III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 161 

Designating April 2015 as ‘‘Financial Literacy Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2015 

Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. KIRK, Mr. CARPER, 

Mr. ENZI, Mr. UDALL, Mr. COONS, Ms. HIRONO, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

FRANKEN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MORAN, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. SCHATZ, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. COCHRAN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating April 2015 as ‘‘Financial Literacy Month’’. 

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

at least 27.7 percent of households in the United States, 

or nearly 34,400,000 households with approximately 

67,600,000 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; 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 161 ATS 

Whereas according to the 2014 Consumer Financial Literacy 

Survey Final Report of the National Foundation for 

Credit Counseling— 

(1) approximately 41 percent of adults in the United 

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

knowledge of personal finance, and 73 percent of adults 

acknowledged that they could benefit from additional advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a 

professional; 

(2) 24 percent of adults in the United States, or approximately 56,300,000 individuals, admitted to not paying their bills on time; 

(3) only 39 percent of adults in the United States 

reported keeping close track of their spending, a percentage that has held steady since 2007; and 

(4) 16 percent of adults in the United States, or 

over 37,500,000 individuals, said not having enough 

‘‘rainy day’’ savings for an emergency is their greatest financial concern, while the same percentage said that 

their greatest financial concern is not having enough 

money set aside for retirement; 

Whereas the 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted 

by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 

only 18 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, while 

approximately 56 percent of workers say they or their 

spouses have not calculated the amount of money they 

need to save for retirement; 

Whereas according to a 2015 ‘‘Flow of Funds’’ report by the 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, outVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 May 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR161.ATS SR161

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 161 ATS 

standing household debt in the United States was 

$13,500,000,000,000 at the end of the fourth quarter of 

2014; 

Whereas according to the 2014 Survey of the States: Economic and Personal Finance Education in Our Nation’s 

Schools, a biennial report by the Council for Economic 

Education— 

(1) only 24 States require students to take an economics course as a high school graduation requirement; 

and 

(2) only 17 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 58 percent of students in the United 

States have money in a bank or credit union account; 

Whereas expanding access to the safe, 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; 

Whereas increased financial literacy empowers individuals to 

make wise financial decisions and reduces the confusion 

caused by an increasingly complex economy; 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 161 ATS 

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 2015 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 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS