IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 247 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 4, 2017 
Mr. MEEKS (for himself, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. 
JAYAPAL, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CLARKE of New 
York, and Mr. VARGAS) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month. 
Whereas according to the 2015 Household Survey of the Fed-
eral Deposit Insurance Corporation, 26.9 percent of 
households in the United States, or close to 31,500,000 
households with approximately 83,000,000 adults, are 
unbanked or underbanked and, subsequently, have missed 
opportunities for savings, lending, and basic financial 
services; 
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy 
Survey of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 
44 percent of adults in the United States, or more than 
110,000,000 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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•HRES 247 IH 
Whereas the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted 
by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 
only 21 percent of workers were ‘‘very confident’’ about 
having enough money for a comfortable retirement, re-
flecting a continuing discrepancy with pre-crisis con-
fidence levels; 
Whereas according to the 2016 Retirement Confidence Sur-
vey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Insti-
tute, less than half of workers and/or their spouse (48 
percent) in the United States have tried to calculate how 
much they need to save for retirement; 
Whereas according to the February 2017 Quarterly Report 
on Household Debt and Credit by the Federal Reserve 
Bank 
of 
New 
York, 
household 
debt 
stood 
at 
$12,680,000,000,000 at the end of the fourth quarter of 
2016, reflecting a 1.8 percent increase compared to the 
third quarter of 2016; 
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy 
Survey of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 
22 percent, or nearly 55,000,000 adults, admit to not 
paying all of their bills on time; 
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy 
Survey of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 
only 40 percent of adults have a budget and keep close 
track of their spending; 
Whereas according to the 2016 Consumer Financial Literacy 
Survey of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 
1 in 3 adults (34 percent) in the United States, or 
85,000,000 adults, report that they have no savings, and 
only 26 percent of adults in the United States are now 
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saving more than they did a year ago because of the cur-
rent economic climate; 
Whereas according to the Council for Economic Education bi-
ennial Survey of the States 2016: Economic, Personal Fi-
nance, and Entrepreneurship Education in Our Nation’s 
Schools, only 20 States require students to take an eco-
nomics course as a high school graduation requirement, 
two fewer than in 2014; 
Whereas according to the Council for Economic Education bi-
ennial Survey of the States 2016: Economic, Personal Fi-
nance, and Entrepreneurship Education in Our Nation’s 
Schools, only 17 States require students to take a per-
sonal finance course either independently or as part of an 
economics course as a high school graduation require-
ment; 
Whereas former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben 
Bernanke in 2011 stressed, before a Senate Sub-
committee on Oversight of Government Management, the 
Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, the im-
portance of making financial education a life-long pur-
suit, considering that well-informed consumers are a solid 
defense against the spread of financial products and serv-
ices that are ‘‘unsuitable, unnecessarily costly, or abu-
sive’’; 
Whereas according to a 2014 study by Annamaria Lusardi 
from George Washington University and Olivia S. Mitch-
ell from the University of Pennsylvania, econometric 
models and experiments are confirming the causal effect 
of financial literacy on economic decision making, sepa-
rating financial literacy from other factors, such as edu-
cation and cognitive ability; 
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(B) the serious consequences that may re-
sult from a lack of understanding about per-
sonal finances; and 
(2) calls on the Federal Government, States, lo-
calities, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, 
and the people of the United States to support the 
goals and ideals of ‘‘Financial Literacy Month’’ with 
appropriate programs and activities. 
Æ 
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