I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 891 

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 

FEBRUARY 28, 2013 

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 the Workforce, 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) Since 2007, there has been a nearly 20-per7 cent drop in the number of 18-year-olds with bank 

8 accounts, and in 2012, nearly one in three Ameri9 cans don’t pay their bills on time. 

10 (2) Ninety percent of Americans believe all high 

11 school students should be required to take a class in 

12 financial education. 

13 (3) Eighty percent of parents believe schools 

14 are teaching money management and budgeting, 

15 while over 70 percent of teachers are not teaching 

16 financial literacy. 

17 (4) According to a 2010 survey, only a few 

18 States have adopted varying degrees of financial lit19 eracy curriculum, and only four States require high 

20 school students to take a semester long course. 

21 (5) Two in five U.S. adults gave themselves a 

22 C, D or F on their knowledge of personal finance. 

23 In 2011, 76 percent admitted they could benefit 

24 from additional advice and answers to everyday fi25 nancial questions from a professional. 


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1 (6) Two in five adults indicated that they are 

2 now saving less than they were one year ago. 

3 (7) Most adults feel that their financial literacy 

4 skills are inadequate, yet they do not rely on anyone 

5 else to handle their finances; they feel it is impor6 tant to know more but have received no financial 

7 education. 

8 (8) It is necessary to respond immediately to 

9 the pressing needs of individuals faced with the loss 

10 of their financial stability, however increased atten11 tion must also be paid to financial literacy education 

12 reform and long-term solutions to prevent future 

13 personal financial disasters. 

14 (9) There is an urgent need to respond to the 

15 economic recovery with research-based financial lit16 eracy education programs to reach individuals at all 

17 ages and socioeconomic levels, particularly those fac18 ing unique and challenging financial situations, such 

19 as high school graduates entering the workforce, 

20 soon-to-be and recent college graduates, young fami21 lies, and the unique needs of military personnel and 

22 their families. 

23 (10) More than 70 percent of parents say they 

24 have spoken with their teens about credit and using 

25 credit cards wisely, while less than 44 percent of the 


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1 teenaged children of those respondents say their par2 ents have talked to them about credit cards. 

3 (11) Seventy-six percent of parents surveyed 

4 said their high school student does not have a budg5 et. 

6 (12) Seventy-five percent of 16 to 18-year-olds 

7 say learning more about budgeting and money man8 agement is one of their top priorities. Researchers 

9 document a ‘‘snowball effect’’ that such early efforts 

10 exponentially increase the likelihood that students 

11 will pursue more financial education as time goes on. 

12 (13) High school and college students who are 

13 exposed to cumulative financial education show an 

14 increase in financial knowledge, which in turn drives 

15 increasingly responsible behavior as they become 

16 young adults. 

17 (14) Sixty percent of parents identify their 

18 teens as ‘‘quick spenders’’, and most acknowledge 

19 they could do a better job of teaching and preparing 

20 kids for the financial challenges of adulthood, includ21 ing budgeting, saving, and investing. 

22 (15) Ninety-three percent of teens surveyed in 

23 a 2012 report say they are not involved in paying 

24 household bills or managing the household budget. 


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1 Forty-six percent admit to not knowing how to cre2 ate a budget. 

3 (16) The majority (52 percent) of young adults 

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

5 choices about managing money’’ the single most im6 portant issue for individual Americans to act on 

7 today. 

8 (17) According to the Government Account9 ability Office, giving Americans the information they 

10 need to make effective financial decisions can be key 

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

12 health. The recent financial crisis, when many bor13 rowers failed to fully understand the risks associated 

14 with certain financial products, underscored the need 

15 to improve individuals’ financial literacy and em16 power all Americans to make informed financial de17 cisions. This is especially true for young people as 

18 they are earning their first paychecks, securing stu19 dent aid, and establishing their financial independ20 ence. Therefore, focusing economic education and fi21 nancial literacy efforts and best practices for young 

22 people between the ages of 8–24 is of utmost impor23 tance. 


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1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR FUNDING THE ESTABLISH2 MENT OF CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN FI3 NANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of 

5 Consumer Financial Protection, in consultation with the 

6 Financial Literacy and Education Commission established 

7 under the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement 

8 Act, may make competitive grants to and enter into agree9 ments with eligible institutions to establish centers of ex10 cellence to support research, development and planning, 

11 implementation, and evaluation of effective programs in 

12 financial literacy education for young people and families 

13 ages 8 through 24 years old. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities authorized 

15 to be funded by grants made under subsection (a) shall 

16 include the following: 

17 (1) Developing and implementing comprehen18 sive research based financial literacy education pro19 grams for young people— 

20 (A) based on a set of core competencies 

21 and concepts established by the Director, in22 cluding goal setting, planning, budgeting, man23 aging money or transactions, tools and struc24 tures, behaviors, consequences, both long- and 

25 short-term savings, managing debt and earn26 ings; and 


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1 (B) which can be incorporated into edu2 cational settings through existing academic con3 tent areas, including materials that appro4 priately serve various segments of at-risk popu5 lations, particularly minority and disadvantaged 

6 individuals. 

7 (2) Designing instructional materials using evi8 dence-based content for young families and con9 ducting related outreach activities to address unique 

10 life situations and financial pitfalls, including bank11 ruptcy, foreclosure, credit card misuse, and preda12 tory lending. 

13 (3) Developing and supporting the delivery of 

14 professional development programs in financial lit15 eracy education to assure competence and account16 ability in the delivery system. 

17 (4) Improving access to, and dissemination of, 

18 financial literacy information for young people and 

19 families. 

20 (5) Reducing student loan default rates by de21 veloping programs to help individuals better under22 stand how to manage educational debt through sus23 tained educational programs for college students. 

24 (6) Conducting ongoing research and evaluation 

25 of financial literacy education programs to assure 


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1 learning of defined skills and knowledge, and reten2 tion of learning. 

3 (7) Developing research-based assessment and 

4 accountability of the appropriate applications of 

5 learning over short and long terms to measure effec6 tiveness of authorized activities. 

7 (c) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN APPLICATIONS.—The 

8 Director shall give a priority to applications that— 

9 (1) provide clear definitions of ‘‘financial lit10 eracy’’ and ‘‘financially literate’’ to clarify edu11 cational outcomes; 

12 (2) establish parameters for identifying the 

13 types of programs that most effectively reach young 

14 people and families in unique life situations and fi15 nancial pitfalls, including bankruptcy, foreclosure, 

16 credit card misuse, and predatory lending; 

17 (3) include content that is appropriate to age 

18 and socioeconomic levels; 

19 (4) develop programs based on educational 

20 standards, definitions, and research; 

21 (5) include individual goals of financial inde22 pendence and stability; and 

23 (6) establish professional development and de24 livery systems using evidence-based practices. 


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1 (d) APPLICATION AND EVALUATION STANDARDS AND

2 PROCEDURES; DISTRIBUTION CRITERIA.—The Director 

3 shall establish application and evaluation standards and 

4 procedures, distribution criteria, and such other forms, 

5 standards, definitions, and procedures as the Director de6 termines to be appropriate. 

7 (e) LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The aggregate amount of 

9 grants made under this section during any fiscal 

10 year may not exceed $55,000,000. 

11 (2) TERMINATION.—No grants may be made 

12 under this section after the end of fiscal year 2018. 

13 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act the fol14 lowing definitions shall apply: 

15 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

16 the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

17 Protection. 

18 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi19 ble institution’’ means a partnership of two or more 

20 of the following: 

21 (A) Institution of higher education. 

22 (B) Local educational agency. 

23 (C) A nonprofit agency, organization, or 

24 association. 

25 (D) A financial institution. 


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1 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

3 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High4 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

Æ 


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