[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1470 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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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