IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 273 
Supporting the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2007 
Mr. HINOJOSA (for himself, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. 
BACHUS, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Ms. BEAN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. 
CLEAVER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, Mrs. DRAKE, Mr. 
GERLACH, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. HENSARLING, 
Mr. HODES, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. 
KLEIN of Florida, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MEEKS of New 
York, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. 
PEARCE, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. 
SIRES, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. 
GUTIERREZ, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. RAMSTAD, 
Mr. BILBRAY, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. DENT, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. 
DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. DREIER, Ms. GINNY BROWN- 
WAITE of Florida, Mr. WELLER of Illinois, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. CAMP-
BELL of California, Mr. MICA, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. KIRK, Mr. BURGESS, 
Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. PENCE, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. 
SESSIONS, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. HALL of 
Texas, Mr. FORBES, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. BAKER, Mr. 
LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. TIAHRT, 
Mr. EHLERS, Ms. FOXX, Mr. HERGER, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. HASTERT, 
Mr. FEENEY, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. PUTNAM, Mrs. 
CAPITO, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. 
BACA, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. LINDA
T. SA´NCHEZ
of California, Mrs. 
NAPOLITANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. 
SALAZAR, Mr. REYES, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. KIND, Mr. LARSON of 
Connecticut, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, 
Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. 
BARROW, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. SUTTON, Ms. HOOLEY, 
Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. HARE, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CONAWAY, 
Mr. BOREN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. LYNCH, 
Mrs. JONES of Ohio, and Mr. WATT) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Re-
form 
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•HRES 273 IH 
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 
debt, and become responsible workers, heads of house-
holds, investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and citi-
zens; 
Whereas personal financial management skills and lifelong 
habits develop during childhood; 
Whereas a study completed in 2006 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, 
and the average scores in both years were failing grades; 
Whereas in recent years, the Congress, State legislatures and 
Governors around the country have increasingly recog-
nized the importance and effectiveness of financial edu-
cation, and, as a result, an increasing number of States 
now require financial education during high school, in-
cluding Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Ken-
tucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, 
Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West 
Virginia; 
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; 
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•HRES 273 IH 
Whereas 
United 
States 
consumer 
debt 
totaled 
$2,400,000,000,000 in 2006, of which credit card debt 
alone exceeded $825,000,000,000; 
Whereas personal savings as a percentage of income dropped 
to negative 1 percent in 2006, the lowest since the Great 
Depression; 
Whereas, although more than 42,000,000 people in the 
United States participate in qualified cash or deferred ar-
rangements described in section 401(k) of the Internal 
Revenue 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 
for retirement and 37 percent of workers say that they 
are not currently saving for retirement; 
Whereas the average baby boomer has only $50,000 in sav-
ings apart from equity in their homes; 
Whereas a study by the American Institute of Certified Pub-
lic Accountants found that 55 percent of people between 
the ages of 25 and 34 maintain an interest-bearing ac-
count or other savings instrument, a decrease of 10 per-
cent since 1985; 
Whereas studies show that as many as 10,000,000 house-
holds in the United States are ‘‘unbanked’’ or are with-
out access to mainstream financial products and services; 
Whereas expanding access to the mainstream financial sys-
tem provides individuals with lower-cost and safer options 
for managing finances and building wealth and is likely 
to lead to increased economic activity and growth; 
Whereas public, consumer, community-based, and private sec-
tor organizations throughout the United States are work-
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•HRES 273 IH 
ing to increase financial literacy rates for Americans of 
all ages and walks of life through a range of outreach ef-
forts, including media campaigns, websites, and one-on- 
one counseling for individuals; 
Whereas Members of the United States House of Representa-
tives established the Financial and Economic Literacy 
Caucus (FELC) in February 2005 to (1) provide a forum 
for interested Members of Congress to review, discuss 
and recommend financial and economic literacy policies, 
legislation, and programs, (2) collaborate with the private 
sector, nonprofits, and community-based organizations, 
and (3) organize and promote financial literacy legisla-
tion, seminars, and events, such as ‘‘Financial Literacy 
Month’’ in April 2007 and the annual ‘‘Financial Lit-
eracy Day’’ fair on April 24, 2007; and 
Whereas the National Council on Economic Education, its 
State Councils and Centers for Economic Education, the 
Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, its 
State affiliates, and its partner organizations, and JA 
Worldwide have designated April as Financial Literacy 
Month to educate the public about the need for increased 
financial literacy for youth and adults in the United 
States: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of Financial 
Literacy Month, including raising public awareness 
about the importance of financial education in the 
United States and the serious consequences that 
have resulted from a lack of understanding about 
personal finances; and 
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•HRES 273 IH 
(2) requests that the President issue a procla-
mation calling on the Federal Government, States, 
localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, busi-
nesses, other entities, and the people of the United 
States to observe the month with appropriate pro-
grams and activities with the goal of increasing fi-
nancial literacy rates for individuals of all ages and 
walks of life. 
Æ 
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