I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3147 
To establish a grant program in the Department of the Treasury to fund 
the establishment of centers of excellence to support research, develop-
ment and planning, implementation, and evaluation of effective programs 
in financial literacy education for young adults and families ages 15– 
24 years old, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 9, 2009 
Mr. CARSON of Indiana (for himself, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. 
SESTAK, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. WATERS, Ms. BORDALLO, 
Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. REYES, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. 
MEEK of Florida, and Mr. ELLISON) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to 
the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program in the Department of the 
Treasury to fund the establishment of centers of excel-
lence to support research, development and planning, 
implementation, and evaluation of effective programs in 
financial literacy education for young adults and families 
ages 15–24 years old, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Young Adults Finan-
cial Literacy Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress find as follows: 
(1) Eighty percent of parents believe schools 
are teaching money management and budgeting, 
while over 70 percent of teachers are not teaching 
financial literacy. 
(2) Most adults feel that their financial literacy 
skills are inadequate, yet they do not rely on anyone 
else to handle their finances; they feel it is impor-
tant to know more but have received no financial 
education. 
(3) It is necessary to respond immediately to 
the pressing needs of individuals faced with the loss 
of their financial stability, however increased atten-
tion must also be paid to financial literacy education 
reform and long-term solutions to prevent future 
personal financial disasters. 
(4) There is an urgent need to respond to the 
economic crisis with research-based financial literacy 
education programs to reach individuals at all ages 
and socioeconomic levels, particularly those facing 
unique and challenging financial situations, such as 
high school graduates entering the workforce, soon- 
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to-be and recent college graduates, young families, 
and the unique needs of military personnel and their 
families. 
(5) More than 70 percent of parents say they 
have spoken with their teens about credit and using 
credit cards wisely, while less than 44 percent of the 
teenaged children of those respondents say their par-
ents have talked to them about credit cards. 
(6) Seventy-six percent of parents surveyed said 
their high school student does not have a budget. 
(7) The average credit card debt among grad-
uate students who carry cards is $7,831 per student, 
an increase of 59 percent over 1998’s average debt 
of $4,925. 
(8) Young adults between 20 and 24 represent 
the fastest growing segment of bankruptcy filings; in 
fact, more people filed for bankruptcy in 2004 than 
graduated from college. 
(9) Credit card debt among young adults be-
tween the ages of 25 and 34 has increased 55 per-
cent, while credit card debt among the youngest 
adults, between 18 and 24, has skyrocketed 104 per-
cent since 1982. 
(10) In April of 2009, the Comptroller General 
testified to the Subcommittee on Oversight of Gov-
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