In Deference to Dr. Ben Bernanke and Mr. Richard W. Fisher

IN DEFERENCE TO DR. BEN BERNANKE, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE, AND MR. RICHARD W. FISHER, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS

Mr. HINOJOSA. Madam Speaker, recently, I held my Fifth Regional Leaders Issues Conference in the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Over 140 of my constituents attended the conference, including elected officials, presidents of universities, educators, heads of chambers of commerce, and many other community leaders in the 15th District of Texas.

On Tuesday, June 13, 2006, I was honored to have Dr. Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, give remarks to the conferees. He referenced data from the Survey of Consumers Finances, which is a triennial survey sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board.

The latest survey revealed some discouraging and alarming statistics: Households whose income placed them in the bottom fifth of the population were less likely than the average respondent to maintain a checking or savings account, and almost 25 percent of those families were unbanked compared to less than 10 percent of families in the other income levels.

According to the survey, reasons given for not having an account varied. Some respondents said they would not write enough checks to make having an account worthwhile; others were dissuaded by minimum balance requirements, or said that they did not have enough money to justify opening a bank account.

Chairman Bernanke noted that, in some cases, consumers lacked the knowledge about the services that banks offer, including deposit insurance, or even misunderstood the important role banks play in our economy. Chairman Bernanke went on to say that some of the general approaches to helping families of modest means build wealth and improve their economic well-being include community economic development, financial literacy, and other programs that encourage saving and investment.

As the cofounder and cochair of the Financial Economic Literacy Caucus, I was pleased by all the information he provided my constituents, and I am pleased with the efforts the Federal Reserve is undertaking to improve financial literacy rates across the United States. I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for Chairman Bernanke taking time out of his very busy schedule to speak to my constituents.

It is my hope that the media will focus more attention on what the chairman and the Financial and Economic Literacy Caucus members have to say with regard to financial education and literacy, instead of focusing solely on Chairman Bernanke's comments on the direction of interest rates. I find it odd that the media and some legislators have yet to realize that there is a correlation between the country's poor financial literacy rates and the actions the Federal Reserve has to take from time to time.

Madam Speaker, I include for the RECORD the remarks Chairman Bernanke gave before my Fifth Regional Leaders Issues Conference.

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Mr. HINOJOSA. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Richard W. Fisher, CEO and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, for hosting me recently at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Richard W. Fisher assumed the office of president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas on April 4, 2005. President Fisher serves as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's principal monetary policymaking group.

During my visit, President Fisher provided me with valuable economic information on the 15th District of Congress, as well as insight into the Dallas Bank's efforts to improve financial literacy. I want to commend President Fisher and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas for publishing an excellent brochure entitled, Building Wealth, a Beginner's Guide to Securing Your Financial Future, which is an introduction for individuals and families seeking to develop a plan for building personal wealth. It contains four sections: Learn the language; budget to save; save and invest; and take control of debt. The publication is available in both English and Spanish, and is available in print and it is available as an interactive version on the Dallas Fed's Web site. I encourage you to look it up.

The Dallas Fed is an active partner in several asset-building initiatives throughout its district, including the Texas Asset Building Coalition which promotes personal financial education, affordable homeownership opportunities, individual development accounts/matched savings programs, the earned income tax credit, and antipredatory lending measures.

Again, I want to thank Chairman Bernanke for speaking at my Regional Leaders Issues Conference and President Fisher for hosting me at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

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