Remarks: Melania Trump Announces New Savings Account for Children - June 11, 2026

Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for welcoming me this afternoon, Secretary Bessent. 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, thank you. 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.