I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1866 

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 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. CARSON of Indiana (for himself, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. CHU

of California, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, 

Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HONDA, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 

Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE, Mr. TED LIEU of California, 

Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RICHMOND, 

and Mr. SCHIFF) 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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Young Americans Fi5 nancial Literacy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Since 2007, there has been a nearly 20-per9 cent drop in the number of 18-year-olds with bank 

10 accounts, and in 2012, nearly one in three Ameri11 cans don’t pay their bills on time. 

12 (2) Ninety percent of Americans believe all high 

13 school students should be required to take a class in 

14 financial education. 

15 (3) Eighty percent of parents believe schools 

16 are teaching money management and budgeting, 

17 while over 70 percent of teachers are not teaching 

18 financial literacy. 

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

20 States have adopted varying degrees of financial lit21 eracy curriculum, and only four States require high 

22 school students to take a semester long course. 

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

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

25 In 2011, 76 percent admitted they could benefit 

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1 from additional advice and answers to everyday fi2 nancial questions from a professional. 

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

4 now saving less than they were one year ago. 

5 (7) Most adults feel that their financial literacy 

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

7 else to handle their finances; they feel it is impor8 tant to know more but have received no financial 

9 education. 

10 (8) It is necessary to respond immediately to 

11 the pressing needs of individuals faced with the loss 

12 of their financial stability, however increased atten13 tion must also be paid to financial literacy education 

14 reform and long-term solutions to prevent future 

15 personal financial disasters. 

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

17 economic recovery with research-based financial lit18 eracy education programs to reach individuals at all 

19 ages and socioeconomic levels, particularly those fac20 ing unique and challenging financial situations, such 

21 as high school graduates entering the workforce, 

22 soon-to-be and recent college graduates, young fami23 lies, and the unique needs of military personnel and 

24 their families. 

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

2 have spoken with their teens about credit and using 

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

4 teenaged children of those respondents say their par5 ents have talked to them about credit cards. 

6 (11) Seventy-six percent of parents surveyed 

7 said their high school student does not have a budg8 et. 

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

10 say learning more about budgeting and money man11 agement is one of their top priorities. Researchers 

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

13 exponentially increase the likelihood that students 

14 will pursue more financial education as time goes on. 

15 (13) High school and college students who are 

16 exposed to cumulative financial education show an 

17 increase in financial knowledge, which in turn drives 

18 increasingly responsible behavior as they become 

19 young adults. 

20 (14) Sixty percent of parents identify their 

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

22 they could do a better job of teaching and preparing 

23 kids for the financial challenges of adulthood, includ24 ing budgeting, saving, and investing. 

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

2 a 2012 report say they are not involved in paying 

3 household bills or managing the household budget. 

4 Forty-six percent admit to not knowing how to cre5 ate a budget. 

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

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

8 choices about managing money’’ the single most im9 portant issue for individual Americans to act on 

10 today. 

11 (17) According to the Government Account12 ability Office, giving Americans the information they 

13 need to make effective financial decisions can be key 

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

15 health. The recent financial crisis, when many bor16 rowers failed to fully understand the risks associated 

17 with certain financial products, underscored the need 

18 to improve individuals’ financial literacy and em19 power all Americans to make informed financial de20 cisions. This is especially true for young people as 

21 they are earning their first paychecks, securing stu22 dent aid, and establishing their financial independ23 ence. Therefore, focusing economic education and fi24 nancial literacy efforts and best practices for young 

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1 people between the ages of 8–24 is of utmost impor2 tance. 

3 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR FUNDING THE ESTABLISH4 MENT OF CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN FI5 NANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION. 

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

7 Consumer Financial Protection, in consultation with the 

8 Financial Literacy and Education Commission established 

9 under the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement 

10 Act, may make competitive grants to and enter into agree11 ments with eligible institutions to establish centers of ex12 cellence to support research, development and planning, 

13 implementation, and evaluation of effective programs in 

14 financial literacy education for young people and families 

15 ages 8 through 24 years old. 

16 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities authorized 

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

18 include the following: 

19 (1) Developing and implementing comprehen20 sive research based financial literacy education pro21 grams for young people— 

22 (A) based on a set of core competencies 

23 and concepts established by the Director, in24 cluding goal setting, planning, budgeting, man25 aging money or transactions, tools and strucmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tures, behaviors, consequences, both long- and 

2 short-term savings, managing debt and earn3 ings; and 

4 (B) which can be incorporated into edu5 cational settings through existing academic con6 tent areas, including materials that appro7 priately serve various segments of at-risk popu8 lations, particularly minority and disadvantaged 

9 individuals. 

10 (2) Designing instructional materials using evi11 dence-based content for young families and con12 ducting related outreach activities to address unique 

13 life situations and financial pitfalls, including bank14 ruptcy, foreclosure, credit card misuse, and preda15 tory lending. 

16 (3) Developing and supporting the delivery of 

17 professional development programs in financial lit18 eracy education to assure competence and account19 ability in the delivery system. 

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

21 financial literacy information for young people and 

22 families. 

23 (5) Reducing student loan default rates by de24 veloping programs to help individuals better undermstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 stand how to manage educational debt through sus2 tained educational programs for college students. 

3 (6) Conducting ongoing research and evaluation 

4 of financial literacy education programs to assure 

5 learning of defined skills and knowledge, and reten6 tion of learning. 

7 (7) Developing research-based assessment and 

8 accountability of the appropriate applications of 

9 learning over short and long terms to measure effec10 tiveness of authorized activities. 

11 (c) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN APPLICATIONS.—The 

12 Director shall give a priority to applications that— 

13 (1) provide clear definitions of ‘‘financial lit14 eracy’’ and ‘‘financially literate’’ to clarify edu15 cational outcomes; 

16 (2) establish parameters for identifying the 

17 types of programs that most effectively reach young 

18 people and families in unique life situations and fi19 nancial pitfalls, including bankruptcy, foreclosure, 

20 credit card misuse, and predatory lending; 

21 (3) include content that is appropriate to age 

22 and socioeconomic levels; 

23 (4) develop programs based on educational 

24 standards, definitions, and research; 

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1 (5) include individual goals of financial inde2 pendence and stability; and 

3 (6) establish professional development and de4 livery systems using evidence-based practices. 

5 (d) APPLICATION AND EVALUATION STANDARDS AND

6 PROCEDURES; DISTRIBUTION CRITERIA.—The Director 

7 shall establish application and evaluation standards and 

8 procedures, distribution criteria, and such other forms, 

9 standards, definitions, and procedures as the Director de10 termines to be appropriate. 

11 (e) LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

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

13 grants made under this section during any fiscal 

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

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

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

17 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act the fol18 lowing definitions shall apply: 

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

20 the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

21 Protection. 

22 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi23 ble institution’’ means a partnership of two or more 

24 of the following: 

25 (A) Institution of higher education. 

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1 (B) Local educational agency. 

2 (C) A nonprofit agency, organization, or 

3 association. 

4 (D) A financial institution. 

5 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

7 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High8 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

Æ 

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