FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Thank you so much Chairman Dennis Dollar for that beautiful introduction, and I also want to thank the National Credit Union Administration for all of its hard work on behalf of the "Access Across America Initiative." Your successful efforts will create greater economic opportunities for people from all walks of life.

Chairman Dollar, thank you, thank you for your leadership on this initiative at NCUA. I understand that since 2001, over 20 million people living in areas designated as underserved have gained access to credit union services thanks to NCUA’s regulatory flexibility and outreach initiatives. I applaud you for this accomplishment.

In addition, I want to commend Gilbert Gonzalez, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development and wish you every success in your new partnership with NCUA. And I also want to wish success to the partnership between NCUA and IRS and to commend Mark Pursley, IRS Director of Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communications because through these partnerships, credit unions will gain the resources that will make it easier for you to get information on initiatives that improve access to financial services for the underserved.

Furthermore, I want to commend the state credit union leagues that are represented at this workshop for all of the important work that you do in providing leadership to improve access to affordable financial services for your communities.

I am delighted to be here at your meeting today because I believe that access to affordable financial services is one of the most important tools to help the underserved achieve financial security for their future. Without access to affordable financial services, people cannot build a credit rating, obtain a loan to start a small business, or get a mortgage to own their own home.

They also lose the chance to leave the fruit of their hard work to their children. Without access to financial services and the knowledge to make wise financial decisions, people lose the opportunity to create a secure and prosperous future for themselves and for their families. What they really lose is access to the American Dream!

But we also know that another important key that opens the golden door of opportunity is education.

I can tell you from my own experience that this is the land of opportunity … and with my education I was able to unlock its magnificent doors.

In 10^th grade, I was given an IQ test. Everybody had to take this test back when I attended high school. A score of 100 being average, mine came back with a score of 27. My friends, even my teacher laughed at me. But I knew then that the only thing that low score represented was the fact that I did not speak English. Far from making me angry or upset, it gave me resolve. I would learn English to the best of my ability … and so I did. Three years later, I graduated from high school in the top 20 with honors.

Sadly, however, no one told me about scholarships or grants to attend college. Instead, I worked full time to help my family. But even back then, I knew the importance of education, so I attended ELAC part-time for four years to get my two-year degree and I spent three more years at CSULA to finish my bachelors at night. I can tell you, I am very proud of my diploma.

At the same time that I was earning my degree, I was working my way up the ranks of City National Bank where I had started as the assistant to the receptionist. I was about to be promoted to Assistant Vice President and I had just started my Masters Degree. I thought that my life was absolutely beautiful!

But God had other plans. My son Eric was born not just with Downs Syndrome, but with a series of other medical complications that are too numerous to state.

I gave up my career at the bank and my MBA to take care of him. I even sold my house because we could no longer afford the mortgage.

The birth of my son led me down a path that I could not have imagined. To be an advocate for those who could not help themselves. But without an education and the skills that I had learned, I would not have been prepared for that path.

Eventually, my public advocacy led me to a career in public service.

I wanted to serve my community so I ran for public office and served on my local city council and later as mayor of the City of Huntington Park. And all of that led President George Bush to appoint me the 41^st Treasurer of the United States.

But I could not have been Treasurer, nor could I have helped my son without a diploma. I credit my education with helping me to meet my challenges and preparing me for unimaginable opportunities.

Now, as Treasurer of the United States, I want to tackle a new challenge by promoting the importance of education, but more specifically, financial education. I want to make sure that all Americans are aware of the skills and knowledge they need to secure a financial future.

Many Americans lack knowledge, or simply don’t understand how to conduct their financial activities, which leads them to engage in ineffective and even detrimental financial strategies. The cost of these ineffective strategies is often times too high. I have said many times that too many people work too hard for too many years and at the end of the day they do not reach the level of financial self-sufficiency that they deserve. What really saddens me is that the people who work the hardest and earn the least often pay the highest prices for financial services.

We have also seen that a poor grasp of personal finances can lead to bankruptcy, inadequate planning for retirement, vulnerability to predatory credit arrangements and other social problems including divorce, depression and personal difficulties.

Here are some troubling facts that illustrate just how bad this problem is:

• When a group of Americans was given a 14 question test of their financial literacy, they scored an average of 42%. That means that they answered less than half the questions correctly.

• 82% of high school seniors failed a 13 question quiz examining their knowledge of issues like interest rates, savings, loans, credit cards and calculating net worth.

• An average family carries $8,123 in credit card debt with double-digit interest rates. According to a recent article in The Dallas Morning News, if that family pays the minimum amount on a credit card with an interest rate of 18% interest, it would take them approximately 53 years to pay off that debt. (That’s because most of the payment goes toward interest.)

• An estimated 10 million Americans have no relationship with a mainstream financial services provider.

• A major reason why millions of Americans do not set up checking or savings accounts is that they do not have any knowledge about how banks and other financial institutions work. So they just stay away.

• 40% of these "unbanked" are Hispanics.

• 75% of Hispanics have not accumulated enough savings for retirement.

These facts show a glimpse of why financial education is so important. That is why I am making it my mission to help remedy this dire situation by bringing the need for personal financial education to national attention.

At Treasury, we have already met with representatives from hundreds of private and public organizations to discuss their efforts to educate Americans of all ages about personal finances.

I believe that we will have the most impact by providing financial education starting at an early age and continuing through life. But we must begin with the basics of education first.

To that end, financial education must begin with basic literacy. A person must have reading skills to understand a credit card application or a Truth In Lending Disclosure form. A person must have math skills or he/she will never be able to balance a checkbook or compare credit card interest rates.

President Bush’s "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ensures that our schools focus on those basics. The Bush Administration’s support for financial education stems from our goal of providing opportunities for all Americans to be part of America’s shining promise.

Financial literacy and accessibility to financial services will give all Americans the key they need to unlock the doors of greater opportunity and to achieve a safe and secure future for their families.

The Department of Treasury shares the NCUA’s commitment to provide the underserved communities with access to affordable financial services.

To further that goal, I want to tell you about two other Treasury programs that encourage access to affordable financial services to the underserved populations.

Treasury’s First Accounts Program made $8 million available this year to fund projects that provide low and moderate income people with access to mainstream services. This will become a model for other institutions to provide the unbanked with access to affordable financial services.

In addition, Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund promotes access to capital and local economic growth by investing in financial institutions that provide loans, investments and financial services to underserved communities.

Through the dedication of both NCUA and Treasury Department to promote financial literacy and access to financial services, we will provide people across America with the tools they need to make wise financial decisions, take responsibility for their own financial well-being and create a secure future for themselves and for their families.

It is also the key to keeping faith with President Bush’s promise to this nation and to his vision that "the grandest of our nation’s ideals is an unfolding promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance."

Financial literacy and access to affordable financial services fulfills that promise and gives everybody that chance.

I want to thank you again for inviting me to speak before the NCUA and I wish you every success with your Access Across America program.

God bless you. And may God bless the greatest country