I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7953 

To establish a grant program in the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

to fund the establishment of centers of excellence to support research, 

development and planning, implementation, and evaluation of effective 

programs in financial literacy education for young people and families 

ages 8 through 24 years old, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 7, 2020 

Mr. CARSON of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee 

on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program in the Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection to fund the establishment of centers 

of excellence to support research, development and planning, implementation, and evaluation of effective programs in financial literacy education for young people 

and families ages 8 through 24 years old, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Young Americans Fi3 nancial Literacy Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) That 88 percent of Americans believe fi7 nance education should be taught in schools and 92 

8 percent of K–12 teachers believe that financial edu9 cation should be taught in school, but only 12 per10 cent of teachers actually teach the subject. 

11 (2) According to a 2020 survey, less than half 

12 of states require high school students to take a 

13 course on personal finance, and less than 17 percent 

14 of high schoolers were required to take a one semes15 ter personal finance course. 

16 (3) For the fourth year in a row, more than one 

17 third of surveyed consumers gave themselves a ‘‘B’’ 

18 when grading their own level of basic financial lit19 eracy. Less than one-fifth of Americans gave them20 selves an ‘‘A’’. Most adults feel that their financial 

21 literacy skills are inadequate, yet they do not rely on 

22 anyone else to handle their finances; they feel it is 

23 important to know more but have received no finan24 cial education. 

25 (4) The sudden disruptions caused by the 

26 spread of COVID–19 are presenting economic chalVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7953.IH H7953

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1 lenges with growing consequences. While some fac2 tors affecting financial well-being are beyond indi3 vidual control, financial literacy can help people bet4 ter manage their finances through times of hardship. 

5 (5) It is necessary to respond immediately to 

6 the pressing needs of individuals faced with the loss 

7 of their financial stability; however increased atten8 tion must also be paid to financial literacy education 

9 reform and long-term solutions to prevent future 

10 personal financial disasters. 

11 (6) There is an urgent need to respond to the 

12 COVID–19 economic recovery with research-based 

13 financial literacy education programs to reach indi14 viduals at all ages and socioeconomic levels, particu15 larly those facing unique and challenging financial 

16 situations, such as high school graduates entering 

17 the workforce, soon-to-be and recent college grad18 uates, young families, and the unique needs of mili19 tary personnel and their families. 

20 (7) High school and college students who are 

21 exposed to cumulative financial education show an 

22 increase in financial knowledge, which in turn drives 

23 increasingly responsible behavior as they become 

24 young adults. 


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1 (8) The majority (52 percent) of young adults 

2 between the ages of 23–28 consider ‘‘making better 

3 choices about managing money’’, the single most im4 portant issue for individual Americans to act on 

5 today. 

6 (9) According to the Government Accountability 

7 Office, giving Americans the information they need 

8 to make effective financial decisions can be key to 

9 their well-being and to the country’s economic 

10 health. The current pandemic, in which 88 percent 

11 of Americans say is causing stress on their personal 

12 finances, underscores the need to improve individ13 uals’ financial literacy and empower all Americans to 

14 make informed financial decisions. This is especially 

15 true for young people as they are earning their first 

16 paychecks, securing student aid, and establishing 

17 their financial independence. Therefore, focusing 

18 economic education and financial literacy efforts and 

19 best practices for young people between the ages of 

20 8–24 is of utmost importance. 

21 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR FUNDING THE ESTABLISH22 MENT OF CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN FI23 NANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Consumer Financial Protec25 tion Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating section 1037 as section 

2 1038; and 

3 (2) by inserting after section 1036 the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1037. AUTHORIZATION FOR FUNDING THE ESTAB6 LISHMENT OF CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN 

7 FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau, in 

9 consultation with the Financial Literacy and Education 

10 Commission established under the Financial Literacy and 

11 Education Improvement Act, shall make competitive 

12 grants to and enter into agreements with eligible institu13 tions to establish centers of excellence to support research, 

14 development and planning, implementation, and evalua15 tion of effective programs in financial literacy education 

16 for young people and families ages 8 through 24 years 

17 old. 

18 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities author19 ized to be funded by grants made under subsection (a) 

20 shall include the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) Developing and implementing comprehen22 sive research based financial literacy education pro23 grams for young people— 

24 ‘‘(A) based on a set of core competencies 

25 and concepts established by the Director, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:46 Aug 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7953.IH H7953

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1 cluding goal setting, planning, budgeting, man2 aging money or transactions, tools and struc3 tures, behaviors, consequences, both long- and 

4 short-term savings, managing debt and earn5 ings; and 

6 ‘‘(B) which can be incorporated into edu7 cational settings through existing academic con8 tent areas, including materials that appro9 priately serve various segments of at-risk popu10 lations, particularly minority and disadvantaged 

11 individuals. 

12 ‘‘(2) Designing instructional materials using 

13 evidence-based content for young families and con14 ducting related outreach activities to address unique 

15 life situations and financial pitfalls, including bank16 ruptcy, foreclosure, credit card misuse, and preda17 tory lending. 

18 ‘‘(3) Developing and supporting the delivery of 

19 professional development programs in financial lit20 eracy education to assure competence and account21 ability in the delivery system. 

22 ‘‘(4) Improving access to, and dissemination of, 

23 financial literacy information for young people and 

24 families. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Reducing student loan default rates by de2 veloping programs to help individuals better under3 stand how to manage educational debt through sus4 tained educational programs for college students. 

5 ‘‘(6) Conducting ongoing research and evalua6 tion of financial literacy education programs to as7 sure learning of defined skills and knowledge, and 

8 retention of learning. 

9 ‘‘(7) Developing research-based assessment and 

10 accountability of the appropriate applications of 

11 learning over short and long terms to measure effec12 tiveness of authorized activities. 

13 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN APPLICATIONS.—The 

14 Director shall give a priority to applications that— 

15 ‘‘(1) provide clear definitions of ‘financial lit16 eracy’ and ‘financially literate’ to clarify educational 

17 outcomes; 

18 ‘‘(2) establish parameters for identifying the 

19 types of programs that most effectively reach young 

20 people and families in unique life situations and fi21 nancial pitfalls, including bankruptcy, foreclosure, 

22 credit card misuse, and predatory lending; 

23 ‘‘(3) include content that is appropriate to age 

24 and socioeconomic levels; 


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1 ‘‘(4) develop programs based on educational 

2 standards, definitions, and research; 

3 ‘‘(5) include individual goals of financial inde4 pendence and stability; 

5 ‘‘(6) establish professional development and de6 livery systems using evidence-based practices; 

7 ‘‘(7) address the needs of one or more at-risk 

8 populations; 

9 ‘‘(8) incorporate sensitivities to specific cul10 tural, linguistic, or demographic characteristics; 

11 ‘‘(9) enhance opportunities for asset building, 

12 such as increasing savings for lower income house13 holds and investments into the stock, bond, and real 

14 estate markets; 

15 ‘‘(10) include an evaluation component to en16 sure the work’s effectiveness in increasing financial 

17 literacy or consumer access to appropriate financial 

18 products or services, or that the provider has evi19 dence of such effectiveness; 

20 ‘‘(11) promise future replication or can be sus21 tained beyond the program period; and 

22 ‘‘(12) will make effectiveness data (if any) that 

23 is generated from the work available to others in the 

24 financial education community. 


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1 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION AND EVALUATION STANDARDS

2 AND PROCEDURES; DISTRIBUTION CRITERIA.—The Di3 rector shall establish application and evaluation standards 

4 and procedures, distribution criteria, and such other 

5 forms, standards, definitions, and procedures as the Direc6 tor determines to be appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(e) CONTENT DELIVERY.—An eligible institution re8 ceiving a grant under this section shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) ensure that content is delivered in an ac10 cessible way to young people, through traditional 

11 educational methods and digital methods, including 

12 over appropriate social media platforms; and 

13 ‘‘(2) to the extent content is delivered through 

14 a website, ensure that the website is user friendly, 

15 visually appealing, and doesn’t bombard users with 

16 dense content that is difficult to comprehend. 

17 ‘‘(f) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate amount of 

19 grants made under this section during any fiscal 

20 year— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall be at least $27,500,000; and 

22 ‘‘(B) may not exceed $55,000,000. 

23 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—No grants may be made 

24 under this section after the end of fiscal year 2025. 


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1 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director shall 

2 issue an annual report to Congress containing— 

3 ‘‘(1) a list of grant recipients under this sec4 tion, including the amount of such grant; and 

5 ‘‘(2) for each grant recipient, a description of 

6 the specific populations being served by such grant. 

7 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section the 

8 following definitions shall apply: 

9 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi10 ble institution’ means a partnership of two or more 

11 of the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) An institution of higher education. 

13 ‘‘(B) A State or local government agency 

14 which specializes in financial education pro15 grams. 

16 ‘‘(C) A nonprofit agency, organization, or 

17 association. 

18 ‘‘(D) A financial institution. 

19 ‘‘(E) A small organization that is 

20 partnering with, but is not itself, a person de21 scribed under subparagraph (A) through (D). 

22 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

23 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

24 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High25 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 under section 1(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 

3 and Consumer Protection Act is amended by striking the 

4 item relating to section 1037 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 1037. Authorization for funding the establishment of centers of excellence 

in financial literacy education. 

‘‘Sec. 1038. Effective date.’’. 

Æ 


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