Senate Proceeding on Mar 19th, 2009 :: 0:19:50 to 0:28:30
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0:19:37 to 0:19:59( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: quorum call: mrs. murray: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum. the presiding objection. under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. unde be a period of morning business -- there will be a period of morning business for up to one hour with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each with the time

0:19:50 to 0:28:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Patty Murray

0:20:00 to 0:20:21( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: between the majority leader and their designees. morning business is closed. the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for ten minutes in morning business. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, there are a number of factors that caused the economic recession that we

0:20:22 to 0:20:42( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: are faced with today. all of us know that. we can blame the executives on wall street, who made reckless choices and ignored long-term consequences to make a quick profit. we can blame the financial industry regulators, whose lax oversight failed to see the potential risks posed by the new

0:20:43 to 0:21:04( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: complex financial products that wall street was selling. and we can point a finger at those in the mortgage industry who ignored that all bubbles eventually burst and that in the case of the hoeusing bubble -- in the case of the housing bubble, the american taxpayers would be left to clean up the mess. but, mr. president, we also need to look a little closer at home as well.

0:21:05 to 0:21:25( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: the reality is that one of the contributing causes of this recession is the fact that too many americans made poor and very often uninformed financial choices when they bought homes in the last several years. too many overestimated their own resources. they didn't read the fine print and didn't grasp the terms of

0:21:26 to 0:21:46( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: their mortgage before signing on the dotted line. in fact, mr. president, we need to recognize that too many americans from college students to senior citizens are financially illiterate. and the problem is not limited to mortgage holders. too many americans don't know today how to budget their household expenses or manage

0:21:47 to 0:22:08( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: their credit card debt or even pay their bills on time. we need to ensure that we don't get into this situation again by giving all americans the skills to make sound financial decisions. we used to say the three r's of school are reading, writing and arithmetic.

0:22:09 to 0:22:30( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: well, i think we need to add a fourth "r." resource management. an ensure that all americans get the skills they need to make financial decisions that will protect them and their families. mr. president, the financial and economic literacy improvement act of 2009 will require federal government to step up to

0:22:31 to 0:22:52( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: the plate and become a real partner in helping americans manage their finances and make good decisions about employment and education. this is a bipartisan bill that we're introducing which is cosponsored by senator cochran and it is aimed at helping people of all ages.

0:22:53 to 0:23:14( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: our goal is to help school and college students know the pitfalls of signing up for credit cards and can make informed decisions about student loans. all young people understand the importance of saving and making smart decisions to ensure comfortable and retirement, and most importantly, that we are taking steps to ensure that we do not

0:23:15 to 0:23:36( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: repeat the misguided and uninformed decisions that have contributed to the recession that we find ourselves in today. mr. president, under our bill, the federal government will become a strong supporter of making financial literacy education a core part of k-12 education. i believe that focusing this effort on young people is critical for two

0:23:37 to 0:23:57( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: one, if we are going to avoid another cris like this one, we must begin by taoefrpg teaching the next generation to make smart financial decisions. and, two, because all signs point to another generation that is coming of age that is already saddled with debt, and we need

0:23:58 to 0:24:18( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: to help them before it's too late. mr. president, just this past sunday this article ran on the front page of the olympian newspaper from my home state of washington. i ask unanimous consent to include that article in the the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: mr. president, that article discusses the legislation that i'm introducing today, but it also talks about the financial path that the next

0:24:19 to 0:24:40( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: generation is currently on. the article pointed out that right now one-third of our college students have four credit cards when more than half of our graduates have piled up $5,000 each in high-interest debt. and the number of 18 to 24-year olds who have declared

0:24:41 to 0:25:01( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: bankruptcy has almost doubled in ten years. that article also points out that many of our young people are financially illiterate. they understand very little about concepts like interest or minimum payments or credit reports and the financial reality of having to pay off their student loans for years to come.

0:25:02 to 0:25:25( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: but today with many of our schools struggling to pay their teachers and maintain their current programs, a lot of our state governments and local governments can't afford to ramp up financial right now, and that is exactly why i believe here at the federal government we need to step up. mr. president, we cannot afford our young people to not understand their own finances.

0:25:26 to 0:25:46( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: our bill will authorize $125 million annually to go to state and local education agencies and their partnerships with organizations experienced in providing literacy and economic instruction. this funding that we will provide will help make financial and economic literacy a part of

0:25:47 to 0:26:08( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: core academic classes. it will help them develop financial literacy standards and testing, critical teacher traing. this bill will also help our schools weave financial concepts into classes like math and social studies. and importantlily, this traing will not end in high school.

0:26:09 to 0:26:30( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: our bill makes the same $125 million investment in teaching financial literacy in our two- and four-year colleges, and that is critical, mr. president, because my constituents often write or tell me about the financial trouble that they're struggling with. a lot of them are very desperate for help. they got into situations they did not understand, and they don't have the resources t it.

0:26:31 to 0:26:51( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: one woman from olympia in my home state who put off credit card bills to pay her mortgage wrote and said to me -- quote -- "i am educated, but was unaware that by being late on a payment or by skipping a payment and trying to make it up, my interest rate could skyrocket to over 26% and late fees cod be

0:26:52 to 0:27:12( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: exponential." so, mr. president, whether it's skyrocketing interest rates credit cards or an rate mortgage that someone can no longer afford or a retirement plan that they don't understand, i often hear the same thing people: "i wish someone had taught this stuff to me in high school."

0:27:13 to 0:27:33( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: this bill that we're introducing ensures that we are teaching it in our schools and it will help people learn the basic skills that will give them a leg up when they're dealing with their mr. president, this crisis that we're in has cost us dearly. every weekend when i go home, i hear about another business that's closing or another family that can't pay their bills.

0:27:34 to 0:27:55( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: we know that if we and smart investments, we can move our country forward. and i believe tt this is one of those smart investments. in january, after president obama took office, he called for an era of personal responsibility. i believe that our bill helps americans to ush in that era. so i encourage my colleagues to

0:27:56 to 0:28:16( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: take a look at the bill and to cosponsor and to help us move it forward so we can make sure that we have a country. thank you, mr. president. i yield the i reserve the balance of the time on our side and will yield to our republican colleagues on the other side. a senator: mr. president?

0:28:17 to 0:28:30( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: i thank the senator from washington. i was going to make that kind of request. that way we can keep the day flowing and hopefully get a lot done.