III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 105 

Designating April 2013 as ‘‘Financial Literacy Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 23, 2013 

Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. ENZI, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. JOHNSON

of South Dakota, Mr. BARRASSO, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. 

CARDIN, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. HAGAN, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. COONS, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin, Mr. BROWN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. WARNER, and Ms. LANDRIEU) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 

agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating April 2013 as ‘‘Financial Literacy Month’’. 

Whereas, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘FDIC’’), 

at least 28.3 percent of households in the United States, 

or nearly 34,000,000 households with approximately 

67,888,000 adults, are unbanked or underbanked and 

therefore have not had the opportunity to access savings, 

lending, and other basic financial services; 

Whereas, according to the FDIC, approximately 30 percent 

of banks reported in 2011 that consumers lacked understanding of the financial products and services banks offered; 


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•SRES 105 ATS 

Whereas, according to the 2012 Consumer Financial Literacy 

Survey Final Report of the National Foundation for 

Credit Counseling— 

(1) approximately 42 percent of, or nearly 

98,000,000, adults in the United States gave themselves 

a grade of C, D, or F on their knowledge of personal finance, and 4 out of every 5 adults admitted that they 

could benefit from additional advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a professional; 

(2) the number of adults in the United States who 

admit to not paying their bills on time has increased 

from 28 percent in 2011 to 33 percent, or nearly 

77,000,000, in 2012; 

(3) only 43 percent of adults in the United States 

keep close track of their spending, and more than 

13,000,000 adults do not know how much they spend on 

food, housing, and entertainment, and do not monitor 

their overall spending; and 

(4) 2 out of every 5 adults in the United States, or 

more than 93,000,000, are saving less than they did in 

2011, and approximately 39 percent of adults report that 

they have no non-retirement savings; 

Whereas the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted 

by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that— 

(1) only 14 percent of workers were ‘‘very confident’’ 

about having enough money for a comfortable retirement, 

which is a sharp decline in worker confidence from the 

27 percent of workers who were ‘‘very confident’’ in 

2007; and 

(2) approximately 56 percent of workers say they or 

their spouses have not calculated the amount of money 

they need to save for retirement; 


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•SRES 105 ATS 

Whereas, according to a 2012 ‘‘Flow of Funds’’ report by the 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, aggregate household debt in the United States was 

$12,800,000,000 at the end of the fourth quarter of 

2012; 

Whereas, according to the Survey of the States 2011: Economic, Personal Finance, and Entrepreneurship Education in Our Nation’s Schools, a biennial report by the 

Council for Economic Education— 

(1) only 22 States require students to take an economics course as a high school graduation requirement; 

(2) only 16 States require testing student knowledge 

of economics; and 

(3) only 12 States require students to take a personal finance course either independently or as part of an 

economics course as a high school graduation requirement; 

Whereas, according to the Gallup-Operation HOPE Financial 

Literacy Index, only 54 percent of students in the United 

States have money in a bank or credit union account; 

Whereas expanding access to the mainstream financial system will provide individuals with less expensive and more 

secure options for managing finances and building 

wealth; 

Whereas quality personal financial education is essential to 

ensure that individuals are prepared to manage money, 

credit, and debt, and to become responsible workers, 

heads of household, investors, entrepreneurs, business 

leaders, and citizens; 


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•SRES 105 ATS 

Whereas increased financial literacy empowers individuals to 

make wise financial decisions and reduces the confusion 

caused by an increasingly complex economy; 

Whereas a greater understanding of, and familiarity with, financial markets and institutions will lead to increased 

economic activity and growth; 

Whereas, in 2003, Congress determined that coordinating 

Federal financial literacy efforts and formulating a national strategy is important; and 

Whereas, in light of that determination, Congress passed the 

Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act (20 

U.S.C. 9701 et seq.), establishing the Financial Literacy 

and Education Commission: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates April 2013 as ‘‘Financial Lit3 eracy Month’’ to raise public awareness about— 

4 (A) the importance of personal financial 

5 education in the United States; and 

6 (B) the serious consequences that may re7 sult from a lack of understanding about per8 sonal finances; and 

9 (2) calls on the Federal Government, States, lo10 calities, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, 

11 and the people of the United States to observe Fi12 nancial Literacy Month with appropriate programs 

13 and activities. 

Æ 


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