20 USC 9702 - Establishment of Financial Literacy and Education Commission

Collapse to view only § 9702. Establishment of Financial Literacy and Education Commission

§ 9701. Definitions
§ 9702. Establishment of Financial Literacy and Education Commission
§ 9703. Duties of the Commission
§ 9704. Powers of the Commission
§ 9705. Commission personnel matters
§ 9706. Studies by the Comptroller General
§ 9707. The national public service multimedia campaign to enhance the state of financial literacy
§ 9708. Authorization of appropriations
§ 9709. Coordinated education efforts

§ 9701. Definitions

As used in this chapter—

(1) the term “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission; and

(2) the term “Commission” means the Financial Literacy and Education Commission established under section 9702 of this title.

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 512, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2003.)

§ 9702. Establishment of Financial Literacy and Education Commission

(a) In general

(b) Purpose

(1) Composition

The Commission shall be composed of—

(A) the Secretary of the Treasury;

(B) the respective head of each of the Federal banking agencies (as defined in section 1813 of title 12), the National Credit Union Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, each of the Departments of Education, Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Veterans Affairs, the Federal Trade Commission, the General Services Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Office of Personnel Management;

(D) at the discretion of the President, not more than 5 individuals appointed by the President from among the administrative heads of any other Federal agencies, departments, or other Federal Government entities, whom the President determines to be engaged in a serious effort to improve financial literacy and education.

(2) Alternates

(d) Chairperson

(e) Meetings

(f) Quorum

(g) Initial meeting

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 513, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2003; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1013(d)(5), (6), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1971.)

§ 9703. Duties of the Commission

(a) Duties

(1) In general

(2) Areas of emphasisTo improve financial literacy and education, the Commission shall emphasize, among other elements, basic personal income and household money management and planning skills, including how to—

(A) create household budgets, initiate savings plans, and make strategic investment decisions for education, retirement, home ownership, wealth building, or other savings goals;

(B) manage spending, credit, and debt, including credit card debt, effectively;

(C) increase awareness of the availability and significance of credit reports and credit scores in obtaining credit, the importance of their accuracy (and how to correct inaccuracies), their effect on credit terms, and the effect common financial decisions may have on credit scores;

(D) ascertain fair and favorable credit terms;

(E) avoid abusive, predatory, or deceptive credit offers and financial products;

(F) understand, evaluate, and compare financial products, services, and opportunities;

(G) understand resources that ought to be easily accessible and affordable, and that inform and educate investors as to their rights and avenues of recourse when an investor believes his or her rights have been violated by unprofessional conduct of market intermediaries;

(H) increase awareness of the particular financial needs and financial transactions (such as the sending of remittances) of consumers who are targeted in multilingual financial literacy and education programs and improve the development and distribution of multilingual financial literacy and education materials;

(I) promote bringing individuals who lack basic banking services into the financial mainstream by opening and maintaining an account with a financial institution; and

(J) improve financial literacy and education through all other related skills, including personal finance and related economic education, with the primary goal of programs not simply to improve knowledge, but rather to improve consumers’ financial choices and outcomes.

(3) Best practices for teaching financial literacy

(A) In generalAfter soliciting public comments and consulting with and receiving input from relevant parties, including a diverse set of institutions of higher education and other parties, the Commission shall, by not later than 1 year after May 24, 2018, establish best practices for institutions of higher education regarding methods to—

(i) teach financial literacy skills; and

(ii) provide useful and necessary information to assist students at institutions of higher education when making financial decisions related to student borrowing.

(B) Best practicesThe best practices described in subparagraph (A) shall include the following:

(i) Methods to ensure that each student has a clear sense of the student’s total borrowing obligations, including monthly payments, and repayment options.

(ii) The most effective ways to engage students in financial literacy education, including frequency and timing of communication with students.

(iii) Information on how to target different student populations, including part-time students, first-time students, and other nontraditional students.

(iv) Ways to clearly communicate the importance of graduating on a student’s ability to repay student loans.

(D) Rule of construction

(b) Website

(1) In general

(2) PurposesThe website established under paragraph (1) shall—

(A) serve as a clearinghouse of information about Federal financial literacy and education programs;

(B) provide a coordinated entry point for accessing information about all Federal publications, grants, and materials promoting enhanced financial literacy and education;

(C) offer information on all Federal grants to promote financial literacy and education, and on how to target, apply for, and receive a grant that is most appropriate under the circumstances;

(D) as the Commission considers appropriate, feature website links to efforts that have no commercial span and that feature information about financial literacy and education programs, materials, or campaigns; and

(E) offer such other information as the Commission finds appropriate to share with the public in the fulfillment of its purpose.

(d) Development and dissemination of materialsThe Commission shall—

(1) develop materials to promote financial literacy and education; and

(2) disseminate such materials to the general public.

(e) Coordination of efforts

(f) National strategy

(1) In generalThe Commission shall—

(A) not later than 18 months after December 4, 2003, develop a national strategy to promote basic financial literacy and education among all American consumers; and

(B) coordinate Federal efforts to implement the strategy developed under subparagraph (A).

(2) StrategyThe strategy to promote basic financial literacy and education required to be developed under paragraph (1) shall provide for—

(A) participation by State and local governments and private, nonprofit, and public institutions in the creation and implementation of such strategy;

(B) the development of methods—

(i) to increase the general financial education level of current and future consumers of financial services and products; and

(ii) to enhance the general understanding of financial services and products;

(C) review of Federal activities designed to promote financial literacy and education, and development of a plan to improve coordination of such activities; and

(D) 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.

(3) National strategy review

(g) Consultation

(h) Reports

(1) In general

(2) ContentsThe report required under paragraph (1) shall include—

(A) the national strategy for financial literacy and education, as described under subsection (f);

(B) information concerning the implementation of the duties of the Commission under subsections (a) through (g);

(D) an assessment of the availability, utilization, and impact of Federal financial literacy and education materials;

(E) information concerning the span and public use of—

(i) the website established under subsection (b); and

(ii) the toll-free telephone number established under subsection (c);

(F) a brief survey of the financial literacy and education materials developed under subsection (d), and data regarding the dissemination and impact of such materials, as measured by improved financial decisionmaking;

(G) a brief summary of any hearings conducted by the Commission, including a list of witnesses who testified at such hearings;

(H) information about the activities of the Commission planned for the next fiscal year;

(I) a summary of all Federal financial literacy and education activities targeted to communities that have historically lacked access to financial literacy materials and education, and have been underserved by the mainstream financial systems; and

(J) such other materials relating to the duties of the Commission as the Commission deems appropriate.

(3) Initial report

(i) Testimony

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 514, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2004; Pub. L. 115–174, title VI, § 603, May 24, 2018, 132 Stat. 1367.)

§ 9704. Powers of the Commission

(a) Hearings

(1) In general

(2) Participation

In hearings held under this subsection, the Commission shall consider inviting witnesses from, among other groups—

(A) other Federal Government officials;

(B) State and local government officials;

(D) nonprofit financial literacy and education groups (such as those involved in personal finance and economic education); and

(E) the financial services industry.

(b) Information from Federal agencies

(d) Multilingual

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 515, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2007.)

§ 9705. Commission personnel matters

(a) Compensation of members

(b) Travel expenses

(1) In general

(2) Detail of Government employees

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 516, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2008.)

§ 9706. Studies by the Comptroller General

(a) Effectiveness study

(b) Study and report on the need and means for improving financial literacy among consumers

(1) Study required

(2) Factors to be included

The study required under paragraph (1) shall include the following issues:

(A) The number of consumers who view their credit reports.

(B) Under what conditions and for what purposes do consumers primarily obtain a copy of their consumer report (such as for the purpose of ensuring the completeness and accuracy of the contents, to protect against fraud, in response to an adverse action based on the report, or in response to suspected identity theft) and approximately what percentage of the total number of consumers who obtain a copy of their consumer report do so for each such primary purpose.

(D) The extent to which consumers know how to get a copy of a consumer report.

(E) The extent to which consumers know and understand the factors that positively or negatively impact credit scores.

(3) Report required

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 517, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2008.)

§ 9707. The national public service multimedia campaign to enhance the state of financial literacy

(a) In general

(b) Program requirements

(1) Public service campaign

(2) Development of multimedia campaign

(3) Focus of campaign

(d) Performance measures

(e) Report

(f) Authorization of appropriations

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 518, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2009.)

§ 9708. Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as may be necessary to carry out this chapter, including administrative expenses of the Commission.

(Pub. L. 108–159, title V, § 519, Dec. 4, 2003, 117 Stat. 2010.)

§ 9709. Coordinated education efforts

(a) In general

The Secretary of the Treasury (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”), in coordination with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Agriculture (with respect to land-grant colleges and universities), and any other appropriate agency that is a member of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission established under the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9701 et seq.), shall seek to enhance financial literacy among students at covered educational institutions through—

(1) the development of initiatives, programs, and curricula that improve student awareness of the short- and long-term costs associated with education loans and other debt assumed while in college, their repayment obligations, and their rights as borrowers; and

(2) assisting such students in navigating the financial aid process.

(b) Duties

For purposes of this section, the Secretary, working in conjunction with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, shall—

(1) identify programs that promote or enhance financial literacy for college students, with specific emphasis on programs that impart the knowledge and ability for students to best navigate the financial aid process, including those that involve partnerships between nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, State and local governments, and student organizations;

(2) evaluate the effectiveness of such programs in terms of measured results, including positive behavioral change among college students;

(3) promote the programs identified as being the most effective; and

(4) encourage covered educational institutions to implement financial education programs for their students, including those that have the highest evaluations.

(1) In general

(2) Content

(3) Appearance before Congress

(Pub. L. 110–315, title X, § 1042, Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3489.)