Whereas personal financial literacy is essential to ensuring that individuals are prepared to make informed decisions about budgeting, financial planning, wealth accumulation, higher education loans, 529 savings plans, managing credit cards, and managing other debt;

Whereas many young people are ill-equipped to handle major financial decisions in an increasingly complex financial marketplace;

Whereas personal financial management skills begin to develop during childhood;

Whereas, according to the report of the Girl Scout Research Institute entitled Having It All: Girls and Financial Literacy, only 12 percent of girls feel very confident about making financial decisions;

Whereas the move away from traditional pensions and toward defined contribution plans requires more financial education, so workers need to be equipped with the financial aptitude to not only save and accumulate assets, but also to turn those assets into lifetime income;

Whereas the Council for Economic Education found that only 22 States require high school students to take some type of economics course and 39 States require a personal finance course for high school graduation;

Whereas a longitudinal research study by the University of Arizona found that high school and college students who have been exposed to ongoing financial education show an increase in financial knowledge;

Whereas the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection was created to educate consumers and help consumers make better-informed financial decisions by helping make the financial markets safer for consumers, increasing transparency to enable individuals to compare products and make informed decisions, and promoting policies that help consumers improve their financial knowledge and capability;

Whereas the Bureau’s 2024 Financial Literacy Annual Report included a number of recommendations to improve financial literacy for students;

Whereas the Bureau’s Money as You Grow initiative provides age-appropriate financial lesson plans for educators to show how personal finance can provide appropriate context and content for mathematics and English language arts teaching;

Whereas section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5452) directs the Federal financial regulatory agencies to partner with high schools in targeted areas to help promote financial literacy and to create industry internships, summer employment, and full-time positions for talented minorities and women;

Whereas the National Financial Capability Study, developed in consultation with the Department of the Treasury and former President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, continues to update key measures from the 2009 National Financial Capability Study of American adults and deepens the exploration of topics that are highly relevant today, including student loans and medical debt;

Whereas the Federal Reserve System offers publications in English and Spanish that provide consumers tips on a broad range of topics, from avoiding mortgage foreclosure scams to managing a checking account; and

Whereas a study conducted by Daniel Fernandes, John G. Lynch, Jr., and Richard Netemeyer entitled Financial Literacy, Financial Education and Downstream Financial Behaviors found that it is best to provide assistance just before a decision is made in what is known as just-in-time education: Now, therefore, be it