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108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1470
To establish the Financial Literacy and Education Coordinating
Committee within the Department of the Treasury to improve the state of
financial literacy and education among American consumers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 28 (legislative day, July 21), 2003
Mr. Sarbanes (for himself and Mr. Corzine) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
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A BILL
To establish the Financial Literacy and Education Coordinating
Committee within the Department of the Treasury to improve the state of
financial literacy and education among American consumers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Financial Literacy and Education
Coordinating Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) there is substantial evidence that many Americans do
not have an adequate basis for making sound decisions about
personal and household finances;
(2) financial education could play a critical role in
equipping consumers with the knowledge to make wise decisions,
especially for lower income consumers and those underserved by
the mainstream financial system;
(3) an increased awareness of the availability of credit
scores and credit reports, the process of accessing them, their
significance in obtaining credit, and their effects on credit
terms, are of paramount importance to consumers;
(4) easily accessible and affordable resources which inform
and educate investors as to their rights and avenues of
recourse should be provided when an investor believes his or
her rights have been violated by unprofessional conduct of
market intermediaries;
(5) a basic understanding of the operation of the financial
services industry would help consumers and their families to
make more informed choices about how best to progress
economically, avoid harmful personal debt, avoid discriminatory
and predatory practices, invest wisely, develop financial
planning skills necessary for maximizing short- and long-term
financial well being, and better prepare for retirement;
(6) comprehensive financial education would help to provide
individuals with the necessary tools to create household
budgets, initiate savings plans, manage debt, and make
strategic investment decisions for education, retirement, home
ownership, or other savings goals; and
(7) improved financial decision making, not simply more
knowledge, should be the primary financial education goal.
SEC. 3. FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish
within the Office of Financial Education of the Department of the
Treasury, the Financial Literacy and Education Coordinating Committee
(in this Act referred to as the ``Committee'').
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Committee shall be--
(1) to coordinate financial literacy and education efforts
among Federal departments and agencies;
(2) to develop and implement a national strategy to promote
basic financial literacy and education among all Americans;
(3) to reduce overlap and duplication in Federal financial
literacy and education activities;
(4) to identify the most effective types of public sector
financial literacy programs and techniques, as measured by
improved consumer decision making;
(5) to coordinate and promote financial literacy efforts at
the State and local level, including partnerships among
Federal, State, and local governments, nonprofit organizations,
and private enterprises; and
(6) to carry out such other duties as are deemed to be
appropriate, consistent with this Act.
SEC. 4. COMMITTEE DUTIES.
(a) In General.--The Committee shall--
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, develop a national strategy to promote basic
financial literacy among all American consumers;
(2) coordinate Federal efforts to implement the strategy
developed under paragraph (1);
(3) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, submit a report to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives
regarding actions taken and progress made by the Committee in carrying
out this Act during the reporting period, and any challenges remaining
to implementation of such purposes; and
(4) provide testimony by the chairperson of the Committee
to either Committee referred to in paragraph (3), upon request.
(b) Strategy.--The strategy to promote basic financial literacy
required to be developed under subsection (a)(1) shall provide for--
(1) participation by State and local governments and
private, nonprofit, and public institutions in the creation and
implementation of such strategy;
(2) the development of methods--
(A) to increase the general financial education
level of current and future consumers of financial
services and products; and
(B) to enhance the general understanding of
financial services and products;
(3) review of Federal activities designed to promote
financial literacy and education and development of a plan to
improve coordination of such activities;
(4) the identification of areas of overlap and duplication
among Federal financial literacy and education activities and
proposed means of eliminating any such overlap and duplication;
and
(5) a proposal to the President of a Federal financial
literacy and education budget that supports such strategy and
eliminates funding for such areas of overlap and duplication.
SEC. 5. COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP.
(a) Composition.--The Committee shall be comprised of--
(1) the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall serve as the
chairperson of the Committee; and
(2) a representative from--
(A) each Federal banking agency (as defined in
section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act), the
National Credit Union Administration, the Securities
and Exchange Commission, each of the Departments of
Education, Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human
Services, Labor, and Veterans Affairs, the Social
Security Administration, the Federal Trade Commission,
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the
Office of Personnel Management; and
(B) a representative from any other department or
agency that the Secretary determines to be engaged in a
serious effort to improve financial literacy and
education.
(b) Assistance.--The Director of the Office of Financial Education
of the Department of the Treasury shall provide to the Committee, upon
request, such assistance as may be necessary.
(c) Member Qualifications.--Members of the Committee shall be
appointed by the heads of their respective departments or agencies.
Each member and each alternate designated by any member unable to
attend a meeting of the Committee, shall be an individual who exercises
significant decisionmaking authority.
(d) Meetings.--Meetings of the Committee shall occur not less
frequently than quarterly, and at the call of the chairperson.
(e) Consultation.--The Committee shall consult with private and
nonprofit organizations and State and local agencies, as determined
appropriate by the chairperson and the Committee.
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