U.S. Department of the Treasury

WASHINGTON – On Friday, September 19, 2014, Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin will deliver opening remarks on the need to increase opportunities for upward economic mobility in the U.S. and how public policy should be designed to address the financial and economic challenges facing millions of hard working American families. The Deputy Secretary’s remarks will kick off a public discussion with policymakers, industry experts, and other thought leaders on how we can better serve the needs of American families who are, through no fault of their own, struggling to lift themselves out of poverty, and how challenging it is to handle the financial pressures of living without access to safe and affordable financial products and services.  An important piece of the discussion will be centered on financial products and services and how, if structured correctly, they can better enable American families to save more, build assets, access credit, and achieve financial stability and prosperity.  A panel discussion will follow a screening of the documentary released earlier this year, entitled, Spent: Looking for Change.

Executive produced by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman) and directed by Derek Doneen, Spent: Looking for Change follows the stories of four working individuals and families living with limited financial options.  The documentary traces their decisions to turn to costly alternative financial services to maintain their livelihoods. For additional information on the documentary, please visit www.spentmovie.com/.

WHEN:          Friday, September 19, 2014

2:30 PM EDT

WHERE:       U.S. Department of the Treasury

Cash Room

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC

             Melissa Koide, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of

   Consumer Policy, Department of the Treasury

   Sarah Bloom Raskin, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the

             Treasury

 

2:45 – 3:30 p.m.      Film begins

   Moderator: Melissa Koide, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office

   of Consumer Policy, Department of the Treasury

   Panelists: Dr. Gregory Fairchild, University of Virginia; Jonathan

   Mintz, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund; Dr. Lisa Servon,

   The New School; and Jennifer Tescher, Center for Financial

   Services Innovation (CFSI)

4:30 - 4:35 p.m.       Closing remarks              

   Melissa Koide, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of

   Consumer Policy, Department of the Treasury

This event is open press. A live webcast of the opening remarks and the panel discussion following the film screening will be available at https://home.treasury.gov/news/webcasts. The screening portion of the event will not be webcast, but the film can be viewed at www.spentmovie.com.  

 

Media planning to attend must RSVP by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 18 to Ronda Buckmon at Ronda.Buckmon@treasury.gov.  Media without press credentials issued by Treasury must include the following information for access into the building: (1) full legal name, (2) date of birth, (3) Social Security number, and (4) country of citizenship. 

 

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