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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 213 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 213

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 3, 1999

                                Received

                           November 19, 1999

  Referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Encouraging the Secretary of Education to promote, and State and local 
   educational agencies to incorporate in their education programs, 
                      financial literacy training.

Whereas in order to succeed in our dynamic American economy, young people must 
        obtain the skills, knowledge, and experience necessary to manage their 
        personal finances and obtain general financial literacy;
Whereas all young adults should have the educational tools necessary to make 
        informed financial decisions;
Whereas despite the critical importance of financial literacy to young people, 
        the average student who graduates from high school lacks basic skills in 
        the management of personal financial affairs;
Whereas a nationwide survey conducted in 1997 by the Jump$tart Coalition for 
        Personal Financial Literacy examined the financial knowledge of 1,509 
        12th graders;
Whereas on average, survey respondents answered only 57 percent of the questions 
        correctly, and only 5 percent of the respondents received a `C' grade or 
        better;
Whereas an evaluation by the National Endowment for Financial Education High 
        School Financial Planning Program undertaken jointly with the United 
        States Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, 
        and Extension Service demonstrates that as little as 10 hours of 
        classroom instruction can impart substantial knowledge and affect 
        significant change in how teens handle their money;
Whereas State educational leaders have recognized the importance of providing a 
        basic financial education to students in grades kindergarten through 12 
        by integrating financial education into State educational standards, but 
        by 1999 only 14 States required schools to implement personal finance 
        standards into the academic curriculum;
Whereas teacher training and professional development are critical to achieving 
        youth financial literacy;
Whereas teachers confirm the need for professional development in personal 
        finance education;
Whereas in a survey by the National Institute for Consumer Education, 77 percent 
        of a State's economics teachers revealed that they had never had a 
        college course in personal finance;
Whereas personal financial education helps prepare students for the workforce 
        and for financial independence by developing their sense of individual 
        responsibility, improving their life skills, and providing them with a 
        thorough understanding of consumer economics that will benefit them for 
        their entire lives;
Whereas financial education integrates instruction in valuable life skills with 
        instruction in economics, including income and taxes, money management, 
        investment and spending, and the importance of personal savings;
Whereas the consumers and investors of tomorrow are in our schools today; and
Whereas the teaching of personal finance should be encouraged at all levels of 
        our Nation's educational system, from kindergarten through grade 12: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress encourages--
            (1) the Secretary of Education to use funds available in 
        the Fund for the Improvement of Education (part A of title X of 
        the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) to promote 
        personal financial literacy programs; and
            (2) State and local educational agencies to incorporate 
        personal financial management curriculums into their education 
        programs.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 2, 1999.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.
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