[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 119 (Thursday, September 19, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8932-S8933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CORZINE (for himself, Mr. Fitztgerald, Mr. Sarbanes, and 
        Mr. Akaka):
  S. 2982. A bill to establish a grant program to enhance the financial 
and retirement literacy of mid-life and older Americans and to reduce 
financial abuse and fraud among such Americans, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleagues, Senators 
Fitzgerald, Sarbanes, and Akaka to introduce the Education for 
Retirement Security Act of 2002. This bill will provide access to badly 
needed financial and retirement education for millions of mid-life and 
older Americans whose retirement security is at stake.
  Improving financial literacy has been a top priority for me in 
Congress. I believe it is a critical and complex task for Americans of 
all ages, but it is especially crucial for Americans as they approach 
retirement. In fact, low levels of savings and high levels of personal 
and real estate debt are serious problems for many households nearing 
retirement. Although today's older Americans are generally thought to 
be doing well, nearly one-out-of five, 18 percent, were living below 
125 percent of the poverty line in 1995, which was a year of tremendous 
economic prosperity in our nation. And, only 53 percent of working 
Americans have any form of pension coverage. In addition, financial 
exploitation is the largest single category of abuse against older 
individuals, and this population comprises more than one-half of all 
telemarketing victims in the United States.
  While education alone cannot solve our Nation's retirement woes, 
financial education is vital to enabling individuals to avoid scams and 
bad investment, mortgage, and pension decisions, and to ensuring that 
they have access to the tools they need to make sound financial 
decisions and prepare appropriately for a secure future. Indeed, the 
more limited time frame that mid-life and older Americans have in which 
to assess the realities of their individual circumstances, recover from 
bad economic choices, and to benefit from more informed financial 
practices make this education all the more critical. Financial literacy 
is also particularly important for older women, who are more likely to 
live in poverty and be dependent upon Social Security.
  The Education for Retirement Security Act would create a competitive 
grant program that would provide resources to State and area agencies 
on aging and nonprofit community based organizations to provide 
financial education programs to mid-life and older Americans. The goal 
of these programs is to enhance these individuals' financial and 
retirement knowledge and reduce their vulnerability to financial abuse 
and fraud, including telemarketing, mortgage, and pension fraud.
  My legislation also authorizes the creation of a national technical 
assistance program that would designate at least one national nonprofit 
organization that has substantial experience in

[[Page S8933]]

the field of financial education to provide training and make available 
instructional materials and information that promotes financial 
education.
  Over the next thirty years, the percentage of Americans aged 65 and 
older is expected to double, from 35 million to nearly 75 million. 
Ensuring that these individuals are better prepared for retirement and 
are more informed about the economic decisions they face during 
retirement will have an important impact on the long term economic and 
social well-being of our nation.
  I hope that as the Senate moves to address pension reform, my 
colleagues will work to address the issues outlined in this 
legislation. The recent rash of corporate and accounting scandals and 
the declining stock market have jeopardized the retirement savings of 
millions of Americans, making the need for financial literacy even more 
clear.
  In closing, I would like to acknowledge the expertise and assistance 
that AARP, the Older Women's League, OWL, and the Women's Institute for 
a Secure Economic Retirement, WISER, offered to me in drafting this 
legislation.
  I also ask unanimous consent that the text of my legislation be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2982

       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 ``Education for Retirement 
     Security Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Improving financial literacy is a critical and complex 
     task for Americans of all ages.
       (2) Low levels of savings and high levels of personal and 
     real estate debt are serious problems for many households 
     nearing retirement.
       (3) Only 53 percent of working Americans have any form of 
     pension coverage. Three out of four women aged 65 or over 
     receive no income from employer-provided pensions.
       (4) The more limited timeframe that mid-life and older 
     individuals and families have to assess the realities of 
     their individual circumstances, to recover from counter-
     productive choices and decisionmaking processes, and to 
     benefit from more informed financial practices, has immediate 
     impact and near term consequences for Americans nearing or of 
     retirement age.
       (5) Research indicates that there are now 4 basic sources 
     of retirement income security. Those sources are social 
     security benefits, pensions and savings, healthcare insurance 
     coverage, and, for an increasing number of older individuals, 
     necessary earnings from working during one's ``retirement'' 
     years.
       (6) The $5,000,000,000,000 loss in stock market equity 
     values since 2000 has had a significantly negative effect on 
     mid-life and older individuals and on their pension plans and 
     retirement accounts, affecting both individuals with plans to 
     retire and those who are already in retirement.
       (7) Although today's older individuals are generally 
     thought to be doing well, nearly \1/5\ (18 percent) of such 
     individuals were living below 125 percent of the poverty line 
     during a year of national prosperity, 1995.
       (8) Over the next 30 years, the number of older individuals 
     in the United States is expected to double, from 35,000,000 
     to nearly 75,000,000, and long-term care costs are expected 
     to skyrocket.
       (9) Financial exploitation is the largest single category 
     of abuse against older individuals and this population 
     comprises more than \1/2\ of all telemarketing victims in the 
     United States.
       (10) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Identity Theft Data 
     Clearinghouse has reported that incidents of identity theft 
     targeting individuals over the age of 60 increased from 1,821 
     victims in 2000 to 5,802 victims in 2001, a threefold 
     increase.

     SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO ENHANCE FINANCIAL AND RETIREMENT 
                   LITERACY AND REDUCE FINANCIAL ABUSE AND FRAUD 
                   AMONG MID-LIFE AND OLDER AMERICANS.

       (a) Authority.--The Secretary is authorized to award grants 
     to eligible entities to provide financial education programs 
     to mid-life and older individuals who reside in local 
     communities in order to--
       (1) enhance financial and retirement knowledge among such 
     individuals; and
       (2) reduce financial abuse and fraud, including 
     telemarketing, mortgage, and pension fraud, among such 
     individuals.
       (b) Eligible Entities.--An entity is eligible to receive a 
     grant under this section if such entity is--
       (1) a State agency or area agency on aging; or
       (2) a nonprofit organization with a proven record of 
     providing--
       (A) services to mid-life and older individuals;
       (B) consumer awareness programs; or
       (C) supportive services to low-income families.
       (c) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under 
     this section shall submit an application to the Secretary in 
     such form and containing such information as the Secretary 
     may require, including a plan for continuing the programs 
     provided with grant funds under this section after the grant 
     expires.
       (d) Limitation on Administrative Costs.--A recipient of a 
     grant under this section may not use more than 4 percent of 
     the total amount of the grant in each fiscal year for the 
     administrative costs of carrying out the programs provided 
     with grant funds under this section.
       (e) Evaluation and Report.--
       (1) Establishment of performance measures.--The Secretary 
     shall develop measures to evaluate the programs provided with 
     grant funds under this section.
       (2) Evaluation according to performance measures.--Applying 
     the performance measures developed under paragraph (1), the 
     Secretary shall evaluate the programs provided with grant 
     funds under this section in order to--
       (A) judge the performance and effectiveness of such 
     programs;
       (B) identify which programs represent the best practices of 
     entities developing such programs for mid-life and older 
     individuals; and
       (C) identify which programs may be replicated.
       (3) Annual reports.--For each fiscal year in which a grant 
     is awarded under this section, the Secretary shall submit a 
     report to Congress containing a description of the status of 
     the grant program under this section, a description of the 
     programs provided with grant funds under this section, and 
     the results of the evaluation of such programs under 
     paragraph (2).

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) Authority.--The Secretary is authorized to award a 
     grant to 1 or more eligible entities to--
       (1) create and make available instructional materials and 
     information that promote financial education; and
       (2) provide training and other related assistance regarding 
     the establishment of financial education programs to eligible 
     entities awarded a grant under section 3.
       (b) Eligible Entities.--An entity is eligible to receive a 
     grant under this section if such entity is a national 
     nonprofit organization with substantial experience in the 
     field of financial education.
       (c) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under 
     this section shall submit an application to the Secretary in 
     such form and containing such information as the Secretary 
     may require.
       (d) Basis and Term.--The Secretary shall award a grant 
     under this section on a competitive, merit basis for a term 
     of 5 years.

     SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Financial education.--The term ``financial education'' 
     means education that promotes an understanding of consumer, 
     economic, and personal finance concepts, including saving for 
     retirement, long-term care, and estate planning and education 
     on predatory lending and financial abuse schemes.
       (2) Mid-life individual.--The term ``mid-life individual'' 
     means an individual aged 45 to 64 years.
       (3) Older individual.--The term ``older individual'' means 
     an individual aged 65 or older.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     to carry out this Act, $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
     years 2003 through 2007.
       (b) Limitation on Funds for Evaluation and Report.--The 
     Secretary may not use more than $200,000 of the amounts 
     appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year to 
     carry out section 3(e).
       (c) Limitation on Funds for Training and Technical 
     Assistance.--The Secretary may not use less than 5 percent or 
     more than 10 percent of amounts appropriated under subsection 
     (a) for each fiscal year to carry out section 4.

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