United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government 

Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of 

Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security & 

Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate 

FINANCIAL LITERACY 

AND EDUCATION 

COMMISSION 

Further Progress Needed to 

Ensure an Effective 

National Strategy 

Statement of Yvonne D. Jones, Director 

Financial Markets and Community Investment 

For Release on Delivery

Expected at 2:30 p.m. EDT

Monday, April 30, 2007

 

GAO-07-777T 
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

April 30, 2007

FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION 

COMMISSION 

Further Progress Needed to Ensure an 

Effective National Strategy 

Highlights of GAO-07-777T, a testimony 

before the Subcommittee on Oversight of 

Government Management, the Federal 

Workforce, and the District of Columbia, 

Committee on Homeland Security & 

Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate 

The Financial Literacy and

Education Improvement Act 

created, in December 2003, the 

Financial Literacy and Education 

Commission. This statement is 

based on a report issued in

December 2006, which responded

to the act’s mandate that GAO

assess the Commission’s progress 

in (1) developing a national

strategy; (2) developing a Web site 

and hotline; and (3) coordinating 

federal efforts and promoting 

partnerships among the federal, 

state, local, nonprofit, and private 

sectors. To address these 

objectives, GAO analyzed 

Commission documents, 

interviewed its member agencies

and private financial literacy 

organizations, and benchmarked 

the national strategy against GAO’s 

criteria for such strategies.

What GAO Recommends

In its report, GAO recommended

that the Commission (1) 

incorporate additional elements 

into the national strategy to help 

measure results and ensure 

accountability, (2) conduct 

usability tests of and measure

customer satisfaction with its Web

site, (3) provide for an independent 

reviewer to evaluate duplication 

and effectiveness of federal 

activities, and (4) expand upon 

current efforts to cultivate 

sustainable partnerships with 

nonprofit and private entities. The 

Commission has taken steps to 

address some of these 

recommendations. 

The National Strategy for Financial Literacy serves as a useful first step in 

focusing attention on financial literacy, but it is largely descriptive rather 

than strategic and lacks certain key characteristics that are desirable in a 

national strategy. The strategy provides a clear purpose, scope, and 

methodology and comprehensively identifies issues and challenges. 

However, it does not serve as a plan of action designed to achieve specific

goals, and its recommendations are presented as “calls to action” that 

generally describe existing initiatives and do not include plans for 

implementation. The strategy also does not fully address some of the 

desirable characteristics of an effective national strategy that GAO has 

previously identified. For example, it does not set clear and specific goals 

and performance measures or milestones, address the resources needed to 

accomplish these goals, or fully discuss appropriate roles and 

responsibilities. As a result of these factors, most organizations that GAO 

spoke with said the strategy was unlikely to have a significant impact on 

their financial literacy efforts. 

The Commission has developed a Web site and telephone hotline that offer 

financial education information provided by numerous federal agencies. The 

Web site generally serves as an effective portal to existing federal financial 

literacy sites. Use of the site has grown, and it averaged about 69,000 visits 

per month from October 2006 through March 2007. The volume of calls to 

the hotline—which serves as an order line for a free tool kit of federal 

publications—has been limited. The Commission has not tested the Web site 

for usability or measured customer satisfaction with it; these are 

recommended best practices for federal public Web sites. As a result, the 

Commission does not know if visitors are able to find the information they 

are looking for efficiently and effectively. 

The Commission has taken steps to coordinate the financial literacy efforts 

of federal agencies and has served as a useful focal point for federal 

activities. However, coordinating federal efforts has been challenging, in part 

because the Commission must achieve consensus among 20 federal 

agencies, each with its own viewpoints, programs, and constituencies, and 

because of the Commission’s limited resources. A survey of overlap and 

duplication and a review of the effectiveness of federal activities relied 

largely on agencies’ self-assessments rather than the independent review of a 

disinterested party. The Commission has taken steps to promote 

partnerships with the nonprofit and private sectors through various public 

meetings, outreach events, and other activities. The involvement of state, 

local, nonprofit, and private organizations is important in supporting and 

expanding Commission efforts to increase financial literacy, and our report 

found that the Commission could benefit from further developing mutually 

beneficial and lasting partnerships with these entities that will be sustainable

over the long term. 

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-777T.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Yvonne D. 

Jones, (202) 512-8678 or jonesy@gao.gov. 
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to discuss the federal 

government’s role in financial literacy. Ensuring that Americans have the

knowledge and skills to manage their money wisely is a key element in 

improving the economic health of our nation in current and future 

generations. Financial literacy has become increasingly important in 

recent years due to the convergence of a number of economic, policy, and 

demographic trends. For example, workers today are increasingly 

responsible for managing their own retirement savings—yet at the same 

time, the nation’s personal saving rate has fallen dramatically over the past 

few decades, and household debt hovers at record high levels. In recent 

years, we have issued several products on the federal government’s role in 

improving financial literacy.1

 My statement today focuses on the Financial

Literacy and Education Commission, which is comprised of 20 federal 

agencies and was created in 2003 by the Financial Literacy and Education 

Improvement Act.2

Today I will discuss the Commission’s progress in (1) developing an 

effective national strategy to promote financial literacy and education; (2) 

implementing its Web site, hotline, and multimedia campaign; and (3) 

coordinating federal financial literacy efforts and promoting partnerships 

among government, nonprofit, and commercial organizations. This 

statement is based primarily on our December 2006 report that assessed 

the Commission’s effectiveness.3

 In preparing that report, we reviewed the

Financial Literacy Act and analyzed relevant Commission documents, 

including the National Strategy for Financial Literacy. We assessed the 

national strategy, in part, by benchmarking it against general 

 1

For example, see GAO, Increasing Financial Literacy in America, GAO-07-284CG 

(Washington, D.C.: Dec. 11, 2006); GAO, Credit Reporting Literacy: Consumers 

Understood the Basics but Could Benefit from Targeted Educational Efforts, GAO-05-223 

(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 16, 2005); GAO, Highlights of a GAO Forum: The Federal 

Government’s Role in Improving Financial Literacy, GAO-05-93SP (Washington, D.C.: 

Nov. 15, 2004). 

2

Title V of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-159, Title 

V, 117 Stat. 2003 (Dec. 4, 2003) (codified at 20 U.S.C. §§ 9701–08). Hereafter, this statement 

refers to the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act as the “Financial Literacy 

Act.” The act also mandated that we assess the Commission’s effectiveness in promoting

financial literacy and education. Our December 2006 report fulfilled that mandate. 

3

GAO, Financial Literacy and Education Commission: Further Progress Needed to 

Ensure an Effective National Strategy, GAO-07-100 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 4, 2006). 

Page 1 GAO-07-777T 
characteristics of an effective national strategy we have identified in prior 

work. We interviewed representatives of all 20 federal agencies that are 

members of the Commission as well as representatives of nonfederal 

organizations that address issues of financial literacy. We also gathered 

and analyzed data on the content and usage of the Commission’s Web site, 

telephone hotline, and publication tool kit. We conducted our work from

January 2006 through November 2006 in accordance with generally 

accepted government auditing standards. 

In summary: 

• The National Strategy for Financial Literacy serves as a useful first step in 

focusing attention on financial literacy, but it is largely descriptive rather

than strategic and lacks certain key characteristics that are desirable in a 

national strategy. While the strategy comprehensively identifies issues and 

challenges related to financial literacy, its recommendations are presented 

as “calls to action” that generally describe existing initiatives and do not 

include plans for implementation. Further, the strategy only partially 

addresses some of the characteristics we previously have identified as 

desirable for any effective national strategy. For example, although it 

provides a clear purpose, scope, and methodology, it does not go far 

enough to establish specific goals and performance measures or 

milestones; discuss the resources that would be needed to implement the 

strategy; or discuss, assign, or recommend roles and responsibilities for 

achieving its mission. As a result, most federal and nonfederal agencies we 

interviewed said that the national strategy was unlikely to have a 

significant impact on their financial literacy and education efforts. Our 

report recommended that the Commission incorporate additional 

elements into the national strategy to help measure results and ensure 

accountability. In commenting on our report, the Department of the 

Treasury (Treasury), in its capacity as chair of the Commission, noted that 

the national strategy was the nation’s first such effort and said its calls to 

action were appropriately substantive and concrete. 

• The Commission has developed a Web site and telephone hotline that 

offers financial education information from numerous federal agencies. 

The site serves as a portal to other federal financial education sites, and 

representatives of financial literacy organizations generally told us that the 

site served its purpose effectively. Use of the site has been growing, and it 

averaged about 69,000 visits monthly from October 2006 through March 

2007. The volume of calls to the hotline—which acts as an order line for 

free publications—has been limited. For example, it received 526 calls in 

March 2007. The Commission has not yet implemented some best 

practices recommended for federal public Web sites, such as testing its 

Page 2 GAO-07-777T 
site for usability and measuring customer satisfaction. As a result, the 

Commission does not know if visitors can readily find the information for 

which they are looking. Our report recommended that the Commission 

conduct usability tests of and measure customer satisfaction with its Web 

site, which the Commission said it will do by the second quarter of 2009. 

To fulfill a Financial Literacy Act requirement that the Treasury 

Department develop a pilot national public service campaign for financial 

literacy and education, the department has contracted with the 

Advertising Council to create a campaign designed to improve credit 

literacy among young people. The campaign, which is scheduled to be 

distributed to media outlets in the third quarter of 2007, will also promote 

the Commission’s Web site and telephone hotline. 

• The Commission has played a role in coordinating federal agencies’ 

financial literacy efforts and promoting public-private partnerships but has 

faced several challenges in these areas. The Commission serves as a single

focal point for federal agencies to come together on the issue of financial

literacy, and several calls to action in the Commission’s national strategy

involve interagency efforts. However, coordinating federal efforts has been 

challenging, in part because the Commission must achieve consensus 

among 20 federal agencies, each with its own viewpoints, programs, and 

constituencies, and because of the Commission’s limited resources. 

Further, the Commission’s survey of overlap and duplication and its 

review of the effectiveness of federal activities relied largely on agencies’ 

self-assessments rather than the independent review of a disinterested 

party. The Commission has taken some steps to promote partnerships 

with the nonprofit and private sectors through various public meetings, 

outreach events, and other activities, but the impact of these steps is 

unclear. Our report recommended that the Commission expand its current 

efforts to cultivate sustainable partnerships with nonprofit and private 

entities. We also recommended that the Commission provide for an 

independent third party to review for duplication in federal programs and 

evaluate the effectiveness of federal activities. Since our report was 

issued, the Commission has identified several steps it is taking or plans to

take to address these recommendations, including plans for independent

third-party assessments.

According to the Financial Literacy Act, the purpose of the Financial 

Literacy and Education Commission is to improve financial literacy and 

education through the development of a national strategy to promote 

them. The act defines the composition of the Commission—the Secretary

of the Treasury and the heads of 19 other federal departments and 

agencies—and allows the President to appoint up to five additional 

Background 

Page 3 GAO-07-777T 
members.4

 The Commission must hold one public meeting at least every 4 

months. It held its first meeting in January 2004 and nine subsequent 

meetings, most recently in January 2007. 

The act requires the Commission to undertake certain activities, including 

(1) developing a national strategy to promote financial literacy and 

education for all Americans; (2) establishing a financial education Web site 

to provide information about federal financial literacy education programs 

and grants; (3) establishing a toll-free hotline; (4) identifying areas of 

overlap and duplication among federal activities and coordinating federal

efforts to implement the national strategy; (5) assessing the availability, 

utilization, and impact of federal financial literacy and education 

materials; and (6) promoting partnerships among federal, state, and local 

governments, nonprofit organizations, and private enterprises. The act 

requires that the national strategy be reviewed and modified as deemed 

necessary at least once a year. It also requires the Secretary of the 

Treasury to develop, implement, and conduct a pilot national public 

service multimedia campaign to enhance the state of financial literacy and 

education in the United States. 

The Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Education provides 

primary support to the Commission and coordinates its efforts. As of April 

2007, the office had assigned the equivalent of about 3 full-time 

professional staff to handle work related to the Commission and in the 

past also has received assistance from staff detailed from other federal 

agencies. The Commission has no independent budget. The act authorized

appropriations to the Commission of amounts necessary to carry out its 

work, and for fiscal year 2005 Congress specified that $1 million should be 

used for the development and implementation of the national strategy. 

 4

Under the act, the agencies represented on the Commission are the Departments of 

Agriculture, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban

Development, Labor, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs; the Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System; the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Office of Thrift 

Supervision; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the National Credit Union 

Administration; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Federal Trade Commission;

the General Services Administration; the Small Business Administration; the Social 

Security Administration; the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and the Office of 

Personnel Management. As of April 2007, the President had not appointed any additional 

members. 

Page 4 GAO-07-777T 
To develop the National Strategy for Financial Literacy, the Commission 

formed a national strategy working group of 13 member agencies, issued a 

call for public comment in the Federal Register, and held six public 

meetings—five organized around the commercial, government, nonprofit, 

education, and banking sectors and one for individual consumers.5

Although the Financial Literacy Act required the Commission to adopt the 

strategy within 18 months of enactment, or June 2005, the strategy was not 

publicly released until April 2006.

6

 The Commission sought unanimous 

consent on the national strategy, and Commission members told us that 

the Treasury Department faced a significant challenge in trying to get 20 

federal agencies—each with its own mission and point of view—to 

unanimously agree to a strategy. A particular source of disagreement 

involved whether nonfederal entities should be cited by name as 

illustrative examples in the strategy. The Commission ultimately agreed 

that it would not name these organizations in the national strategy, but cite

them in a separate document issued by Treasury, called the Quick 

Reference Guide to the strategy.7

The content of the National Strategy for Financial Literacy largely consists 

of a comprehensive overview of issues related to financial literacy and 

examples of ongoing initiatives. It describes many major problems and 

challenges that relate to financial literacy in the United States, identifies 

key subject matter areas and target populations, and describes what it 

believes to be illustrations of potentially effective practices in financial 

education across a broad spectrum of subjects and sectors. As such, the 

strategy represents a useful first step in laying out key issues and 

highlighting the need for improved financial literacy. At the same time, as 

some representatives of the Commission told us, the strategy is 

fundamentally descriptive rather than strategic. It provides information on 

The National Strategy 

Is Descriptive Rather 

Than Strategic, 

Limiting Its Value in 

Guiding the Nation’s 

Financial Literacy 

Efforts

 5

Financial Literacy and Education Commission, Taking Ownership of the Future: The 

National Strategy for Financial Literacy (Washington, D.C.: April 2006). 

6

The Financial Literacy Act required the National Strategy for Financial Literacy to be 

provided to Congress as part of a report issued by the Commission called the “Strategy for 

Assuring Financial Empowerment.” U.S. Department of the Treasury, Strategy for 

Assuring Financial Empowerment (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 3, 2006). That report also

contained other elements required by the act, including a survey and assessment of certain

federal financial education materials and information on the activities and future plans of

the Commission. 20 U.S.C. § 9703 (h)(2). 

7

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Quick Reference Guide to the National Strategy for 

Financial Literacy (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 4, 2006).

Page 5 GAO-07-777T 
disparate issues and initiatives but is limited in presenting a long-term plan 

of action for achieving its goal. 

Most notably, the strategy’s recommendations are presented as “calls to 

action,” defined as concrete steps that should be taken for improving 

financial literacy and education. Sixteen of these 26 calls to action are 

addressed to federal entities, 5 to private or nonprofit organizations, and 5 

to the public. However, many of these calls to action are very general and

do not discuss an implementation strategy, and others describe initiatives

that already exist. For example, one call to action states, “Investors should

take advantage of the wealth of high quality, neutral, and unbiased 

information offered free of charge,” but does not lay out a plan for helping 

ensure that investors will do so. 

We have previously identified a set of desirable characteristics for any 

effective national strategy.

8

 While national strategies are not required to 

contain a single, consistent set of attributes, we found six characteristics 

that can offer policymakers and implementing agencies a management 

tool to help ensure accountability and more effective results. As shown in

the table below, we found that the National Strategy for Financial Literacy 

generally addresses the first of these characteristics and partially 

addresses the other five.

Table 1: Extent the National Strategy for Financial Literacy Addresses GAO’s 

Desirable Characteristics of an Effective National Strategy 

Desirable characteristic 

Generally

addresses 

Partially 

addresses

Does not

address 

Clear purpose, scope, and methodology X 

Detailed discussion of problems and risks X 

Desired goals, objectives, activities, and 

performance measures 

X

Description of future costs and resources 

needed 

X

Organizational roles, responsibilities, and 

coordination 

X

Description of integration with other entities X 

Source: GAO analysis of the National Strategy for Financial Literacy. 

 8

GAO, Combating Terrorism: Evaluation of Selected Characteristics in National

Strategies Related to Terrorism, GAO-04-408T (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 3, 2004). 

Page 6 GAO-07-777T 
The six characteristics we considered follow: 

• Clear Purpose, Scope, and Methodology. An effective strategy describes 

why the strategy was produced, the scope of its coverage, and how it was 

developed. The National Strategy for Financial Literacy generally 

addresses this characteristic. For example, it cites the legislative mandate 

that required the strategy, the overall purpose, and subsidiary goals such

as making it easier for consumers to access financial education materials. 

At the time of our review, the strategy did not specifically define “financial 

literacy” or “financial education” and we noted that doing so could provide

additional benefit in helping define the scope of the Commission’s work. 

In its April 2007 report to Congress, the Commission provided definitions 

of these terms that it said would guide its work.9

• Detailed Discussion of Problems and Risks. A strategy with this 

characteristic provides a detailed discussion or definition of the problems 

the strategy intends to address, their causes, and the risks of not 

addressing them. Based on our review, the National Strategy for Financial 

Literacy partially addresses this characteristic. It identifies specific 

problems that indicate a need for improved financial literacy and often 

discusses the causes of these problems. However, it might benefit further 

from a fuller discussion of the long-term risks—to the well-being of 

individuals, families, and the broader national economy—that may be 

associated with poor financial literacy. As we have reported in the past, a 

clear understanding of our nation’s overall financial condition and fiscal 

outlook is an indispensable part of true financial literacy.10 Due to current 

demographic trends, rising health care costs, and other factors, the nation

faces the possibility of decades of mounting debt, which left unchecked 

will threaten our economic security and adversely affect the quality of life 

available to future generations.11 One element of financial literacy is 

ensuring that Americans are aware of these potential developments in 

planning for their own financial futures since, for example, we can no 

longer assume that current federal entitlement programs will continue 

indefinitely in their present form. 

 9

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Strategy for Assuring Financial Empowerment

(Washington, D.C.: April 2007).

10GAO-05-93SP, pp. 2-3. 

11For example, see GAO, The Nation’s Long-Term Fiscal Outlook: September 2006 Update, 

GAO-06-1077R (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 15, 2006). 

Page 7 GAO-07-777T 
• Desired Goals, Objectives, Activities and Performance Measures. The 

National Strategy for Financial Literacy partially addresses this 

characteristic, which deals not only with developing goals and strategies

to achieve them, but also the milestones and outcome measures needed to 

gauge results. The strategy does identify key strategic areas and includes 

26 calls to action that, although often lacking detail, provide a picture of 

the types of activities the strategy recommends. However, in general, the 

strategy neither sets clear and specific goals and objectives, nor does it set 

priorities or performance measures for assessing progress. Several 

stakeholders in the financial literacy community that we spoke with noted 

that the strategy would have been more useful if it had set specific 

performance measures. The Commission might also have set measurable 

goals for changing consumer behavior, such as seeking to reduce the

number of Americans without bank accounts or increase the number 

saving for their retirement to a specified figure in the next 5 or 10 years. 

Without performance measures or other evaluation mechanisms, the 

strategy lacks the means to measure progress and hold relevant players 

accountable. 

• Description of Future Costs and Resources Needed. Effective national 

strategies should include discussions of cost, the sources and types of 

resources needed, and where those resources should be targeted. The 

National Strategy for Financial Literacy discusses, in general terms, the 

resources that are available from different sectors and its Quick Reference 

Guide provides a list of specific organizations. However, the strategy does 

not address fundamental questions about the level and type of resources 

that are needed to implement the national strategy. The strategy does little

to acknowledge or discuss how funding limitations could be a challenge to 

improving financial literacy and offers little detail on how existing 

resources could best be leveraged. Neither does it provide cost estimates 

nor does it discuss specifically where resources should be targeted. For 

example, it does not identify the sectors or populations most in need of 

additional resources. The strategy also might have included more 

discussion of how various “tools of government” such as regulation, 

standards, and tax incentives might be used to stimulate nonfederal 

organizations to use their unique resources to implement the strategy. 

Without a clear description of resource needs, policymakers lack 

information helpful in allocating resources and directing the strategy’s 

implementation. 

• Organizational Roles, Responsibilities, and Coordination. Effective 

national strategies delineate which organizations will implement the 

strategy and describe their roles and responsibilities, as well as 

mechanisms for coordinating their efforts. The National Strategy for 

Page 8 GAO-07-777T 
Financial Literacy partially addresses these issues. For example, it 

discusses the involvement of various governmental and nongovernmental

sectors in financial education and identifies in its calls to action which 

agencies will or should undertake certain tasks or initiatives. However, the 

strategy is not specific about roles and responsibilities and does not 

recommend changes in the roles of individual federal agencies. Addressing 

these issues more fully is important given our prior work that discussed 

the appropriate federal role in financial literacy in relation to other entities 

and the potential need to streamline federal efforts in this area.

12 In 

addition, the strategy is limited in identifying or promoting specific 

processes for coordination and collaboration between sectors and 

organizations. 

• Description of Integration with Other Entities. This characteristic 

addresses how a national strategy relates to other federal strategies’ goals, 

objectives, and activities. The National Strategy for Financial Literacy does

identify and describe a few plans and initiatives of entities in the federal

and private sectors, and it includes a chapter describing approaches within 

other nations and international efforts to improve financial education. 

However, the strategy is limited in identifying linkages with these 

initiatives, and it does not address how it might integrate with the 

overarching plans and strategies of these state, local, and private-sector 

entities. 

Because the National Strategy for Financial Literacy is more of a 

description of the current state of affairs than an action plan for the future, 

its effect on public and private entities that conduct financial education 

may be limited. We asked several major financial literacy organizations 

how the national strategy would affect their own plans and activities, and 

the majority said it would have no impact at all. Similarly, few federal 

agencies with which we spoke could identify ways in which the national

strategy was guiding their work on financial literacy. Most characterized 

the strategy as a description of their existing efforts. 

Our report recommended that the Secretary of the Treasury, in concert 

with other agency representatives of the Financial Literacy and Education 

Commission, incorporate into the national strategy (1) a concrete 

definition for financial literacy and education to help define the scope of 

the Commission’s work; (2) clear and specific goals and performance 

measures that would serve as indicators of the nation’s progress in 

 12GAO-05-93SP, pp. 5-8. 

Page 9 GAO-07-777T 
improving financial literacy and benchmarks for the Commission; (3) 

actions needed to accomplish these goals, so that the strategy serves as a 

true implementation plan; (4) a description of the resources required to 

help policymakers allocate resources and direct implementation of the 

strategy; and (5) a discussion of appropriate roles and responsibilities for 

federal agencies and others, to help promote a coordinated and efficient

effort. In commenting on our report, Treasury, in its capacity as chair of 

the Commission, noted that the National Strategy for Financial Literacy 

was the nation’s first such effort and, as such, was designed to be a 

blueprint that provides general direction while allowing diverse entities 

the flexibility to participate in enhancing financial education. The 

department said that the strategy’s calls to action are appropriately 

substantive and concrete—setting out specific issues for discussion, 

conferences to be convened, key constituencies, and which Commission 

members should be responsible for each task. As noted earlier, in its April 

2007 report to Congress, the Commission provided definitions for 

“financial literacy” and “financial education” to help guide its work. We 

acknowledge that the national strategy represents the nation’s first such 

effort, but continue to believe that future iterations of the strategy would 

benefit from inclusion of the characteristics cited in our report. 

The Financial Literacy Act required the Commission to establish and 

maintain a Web site to serve as a clearinghouse and provide a coordinated 

point of entry for information about federal financial literacy and 

education programs, grants, and materials. With minor exceptions, the 

Commission did not create original content for its Web site, which it called 

My Money. Instead, the site serves as a portal that consists largely of links 

to financial literacy and education Web sites maintained by Commission 

member agencies. According to Treasury representatives, the Englishlanguage version of the My Money site had more than 290 links as of April 

2007, organized around 12 topics.13 A section on federal financial education 

grants was added to the site in October 2006, which includes links to four 

Web Site and 

Telephone Hotline 

Offer Financial 

Education 

Information from 

Federal Agencies 

 13The topic areas are Budgeting and Taxes; Credit; Financial Planning; Home Ownership; 

Kids; Paying for Education; Privacy, Fraud and Scams; Responding to Life Events; 

Retirement Planning; Saving and Investing; Starting a Small Business; and Financial 

Education Grants. 

Page 10 GAO-07-777T 
grant programs.14 Many representatives of private and nonprofit financial

literacy initiatives and organizations with whom we spoke were generally

satisfied with the Web site, saying that it provided a clear and useful portal 

for consumers to federal financial education materials. 

From its inception in October 2004 through March 2007, the My Money 

Web site received approximately 1,454,000 visits.15 The site received an 

average of 35,000 visits per month during the first 6 months after its 

introduction in October 2004. Use of the site has increased since that time 

and reached 78,000 visits in April 2006, when the Commission and the Web 

site received publicity associated with the release of the national strategy.

From October 2006 through March 2007, the site averaged about 69,000 

visits per month. The number of visits to the My Money Web site has been 

roughly comparable to some recently launched private Web sites that 

provide financial education.16 Some representatives of financial literacy 

organizations with whom we spoke said the Commission should do more 

to promote public awareness of the Web site. Commission representatives, 

however, noted to us several steps that have been taken to promote the 

site, including, for example, a promotional effort in April 2006 that printed

the My Money Web address on envelopes containing federal benefits and

tax refunds.

 14The Financial Literacy Act required that the Web site offer information on all federal 

grants to promote financial literacy and education, and on how to target, apply for, and 

receive such grants. 20 U.S.C. § 9703(b)(2)(C). The four federal grant programs cited on the

Web site as of April 2007 were the Department of Education’s Excellence in Economic 

Education program, Department of Health and Human Services’ Assets for Independence

program, Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Counseling program,

and National Credit Union Administration’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund 

program.

15A “visit” is defined as all the activity of one visitor to a Web site within a specified period, 

usually 30 minutes. Because federal government Web sites are generally prohibited from

using “cookies” (small files stored on a visitor’s computer that can contain identifying 

information about the visitor), the number of unique visitors to the My Money Web site 

cannot be counted. Thus, data on total number of visits do not represent the number of

users who have visited the Web site because some users may visit the site multiple times. 

According to a GSA official, because unique visitors cannot be counted, the best measure 

of the Web site’s usage is number of visits. 

16For example, in fiscal year 2006, the My Money Web site received approximately 628,000 

visits. During that same time period, the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s “Choose to

Save” Web site, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ “360 Degrees of 

Financial Literacy” Web site, and the National Endowment for Financial Education’s

“Smart about Money” Web site received, respectively, 1,538,000, 437,000, and 229,000 visits. 

Page 11 GAO-07-777T 
However, the Commission has not yet conducted usability tests or 

measured customer satisfaction for the My Money Web site. The federal 

government’s Web Managers Advisory Council provides guidance to help 

federal Web managers implement recommendations and best practices for

their federal sites.17 The council recommends testing usability and 

measuring customer satisfaction to help identify improvements and ensure

that consumers can navigate the sites efficiently and effectively. 

Representatives of the General Services Administration (GSA), which 

operates the site, acknowledged that these steps are standard best 

practices that would be useful in improving the site. They said they had 

not yet done so due to competing priorities and a lack of funding.18

Without usability testing or measures of customer satisfaction, the 

Commission does not know whether the Web site’s content is organized in

a manner that makes sense to the public, or whether the site’s visitors can 

readily find the information for which they are looking. 

Our report recommended that the Commission (1) conduct usability 

testing to measure the quality of visitors’ experience with the site; and (2)

measure customer satisfaction with the site, using whatever tools deemed 

appropriate, such as online surveys, focus groups, or e-mail feedback. In 

its April 2007 report to Congress, the Commission said it would conduct 

usability testing of, and measure customer satisfaction with, its Web site 

by the second quarter of 2009. 

In addition to a Web site, the Financial Literacy Act also required that the 

Commission establish a toll-free telephone number for members of the 

public seeking information related to financial literacy.19 The Commission 

launched the telephone hotline, 1-888-My Money, simultaneously with the 

My Money Web site in October 2004. The hotline supports both English- 

 17The Web Managers Advisory Council is an interagency group of about 40 senior Web

managers from every cabinet-level agency, several independent agencies, and the judicial 

and legislative branches. In 2004, the council recommended policies and guidelines for all 

federal public Web sites. See: Interagency Committee on Government Information, 

Recommended Policies and Guidelines for Federal Public Websites, submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget (Washington, D.C.: June 9, 2004). 

18According to a usability specialist from GSA, it might cost roughly $10,000 to $15,000 for a

basic usability study with eight participants and recommendations for redesign of the site.

Representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services told us it might be able 

to offer the Commission use of its Web testing lab at no charge, which would reduce the 

cost of usability testing. 

1920 U.S.C. § 9703(c). 

Page 12 GAO-07-777T 
and Spanish-speaking callers. A private contractor operates the hotline’s 

call center and GSA’s Federal Citizen Information Center oversees the 

operation and covers its cost. According to GSA, the cost of providing 

telephone service for the hotline was about $28,000 in fiscal year 2006. The 

hotline serves as an order line for obtaining a free financial literacy “tool

kit”—pamphlets and booklets from various federal agencies on topics 

such as saving and investing, deposit insurance, and Social Security. The 

tool kit is available in English and Spanish versions, and consumers can 

also order it via the My Money Web site. The volume of calls to the My 

Money telephone hotline has been limited—526 calls in March 2007 and an 

average of about 200 calls per month between February 2005 and February

2006. 

As part of the national strategy, the Financial Literacy Act required the 

Secretary of the Treasury to develop, implement, and conduct a pilot 

national public service multimedia campaign to enhance the state of 

financial literacy in the United States.

20 The department chose to focus the 

multimedia campaign on credit literacy among young adults. It contracted 

with the Advertising Council to develop and implement the multimedia 

campaign, which is expected to be advertised—using donated air time and 

print space—on television and radio, in print, and online.21 According to 

the Commission’s April 2007 report to Congress, the launch of the 

campaign is scheduled for the third quarter of 2007. 

The Financial Literacy Act required that the Commission develop a plan to

improve coordination of federal financial literacy and education activities 

and identify areas of overlap and duplication in these activities. The 

Commission created a single focal point for federal agencies to come 

together on the issue of financial literacy and education. Some 

Commission members told us that its meetings—including formal public, 

working group, and subcommittee meetings—have helped foster 

interagency communication and information sharing that had previously 

been lacking. In addition, the Commission’s Web site, hotline, and tool kit 

have helped centralize federal financial education resources for 

consumers. Further, the national strategy includes a chapter on federal 

The Commission Has 

Taken Steps to 

Coordinate Federal 

Agencies’ Efforts and 

Promote Partnerships 

but Faces Challenges 

 2020 U.S.C. § 9707. 

21The Advertising Council (commonly known as the Ad Council) is a private, nonprofit 

organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service campaigns on behalf 

of nonprofit organizations and government agencies. 

Page 13 GAO-07-777T 
interagency coordination and several of the strategy’s calls to action 

involve interagency efforts, including joint conferences and other 

initiatives. 

However, the Commission has faced several challenges in coordinating the 

efforts of the 20 federal agencies that form the Commission. Each of the 

Commission’s participating federal agencies has different missions and 

responsibilities and thus different perspectives and points of view on 

issues of financial literacy. The agencies also differ in their levels of 

responsibility for and expertise on financial literacy and education. 

Further, because agencies tend to be protective of their resources, it might 

be very difficult to recommend eliminating individual agencies’ programs. 

Moreover, the Commission’s ability to coordinate such major structural 

change, if it chose to do so, would be constrained by its limited resources 

in terms of staff and funding. In addition, the Commission has no legal 

authority to compel an agency to take any action, but instead must work 

through collaboration and consensus. Given these various constraints, a 

Treasury official told us that the Commission saw its role as improving 

interagency communication and coordination rather than consolidating 

federal financial education programs or fundamentally changing the 

existing federal structure. 

To meet a requirement of the Financial Literacy Act that the Commission 

identify and propose means of eliminating areas of overlap and 

duplication, the Commission asked federal agencies to provide 

information about their financial literacy activities. After reviewing these 

resources, the Commission said it found minimal overlap and duplication 

among federal financial literacy programs and did not propose the 

elimination of any federal activities. Similarly, to meet a requirement of the 

act that it assess the availability, utilization, and impact of federal financial 

literacy materials, the Commission asked each agency to evaluate the 

effectiveness of its own materials and programs—and reported that each 

agency deemed its programs and resources to be effective and worthy of 

continuance. 

In both cases, we believe that the process lacked the benefit of 

independent assessment by a disinterested party. Our report 

recommended that the Secretary of the Treasury, in conjunction with the 

Commission, provide for an independent third party to carry out the 

review of duplication and overlap among federal financial literacy 

activities as well as the review of the availability, utilization, and impact of

federal financial literacy materials. In response to these recommendations, 

the Commission reported in its April 2007 report to Congress that it would 

Page 14 GAO-07-777T 
identify an independent party to conduct assessments on both of these 

matters, with the first series of independent assessments to be completed 

in 2009. 

The Financial Literacy Act also charged the Commission with promoting 

partnerships between federal agencies and state and local governments, 

nonprofit organizations, and private enterprises. Partnerships between 

federal agencies and private sector organizations are widely seen as 

essential to making the most efficient use of scarce resources, facilitating 

the sharing of best practices among different organizations, and helping 

the federal government reach targeted populations via community-based 

organizations.

22 Treasury officials have cited several steps the Commission 

has taken to promote such partnerships. These have included calls to 

action in the Commission’s national strategy that encouraged partnerships; 

community outreach and events coordinated by Treasury and other 

agencies; and public meetings designed to gather input on the national

strategy from various stakeholders. In general, the private and nonprofit 

financial literacy organizations with which we spoke said that these steps 

had been useful, but that their relationships with federal agencies and

other entities have changed little overall as a result of the Commission. 

Several private and nonprofit national organizations have extensive 

networks that they have developed at the community level across the 

country, and some of these organizations suggested the Commission could 

do more to mobilize these resources as part of a national effort. Some 

stakeholders told us they also felt the Commission could do more to 

involve state and local governments. Greater collaboration by the 

Commission with state and local governments may be particularly 

important given the critical role that school districts can play in improving 

financial literacy. The Commission might consider how the federal 

government can influence or incentivize states or school districts to 

include financial education in school curriculums, which many experts 

believe is key to improving the nation’s financial literacy. 

Given the wide array of state, local, nonprofit, and private organizations 

providing financial literacy programs, the involvement of the nonfederal 

sectors is important in supporting and expanding Commission efforts to 

increase financial literacy. Thus far, the Commission has taken some 

 22For example, see GAO-05-93SP, pp. 6-8. By “partnerships,” we refer to shared, or joint,

responsibilities between organizations from the public and private sectors where there is 

otherwise no clear or established hierarchy of lead and support functions. 

Page 15 GAO-07-777T 
helpful steps to promote partnerships, consisting mainly of outreach and

publicity. As the Commission continues to implement its strategy, we 

believe it could benefit from further developing mutually beneficial and 

lasting partnerships with nonprofit and private entities that will be 

sustainable over the long term. Our report recommended that the 

Commission consider ways to expand upon current efforts to cultivate 

sustainable partnerships with nonprofit and private entities. As part of 

these efforts, we recommended that the Commission consider additional 

ways that federal agencies could coordinate their efforts with those of 

private organizations that have wide networks of resources at the 

community level, as well as explore additional ways that the federal 

government might encourage and facilitate the efforts of state and local

governments to improve financial literacy. In commenting on our report, 

Treasury noted that it had a long history of partnerships with nonfederal 

entities and would consult with the Commission about how to work more 

closely with the types of organizations described in our report. On April 

17, 2007, the Commission held the inaugural meeting of the National 

Financial Education Network, which it said was intended to create an 

open dialogue and advance financial education at the state and local level. 

In conclusion, in the relatively short period since its creation, the 

Commission has played a helpful role by serving as a focal point for 

federal efforts and making financial literacy a more prominent issue 

among the media, policymakers, and consumers. We recognize the 

significant challenges confronting the Commission—most notably, the 

inherent difficulty of coordinating the efforts of 20 federal agencies. Given

the small number of staff devoted to operating the Commission and the 

limited funding it was provided to conduct any new initiatives, we believe 

early efforts undertaken by the Commission represent some positive first 

steps. At the same time, more progress is needed if we expect the 

Commission to have a meaningful impact on improving the nation’s 

financial literacy. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be happy to

answer any questions at this time. 

For further information on this testimony, please contact Yvonne D. Jones 

at (202) 512-8678, or jonesy@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 

Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page 

of this statement. Individuals making key contributions to this testimony 

Contacts and 

Acknowledgments 

Page 16 GAO-07-777T 
include Jason Bromberg, Assistant Director; Nima Patel Edwards; Eric E. 

Petersen; William R. Chatlos; Emily R. Chalmers; and Linda Rego. 

Page 17 GAO-07-777T (250345) 
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