Consumer Protection Week. 

Some struggles that we have with financial literacy, first of all, 

it is a struggle to provide financial literacy to adults. Most adults 

see financial literacy as a very positive thing; yet, in the 2009 Harris Interactive Financial Literacy Survey, 41 percent of adults gave 

themselves a C, D or F letter grade when it came to financial literacy, but only 12 percent say they are likely to seek financial help 

from a financial professional, which means they are going to other 

places or they are not going to seek help for financial literacy at 

all. 

Another weakness I see is the ability to reach students in the 

classroom. Teachers are placed under tremendous pressure to fulfill 

the requirements asked of them within a school year. Because of 

this strain, it is difficult for some schools to invite guests to come 

into their classrooms because of the constraints that they have. 

They feel like they need to get everything in that they can get in 

31 

and so it is hard for them to invite outsiders to come into their 

classroom. 

To conclude, the need for financial literacy is large, not just for 

adults, but those soon to be adults. Current statistics point to an 

increased personal debt and continued ‘‘spend first and ask questions later’’ mentality. A consistent focus on programs involving 

policymakers, educators, and financial institutions will strengthen 

what is currently being provided by financial institutions and social 

organizations. 

Thank you for your time. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wolgamott can be found on page 

92 of the appendix.] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you. I now recognize myself, and I am going to ask—I guess make a statement and ask a 

general question to all the panelists here, because I think this is 

a very, very important topic that we are discussing today. 

Number one, and some of the panelists have already spoken to 

some of these questions, but I am just going to throw these out for 

general discussion by the whole panel if we can for just a couple 

of minutes. And then we will let Representative Jenkins talk and 

ask questions. 

When, ideally, should we start and how young should we start 

to educate students about financial literacy? How young can that 

start? And number two, how do we reach out to the adult population? And again, some of you have spoken to this already, but I 

would like to hear more general discussion. How do we reach out 

to the adult population, how do we teach financial literacy and personal finance to adults and Members of Congress even? I am being 

a little facetious but I am being very serious too because there 

seems to be, by virtue of some of the statements made by some of 

my fellow Members of Congress, a lack of understanding about 

some of this. I tell people all the time, our Nation needs to start 

living within a budget like most American families do. Not all 

American families by any means, but most American families. 

Those are the observations I guess I would make. 

How young can we start teaching students? I have heard some— 

the last witness here spoke about some very young students. Do 

the rest of you agree with that? And how do we get this ingrained 

in our public education system so when they start in elementary 

school and it goes clear up through college and again, how do we 

reach the adult population. 

Any of you, please? 

Mr. WOLGAMOTT. If you do not mind me going first? 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Sure. 

Mr. WOLGAMOTT. I have two suggestions to reach adults. The 

first one is we partner with organizations that adults are already 

part of. Instead of the adults coming to us, we go to them, where 

they are. 

Secondly, we started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University program in our credit union. Just because we work at a credit 

union does not mean we are any better with money than anybody 

else out there. So we had 19 employees and their spouses come in 

and we paid for them, as an employee benefit, to receive that financial literacy. Because of that, we were able to, as a group, pay off 

32 

$40,000 in debt and save $12,000 in an emergency fund, just in the 

13 weeks of the program. We are going to be starting that for a 

new round of students who are employees at our credit union. 

So I think you have to go where the adults are; you cannot rely 

on them to come to you necessarily in order to receive that. 

As far as how young to start, we are starting to teach our two 

year old about money, about putting money into a piggy bank at 

home, giving an offering at church. There are some very basic 

things you can do starting very young. Money and finance is very 

much habit forming and if you do not start those financial habits 

early in life, then you are continually trying to break them 

throughout the course of life. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. What a radical notion that is. 

[laughter] 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Mr. Mitchell? 

Mr. MITCHELL. I agree. I come from the unique perspective of 

being a community banker. I have had to educate adults on loan 

products and all that. It is amazing what people do not know about 

basic finance, and it goes all the way. My wife is a literacy coach 

which is a reading literacy. But I have also looked at that and the 

age of kids that she can touch, and she teaches teachers to teach 

literacy. It is amazing how young they can start learning these 

things. And I agree, the sooner we start this, it becomes part of 

who they are, they learn it and then it is not a big deal as they 

grow older. We teach them young and just make it simple, make 

it fun. Those kids will in turn also teach their parents. You bring 

the parents in there and make them responsible for it. It is going 

to take years, but I think that is a good way to get started and 

then eventually we will work ourselves out of this situation. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Ms. Voyles? 

Ms. VOYLES. I totally agree with everything the gentlemen have 

said. I have just one grandchild story to tell you exactly how young 

they can learn. 

My youngest grandson, when he was a year and a half old, hated 

to be away from his father, he was very connected to him. So when 

I would take care of him, he wanted to know where dad was. And 

I would say, he’ll be back soon, he’ll be back, he would say daddy’s 

working. And I would say why does he work. And he will say make 

the money. 

[laughter] 

Ms. VOYLES. Why does daddy need to make the money and he 

would say to buy diapers, food, and toys. When I took him to the 

beach for the first time, he was only two, and later he was looking 

at pictures and he said, I want to go back to the beach. And I said, 

that was a wonderful trip, we will go back but we cannot go soon 

because it takes a lot of money for all of us to fly and spend a 

whole week. So he went on playing and then he came over and he 

said, grandma, work more. 

[laughter] 

Ms. VOYLES. So two year olds definitely get it. 

I wanted to add to that that one of my big concerns has been— 

and I know it is hard to address this, but we know with more emphasis on communication arts, math, and science that in many of 

our schools across the Nation, K–5 social studies education has 

33 

been diminished. And the amount of time the teachers are allowed 

to teach social studies concepts. And economics and personal finance used to fall within that realm. So I think this balance of 

what I heard people talk about, life skills and where we all belong, 

what our students need, I have been very, very concerned about 

this and would like some attention paid to how do we get balance 

back. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. My time has expired, but can I 

have just a minute, if any other panelists have anything to add? 

Ms. TUTTLE. It has already been mentioned in terms of working 

with adults and seeing the parent/child relationship as something 

that is viable. At colleges and universities around the country, we 

are dealing much more with parents, parents of college age students and so as we think about developing our financial literacy 

program for college students, we would like to incorporate communication with their parents as well, because some of them have not 

learned at that stage either. I do think for any level of education, 

especially K–12, trying to have things be as experiential as possible 

and I think some of the examples given, it should not be dry, lecture-type information, it needs to be something that they can experience and integrate in their lives. And the college time is when our 

students really are experiencing that. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Mr. Petty, any comments? 

Mr. PETTY. I just have one brief comment. I feel like necessity 

is the best motivator and I feel that incorporating a curriculum at 

the high school level, especially for seniors, as the State of Kansas 

has done, they are uniquely poised to make significant financial decisions. So I think that there needs to be very direct curriculum 

that they receive right before they make those significant financial 

decisions. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Representative Jenkins? 

Ms. JENKINS. I have thoroughly enjoyed the discussion here 

today and I know we are short on time, but I thank you all and 

your comment about Members of Congress benefitting from some 

financial literacy made me smile because I remember a former 

Speaker of the House, whom I will not embarrass, was speaking 

here in Kansas several years ago, and he was an educator by profession, and he said the only thing more difficult than teaching junior high school students about money was teaching Members of 

Congress about the whole issue of the economy. 

[laughter] 

Ms. JENKINS. I had to smile because I thought how appropriate 

that is. 

I just have one thing. I was interested, Ms. Tuttle, in your presentation, that was very interesting and maybe because I am a mom 

who just sent my freshman baby daughter off to college, but I was 

curious, I do not recall hearing this, are you doing this all with 

your own resources? I know there are so many in the private sector, so many that rely on good financial decisions for the bottom 

line, are you engaging any corporate participation? 

Ms. TUTTLE. That is definitely part of our plan. Since we are just 

opening our doors, we had to be creative about our funding for the 

first year, actually looking for internal sources at KU for that. But 

we definitely plan on partnering. I have taken some notes today noVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:52 Dec 06, 2010 Jkt 061856 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 K:\DOCS\61856.TXT TERRIE
34 

ticing the kinds of opportunities there are in the State and I think 

it would obviously be the way to go, because I think there are some 

ways that it could be done in a very objective way, unbiased way, 

to get that help. There are also some of those national resources 

in terms of foundations, like Cash Course and others, so I think 

there is some opportunity here to partner and expand what we are 

able to do. 

We did this summer visit, an excellent program that has been 

started at K State called Power Cat Financial Counseling, and they 

have been going on for about a year and they are also very connected with the academic units, both the Personal Finance Department and the School of Business. So I see us also partnering with 

academic units and some of the Federal grant money and corporate 

money that we may have access to as well. But I think it is something we definitely will use in the future. 

Ms. JENKINS. I know resources are tight and it seems like there 

are some in the communities willing to step up in a good way. I 

know the Treasurer’s Office has done so much in this area, it 

seems like people knock down their door, they want to help, it is 

just finding those to partner with. So I would love to see that. 

And then maybe just a final thought as far as measuring outcomes in this whole area of financial literacy. I am not sure I want 

to go to my grave before I see the results of all of the efforts that 

has been put into this. But maybe that is what we will have to do, 

is just let a generation pass. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but there 

is a ridiculous jingle that sticks in my head from the little bit of 

TV that I do watch, related to I think a requirement that credit 

reports be made available. Do you know what I am talking about? 

There’s this ridiculous little jingle about freecreditreport.com. I will 

not sing it to you. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Please don’t. 

[laughter] 

Ms. JENKINS. But do we know if things like that are beneficial 

to getting our message out and should we do more of that? Do any 

of you have any thoughts or data on measuring outcomes or ideas 

on how we might, other than just waiting a generation to see if our 

bankruptcy rates go down and then I will yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Ms. TUTTLE. I am aware of some research that has been done for 

college students’ financial literacy, actually a doctoral research 

study is starting to be done, I just saw a report about that. I know 

there are some real assessments going on, and it is in fact showing 

impact. I mean it was somewhat modest, it did not change behaviors I think as much as they had wanted, but it did change students’ knowledge and awareness, it did change their decisionmaking about personal finance, but maybe less so about taking out 

loans. So there actually is starting to be, at least on the college 

level, some real assessment going on about the impact of that. And 

I think a lot of that has to be looked at in terms of eventually does 

it actually change behavior. And that will be the harder piece to 

really get at or see, whether loan indebtedness starts to go down 

or some of those kinds of issues. On K–12, I would leave that to 

my colleagues, I am not sure. 

35 

Mr. WOLGAMOTT. I think it is very difficult to see outcomes because it is hard to follow the student from when we teach a 

Money$mart curriculum or go into the classroom one time and 

teach. We do not have access to them 3 or 4 years later. And that 

is something that we are starting to look at with the Money$mart 

curriculum and other things that we do, is there a way that we can 

track the student if we partner with a specific school, 5 or 6 years 

down the road, maybe give them another evaluation to see have 

they retained any of the things that they have been taught. 

And I think also when we here in the State of Kansas start to 

add a really strong financial literacy curriculum to the core curriculum that they teach, then I think that will help, I think repetition is the huge thing there. It is very hard in my job to get repetition with the students, but if that is brought up in the schools, 

then I think that will help a great deal. 

I hope we do not just have to wait and see for a generation, that 

kind of scares me a little bit, but I think the repetition is helpful. 

Ms. JENKINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman MOORE OF KANSAS. Thank you. 

I ask unanimous consent that the following documents be entered into the record for our hearing today: First, a statement from 

our colleague on the House Financial Services Committees, Representative Ruben Hinojosa, who co-chaired the House Financial 

and Economic Literacy Caucus with our subcommittee’s ranking 

member Judy Biggert; second, a statement from the Financial Education and Counseling Alliance; and third, a letter from the National Association of Credit Unions. 

Without objection, these documents will be made a part of the 

record. 

I want to thank our first and second panel of witnesses for their 

appearances and their testimony. I know Ms. Jenkins and I will 

take back what we learned from today’s hearing to the District of 

Columbia and share it with our colleagues. I also want to thank 

the Dole Institute and KU for being such excellent hosts for us 

today. 

I note that either of us, Ms. Jenkins or myself, may have additional questions for our witnesses, which we can submit in writing 

and without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 30 

days for members to submit written questions to these witnesses 

and place the responses in the record. 

I just want to say in closing, I think this discussion today about 

financial literacy and understanding our financial systems in our 

country is probably one of the most important discussions we can 

have and I sometimes, my wife says, have an inappropriate sense 

of humor, but I think there needs to be a lot of education across 

the whole spectrum, I am talking about from children and start 

teaching our children very, very early about how this works and 

continue that through high school and college and then try to reach 

the adult population and Congress as well, because we all need to 

understand this and the consequences of not following good financial practices in our country, because there can be disastrous results if we do not. 

36 

I thank all of you and especially my colleague for being here 

today. Thanks to all of you and we are going to adjourn this hearing. 

[Whereupon, at 12:04 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

(37) 

A P P E N D I X 

August 24, 2010 

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