IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 737 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2006 
Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself, Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. BASS, Mr. 
DREIER, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. LEE, Mrs. MCCARTHY, Mr. 
BOEHLERT, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, 
Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. FEENEY, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. 
RAMSTAD, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. ENGLISH
of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
EHLERS, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. HOLT, Mr. OWENS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. BAKER, 
Mr. REICHERT, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Vir-
ginia, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. 
TIBERI, Mr. FORD, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. 
OXLEY, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. HONDA, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. 
WELDON of Pennsylvania, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. JOHNSON of 
Illinois, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. 
MOORE of Kansas, Ms. BEAN, Ms. WATERS, Mr. FRANK of Massachu-
setts, Mr. CLAY, Mr. NEY, Mr. BACA, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of Cali-
fornia, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. CAMPBELL of California, Mr. LYNCH, 
Mr. DENT, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. KANJORSKI, and Mr. ISRAEL) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Govern-
ment Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month, 
and for other purposes. 
Whereas personal financial literacy is essential to ensure that 
individuals are prepared to manage money, credit, and 
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•HRES 737 IH 
debt, and become responsible workers, heads of house-
holds, investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and citi-
zens; 
Whereas a 2004 survey completed by the National Council on 
Economic Education found that the number of States 
that include personal finance in education standards for 
students in kindergarten through high school has im-
proved since 2002 but still falls below 2000 levels; 
Whereas a study completed in 2004 by the Jump$tart Coali-
tion for Personal Financial Literacy found that high 
school seniors know less about principles of basic per-
sonal finance than did high school seniors 7 years earlier; 
Whereas 55 percent of college students acquire their first 
credit card during their first year in college, and 92 per-
cent of college students acquire at least 1 credit card by 
their second year in college, yet only 26 percent of people 
between the ages of 13 and 21 reported that their par-
ents actively taught them how to manage money; 
Whereas studies show that as many as 10 million households 
in the United States are ‘‘unbanked’’ or are without ac-
cess to mainstream bank products and services; 
Whereas personal savings as a percentage of personal income 
decreased from 7.5 percent in the early 1980s to –0.2 
percent in the last quarter of 2005; 
Whereas, although more than 42 million people in the United 
States participate in qualified cash or deferred arrange-
ments described in section 401(k) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (commonly referred to as ‘‘401(k) 
plans’’), a Retirement Confidence Survey conducted in 
2004 found that only 42 percent of workers surveyed 
have calculated how much money they will need to save 
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•HRES 737 IH 
for retirement and 37 percent of workers say that they 
are not currently saving for retirement; 
Whereas personal financial management skills and lifelong 
habits develop during childhood; 
Whereas financial literacy has been linked to lower delin-
quency rates for mortgage borrowers, higher participation 
and contribution rates in retirement plans, improved 
spending and saving habits, higher net worth, and posi-
tive knowledge, attitude, and behavior changes; 
Whereas expanding access to the mainstream financial sys-
tem provides individuals with lower-cost and safer options 
for managing finances and building wealth and is likely 
to lead to increased economic activity and growth; 
Whereas a credit report and credit score can impact an indi-
vidual’s ability to, for example, obtain a job, insurance, 
or housing, and a March 2005, report by the Comptroller 
General entitled ‘‘Credit Reporting Literacy’’ found that 
‘‘educational efforts could potentially increase consumers’ 
understanding of the credit reporting process’’ and those 
‘‘efforts should target those areas in which consumers’ 
knowledge was weakest and those subpopulations that did 
not score as well on GAO’s survey,’’ including those with 
‘‘less education, lower incomes, and less experience ob-
taining credit’’; 
Whereas public, consumer, community-based, and private sec-
tor organizations throughout the United States are work-
ing to increase financial literacy rates for Americans of 
all ages and walks of life through a range of outreach ef-
forts, including media campaigns, websites, and one-on- 
one counseling for individuals; 
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