April 17, 2007
HP-358

��Treasury Hosts State, Local Governments
to Discuss US Financial Education

Washington, DC- The Treasury Department today hosted the first meeting of the National Financial Education Network, a coalition of federal, state and local governments working to improve financial education at the local and regional level.

"All of us in government are in the business of helping people achieve their life goals. When we equip those we serve with financial knowledge we enable them to do just that," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education Dan Iannicola, Jr., who led the meeting.

"We also try to help them protect themselves from financial products and services that may not be in their best interests," Iannicola continued. "This is why financial literacy matters. By launching this national network of federal, state and local governments we hope to pool our efforts to help Americans learn more about their money and improve their own lives."

The conference was part of the continuing implementation of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission's National Strategy for Financial Literacy. The meeting served as a venue for sharing financial education programs, ideas, and resources so that governments and local organizations may better help the constituents of their state, region, or locality.

State and local governments that participated in today's conference included representatives from Alabama, Pennsylvania, New York City, New York state, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Oregon, Maryland, Kansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Delaware, Washington state, Virginia and Wisconsin. Non-profit organizations attending included the National League of Cities, National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, the United States Conference of Mayors, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, North American Securities Administrators Association and the National Association of Attorneys General.

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission, headed by the Treasury and comprised of 20 federal agencies, released its strategy report in 2006.  The report is a blueprint for improving Americans' understanding of issues like homeownership, credit management, and retirement savings and can be found at www.mymoney.gov.