U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a landmark initiative aimed at helping foster care youth build financial security through new savings and investment accounts. The "Fostering the Future" program seeks to expand asset ownership, financial independence, and long-term opportunities for hundreds of thousands of young Americans. For more details, watch our story and subscribe to our channel, DRM News.
Melania Trump, Scott Bessent, Fostering the Future, Trump accounts, foster care youth, foster children, savings accounts, investment accounts, Treasury De...
What Scott Bessent said
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that foster youth will be embedded in the Trump accounts program, a new savings vehicle for children born between January 2025 and December 2028, with a $1,000 seed contribution from Treasury. He credited First Lady Melania Trump's Fostering the Future initiative for ensuring foster youth face no barriers to access. Bessent said Trump accounts launch on July 4th and that states can direct survivor and SSI benefits into foster youth accounts to accelerate gains. He cited that over 330,000 young people are in foster care, one in five become homeless after aging out, and only half gain employment by age 24. He praised Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana as a model and urged all 50 states to participate. He drew historical parallels to Alexander Hamilton, an orphan who became Treasury Secretary, and Eliza Hamilton's orphanage work, framing the program as affirming that birth circumstances need not define one's future.
Key takeaways
Trump accounts launch on July 4th, with every eligible child including foster youth able to participate.
Every child born between January 2025 and December 2028 receives a $1,000 seed contribution from Treasury.
A $1,000 index fund deposit could grow to at least half a million dollars by retirement, assuming historical growth rates.
States can direct survivor and SSI benefits into foster youth Trump accounts to accelerate gains.
Over 330,000 young people are in foster care; one in five become homeless after aging out, and only half gain employment by age 24.
Numbers and commitments
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What it refers to
Type
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$1,000
seed contribution per eligible child from Treasury
Good morning. Thank you all for joining us on this historic occasion. And of course, let me extend a warm welcome to the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump.
Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for welcoming me this afternoon, Secretary Mnuchin. Since the earliest days of our republic, the Treasury has stood for America's financial credibility and stability. This very building is a monument of our confidence in the American experiment. Today, we are adding another important layer to the Treasury Department's foundation, economic stewardship. For the first time, children in foster care will have access to a dedicated savings and investment vehicle, fostering the Future Accounts. Fostering the Future Accounts give foster children the same chance for asset ownership and long-term wealth building as every other American child. By investing in our foster youth now, we help strengthen America's workforce, communities, and economic future. Ownership turns the principle of individual liberty into sustainable reality. For children in foster care, this is especially important. America can offer services, help, and protection, but real freedom means being able to make independent choices about your own future. Property ownership helps make that possible. When they turn 18, foster youth will be able to access the assets they own through Fostering the Future Accounts. This will give them a foundation for independence and opportunity. For Fostering the Future Youth, empowerment comes through ownership. This includes ownership of knowledge through education, and now ownership through savings and investment accounts. Education and savings accounts are the first steps toward personal independence. Fostering the Future Accounts help create the conditions where liberty can flourish. Success is not about how many benefits a person receives, but rather about how much independence they achieve. Starting today, the Treasury will let state child welfare agencies and foster youth representatives set up Fostering the Future Accounts for children in foster care. We already have measurable results. 23 governors have pledged to set up Fostering the Future Accounts in their states. Including Governor Little from Idaho, who is here with us today. Thank you, Governor. Now is the time for everyone to act. All 50 states should pledge to protect America's foster youth. Let's elevate America's children above politics. I urge every governor and business leader in America to help fund these accounts. Together, we can make sure foster youth enter adulthood with assets, opportunity, and a stronger path to independence. This is a historic moment for our nation. We should aspire to raise a generation of builders, creators, entrepreneurs, and leaders whose futures are shaped by their ambition, not their circumstances. A strong education and financial assets will give them tools for a lifetime. Thank you.
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