U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) applauded Congressional approval of legislation to improve the American public's financial and economic literacy. The provisions were included in H.R. 2622, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which passed the House of Representatives on Friday, November 21, and Senate on Saturday, November 22. The measure reauthorizes and expands the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to provide consumers with stronger protections against identity theft and greater access to their credit report information. Senator Akaka worked closely with Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and other members of the committee to include financial and economic literacy provisions in the bill.
Title V of the conference report creates a Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which will work to improve financial literacy and education in the United States through the development of a national strategy. Commission membership will be made up of the Secretary of the Treasury and heads of a wide range of other federal agencies that sponsor financial literacy and education programs. The Commission's major areas of emphasis will include basic personal income and household money management and planning skills, such as how to create budgets, initiate savings plans, and make strategic investment decisions for education, retirement, home ownership, wealth building, or other savings goals. It will also look at increasing the awareness of the availability and significance of credit reports and scores, improve the development and distribution of multilingual financial literacy and education materials, and promote efforts to help the "unbanked," or those who are not connected to mainstream financial services and as a result may be subjected to unnecessary fees and financial products that carry more risk. The Commission will also establish and maintain a Web site and toll-free hotline for those seeking information about financial literacy and education.
The conference report also included a provision similar to an amendment that Senator Akaka filed during Senate consideration of the FCRA reauthorization bill that would establish a national public service multimedia campaign on financial literacy. The multimedia campaign would be coordinated with the national strategy produced by the Commission. Senator Akaka's effort was the Senate counterpart to a bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative David Dreier (R-CA).
"These are two integral steps in our mission to end financial and economic illiteracy in Hawaii and our Nation," Akaka said. "We must continue to work to provide access to necessary tools that will empower individuals and families to make sound financial decisions.
"The Commission will go a long way toward coordinating the plethora of economic and financial literacy products and programs sponsored by the Federal government. The public service multimedia campaign will be an important component of public awareness efforts needed to further the national strategy produced by the Commission."
