III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 409 

Designating April 2012 as ‘‘Financial Literacy Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2012 

Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Mr. ENZI, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. CARDIN, 

Mr. CARPER, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. COONS, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. 

HAGAN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. KOHL, Ms. 

LANDRIEU, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

WICKER, and Mr. BROWN of Ohio) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating April 2012 as ‘‘Financial Literacy Month’’. 

Whereas according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, at least 25.6 percent of households in the 

United States, or close to 30,000,000 households with 

approximately 60,000,000 adults, are unbanked or underbanked and, subsequently, have missed opportunities for 

savings, lending, and basic financial services; 

Whereas according to the 2011 Consumer Financial Literacy 

Survey Final Report of the National Foundation for 

Credit Counseling, 41 percent of adults in the United 

States, or more than 77,000,000 adults living in the 

United States, gave themselves a grade of C, D, or F on 

their knowledge of personal finance; 


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•SRES 409 ATS 

Whereas according to the National Bankruptcy Research 

Center, the number of personal bankruptcy filings 

reached 1,500,000 in 2010, the highest number since 

2005, and in 2011, the percentage of total consumer filings increased from 2010; 

Whereas the 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted 

by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 

only 13 percent of workers were ‘‘very confident’’ about 

having enough money for a comfortable retirement, a 

sharp decline in worker confidence from the 27 percent 

of workers who were ‘‘very confident’’ in 2007; 

Whereas according to the 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, less than half of workers (42 percent) in the United 

States have tried to calculate how much they need to save 

for retirement; 

Whereas according to a 2011 ‘‘Flow of Funds’’ report by the 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 

household debt stood at $13,200,000,000,000 at the end 

of the third quarter of 2010; 

Whereas according to the 2011 Consumer Financial Literacy 

Survey Final Report of the National Foundation for 

Credit Counseling, 28 percent, or nearly 64,000,000 

adults, admit to not paying all of their bills on time; 

Whereas according to the 2011 Consumer Financial Literacy 

Survey Final Report of the National Foundation for 

Credit Counseling, only 43 percent of adults keep close 

track of their spending, and more than 128,400,000 

adults do not know how much they spend on food, housing, and entertainment, and do not monitor their overall 

spending; 


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Whereas according to the 2011 Consumer Financial Literacy 

Survey Final Report of the National Foundation for 

Credit Counseling, 1 in 3 adults in the United States, or 

more than 75,600,000 individuals, report that they have 

no savings, and only 22 percent of adults in the United 

States are now saving more than they did a year ago because of the current economic climate; 

Whereas according to the seventh Council for Economic Education biennial Survey of the States 2011: Economic, 

Personal Finance, and Entrepreneurship Education in 

Our Nation’s Schools, only 22 States require students to 

take an economics course as a high school graduation requirement, and only 16 States require the testing of student knowledge in economics; 

Whereas according to the seventh Council for Economic Education biennial Survey of the States 2011: Economic, 

Personal Finance, and Entrepreneurship Education in 

Our Nation’s Schools, 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, while 69 percent of American students 

strongly believe that the best time to save money is now, 

only 57 percent believe that their parents are saving 

money for the future; 

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

secure options for managing finances and building 

wealth; 


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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 households, investors, entrepreneurs, business 

leaders, and citizens; 

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 found it important to coordinate 

Federal financial literacy efforts and formulate a national 

strategy; and 

Whereas, in light of that finding, 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 2012 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, 


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1 and the people of the United States to observe the 

2 month with appropriate programs and activities. 

Æ 


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