mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me time . 
mr. speaker , it is about great pleasure that i rise today to express my strong support for the bankruptcy abuse prevention and consumer protection act . 
a chinese proverb says , give a man a fish and you feed him for a day . 
teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime . 
and that is exactly what this bill before us does today . 
there are many reasons to support this bankruptcy reform bill , but i want to focus on one that is important to many of my colleagues , to me , and to the american people . 
we should support the bill because it contains important financial literacy provisions . 
financial literacy goes hand in hand with helping our citizens of all ages and walks of life to negotiate the complex world of personal finance . 
financial literacy can help americans avoid or survive bankruptcy . 
we pass many laws that require the disclosure of the terms and conditions of the rich mix of financial products and services that are available to consumers . 
unfortunately for too many americans , knowing the terms and conditions of financial products and services is challenging enough . 
however , understanding those terms and conditions is often an even greater challenge . 
recognizing this fact , congress included provisions in the fair and accurate credit transactions act to address the issue of financial literacy . 
the bankruptcy abuse prevention and consumer protection act also contains important provisions addressing economic education and financial literacy . 
these provisions are designed to ensure that those who enter the bankruptcy system will learn the skills to more effectively manage their money in an increasingly complicated marketplace . 
last week we passed house resolution 148 , a bill that supports the goals and ideals of financial literacy month , which is this month , april 2005 . 
h. res. 148 was co-sponsored by 82 members of this body , and 409 members of this body voted for it . 
mr. speaker , the number of bankruptcies remain at a historic high , over 1.6 million bankruptcy cases were filed in federal courts in 2004 . 
with this in mind , i urge my colleagues to support this bill . 
