WASHINGTON – The Consumer Federation of America, CUNA and the National Credit Union Foundation on Feb. 17 will announce a new America Saves Through Credit Unions initiative that will be offered to all credit unions to support their efforts to help members save and build wealth. Speaking at the press conference that day will be Stephen Brobeck, executive director, CFA; Dan Mica, president/CEO, CUNA; Gary Officer, executive director, NCUF; and Chuck Purvis, chairman, NCUF. Also that day, new research will be released on the financial status of the poorest 21 million households in the U.S. Based on analysis of Federal Research Board data, the research will show the income gap between poor and other Americans, the much larger wealth gap between these two groups, changes in the income and wealth gaps over the past decade, key reasons beyond income for the wealth gap, and important demographic and behavioral differences between the poor and the rest of America.