Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent Before the Financial Literacy and Education Commission

As prepared for delivery

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us here in the historic Cash Room. And thank you for your ongoing commitment to the work of this Commission as we meet to discuss digital financial literacy following the historic launch of Trump Accounts.

I have long believed that the strength of a nation lies as much in the wealth it creates as in the opportunity it extends. That conviction has guided me throughout my career and animated my work as Treasury Secretary. It's why one of the first actions I took upon entering office was relaunching Financial Literacy Month. And it's why I am proud to work alongside each of you to help more Americans participate more confidently in our nation's economic life.

Of course, in recent decades, digital platforms and products have redefined how the American people bank, invest, save, spend, and borrow. And the easier it is to participate in our financial system, the more important it becomes to understand how it works.

Many consumers, especially younger Americans, are turning to social media, online communities, and AI for financial advice. So today, we will focus on how to help them evaluate this information critically, navigate the digital marketplace safely, and make financial decisions more confidently. By meeting consumers where they are, we can ensure that financial education keeps pace with financial innovation.

Trump Accounts demonstrate what this approach looks like in practice.

As I mentioned at our previous meeting in February, we have reached a new paradigm in financial education with Trump Accounts because we are going from an abstract notion to a real-time experience.

Of course, since then, we have moved from designing this program to implementing it.

When the Trump Accounts program went live on July 4th, it became the most successful launch in government history. Today, 7 million children are enrolled, 86 percent of whom are from families earning less than $200,000.

Every child born during the President's term can get a stake in the American Dream from day one with a $1,000 seed investment from the U.S. Treasury. And all U.S. citizens under eighteen are eligible to start saving immediately with these tax-advantaged investment accounts.

Now, the opportunity before us is historic because the unfinished work of building an ownership economy has seldom been more apparent.

Today, 38 percent of households in this country have no exposure to our great equity markets, while approximately two-thirds of Gen Z Americans fail to answer more than half of basic financial literacy questions.

We can move those figures toward zero by creating a new class of shareholders. Trump Accounts will unleash a financial literacy boom. The daily movements of the market will now be personally meaningful to millions. American families, left on the sidelines of Wall Street for too long, will finally understand what a piece of the action feels like. And that experience will be reinforced by fifteen learning modules developed here at Treasury and available on the Trump Accounts app. We've tailored these modules to each age group and parents who can participate alongside them.

So as we embark on one of the great real-time learning experiences in the history of the United States, I look forward to working with each of you on this Commission to help a new generation enter our economy with both a stake in its future and the knowledge of how to thrive in it.

The breadth of representation around this table is a reminder that few priorities bring together as much of the federal government as the work before us today, because the pursuit of financial literacy has never belonged to any one of us, but to all of us.

Financial products and services will continue to evolve. Our responsibility across the two dozen federal agencies here today is to ensure that financial education evolves with them.

So, thank you to our distinguished panelists for joining us this afternoon and to each of you once again for being here. With that, I'll turn it over to Mark Paoletta.

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