Aloha. Welcome to Financial Literacy Day on the Hill.

This month is Financial Literacy Month and a time when we can promote practical thinking about savings, budgeting, and maintaining good credit histories; and apply economic concepts to our daily decisions.

The Senate last month passed, by unanimous consent, my resolution naming April as Financial Literacy Month, as it has for several years. S.Res. 410 was cosponsored by a good bipartisan group of Senators, which speaks to the diverse interest in working to increase economic and financial literacy in this country.

Such diversity is also reflected in the range of participants here today -- public, private, and nonprofit; legislative and executive branches; and programs addressing all ages. The best solutions surface with many voices at the table, representing as many stakeholders as possible.

However, our work is far from over. We need to do more to reach younger generations. Over the past three years, I've secured funding for the Excellence in Economic Education Act -- my K through 12 education initiative. This amount may be relatively small for a national program, but EEE recipients know how to do a lot with little. I was glad that a bipartisan group of Senators signed my letter to appropriators requesting EEE funding for FY 2007.

For the adult population, I have several measures to improve independence on mutual fund boards, clamp down on predatory lending, improve credit counseling services, increase resources for taxpayer assistance, and eliminate Refund Anticipation Loans.

Much of this is also supported by my colleagues, one of whom we'll sorely miss after he retires this year. Senator Paul Sarbanes, Ranking Member of the Banking Committee, has been a good friend. Please join me in thanking Paul Sarbanes for his leadership in creating the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, on increasing disclosure in remittances, and in working on many other measures to educate and protect consumers. We must convince others, across the aisle and on both sides of the Hill, to follow his example and passion for ensuring that Americans are financially and economically literate.

Once again, let me thank everyone for coming. May you learn something today that will help you help yourself, your family, and your friends toward better money management and decision making. As we say in Hawaii, mahalo nui loa.