[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3837 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3837

To improve financial literacy training for members of the Armed Forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 29, 2024

  Mrs. Murray (for herself and Mr. Schmitt) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve financial literacy training for members of the Armed Forces.

    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 ``Service Members Are Ready To Save 
Act of 2024'' or the ``SMART Save Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO FINANCIAL LITERACY TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 992 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``grade E-4'' and 
        inserting ``grade E-6'';
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(5) In carrying out the program to provide training under this 
subsection, the Secretary concerned shall--
            ``(A) use a curriculum across all military departments for 
        such training that--
                    ``(i) focuses on ensuring that members of the armed 
                forces who receive such training develop proficiency in 
                financial literacy rather than focusing on completion 
                of training modules;
                    ``(ii) is based on best practices of the Financial 
                Literacy Education Commission established under section 
                513 of the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement 
                Act (20 U.S.C. 9702); and
                    ``(iii) is designed to address the needs of members 
                and their families;
            ``(B) ensure that such training--
                    ``(i) is conducted by a financial services 
                counselor who is qualified as described in paragraph 
                (3) of subsection (b) or by other means as described in 
                paragraph (2)(A)(ii) of that subsection;
                    ``(ii) is provided, to the extent practicable and 
                in a manner that does not harm mission readiness--
                            ``(I) in a class held in person with fewer 
                        than 100 attendees; or
                            ``(II) one-on-one between the member and a 
                        financial services counselor or a qualified 
                        representative described in subsection 
                        (b)(2)(A)(ii)(III); and
                    ``(iii) is provided using computer-based methods 
                only if methods described in clause (ii) are 
                impractical or unavailable;
            ``(C) ensure that--
                    ``(i) an in-person class described in subparagraph 
                (B)(i)(I) is available to the spouse of a member; and
                    ``(ii) if a spouse of a member is unable to attend 
                such a class in person--
                            ``(I) training is available to the spouse 
                        through an online program managed by the 
                        Department of Defense; and
                            ``(II) the member is informed during the 
                        in-person training of the member under 
                        subparagraph (B)(i) with respect to how the 
                        member's spouse can access the training; and
            ``(D) ensure that such training, and all documents and 
        materials provided in relation to such training, are presented 
        or written in manner that the Secretary determines can be 
        understood by the average enlisted member.''.
    (b) Provision of Retirement Information.--Such section is further 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (e) and (g), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection (d):
    ``(d) Provision of Retirement Information.--In each training under 
subsection (a) and in each meeting to provide counseling under 
subsection (b), a member of the armed forces shall be provided with--
            ``(1) all forms relating to retirement that are relevant to 
        the member, including with respect to the Thrift Savings Plan;
            ``(2) information with respect to how to find additional 
        information; and
            ``(3) contact information for counselors provided through 
        the Personal Financial Counselor program, the Personal 
        Financial Management program, or online programs managed by the 
        Department of Defense.''.
    (c) Report on Effectiveness of Financial Services Counseling.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
        submit to the congressional defense committees a report on 
        financial literacy training and financial services counseling 
        provided under section 992 of title 10, United States Code, as 
        amended by this section, that assesses--
                    (A) the effectiveness of such training and 
                counseling, which shall be determined using actual 
                localized data similar to the Unit Risk Inventory 
                Survey of the Army; and
                    (B) whether additional training or counseling is 
                necessary for enlisted members of the Armed Forces or 
                for officers.
            (2) Follow-on report.--Not later than 6 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
        to the congressional defense committees a report on the efforts 
        of the Department of Defense to address any concerns raised in 
        the report required by paragraph (1).
            (3) Congressional defense committees defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``congressional defense committees'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, United 
        States Code.
    (d) Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense may prescribe such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out the amendments made by this 
section.
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