H. R. 2622—52
(e) FTC REGULATION OF CODING OF TRADE NAMES.—Section
621 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s), as amended
by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) FTC REGULATION OF CODING OF TRADE NAMES.—If the
Commission determines that a person described in paragraph (9)
of section 623(a) has not met the requirements of such paragraph,
the Commission shall take action to ensure the person’s compliance
with such paragraph, which may include issuing model guidance
or prescribing reasonable policies and procedures, as necessary
to ensure that such person complies with such paragraph.’’.
(f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 604(g)
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(g)), as amended
by section 411 of this Act, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(other than medical
contact information treated in the manner required under sec-
tion 605(a)(6))’’ after ‘‘a consumer report that contains medical
information’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(other than medical
information treated in the manner required under section
605(a)(6))’’ after ‘‘a creditor shall not obtain or use medical
information’’.
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section
shall take effect at the end of the 15-month period beginning on
the date of enactment of this Act.
TITLE V—FINANCIAL LITERACY AND
EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT
SEC. 511. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Literacy and Education
Improvement Act’’.
SEC. 512. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this title—
(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 513.
SEC. 513. ESTABLISHMENT OF FINANCIAL LITERACY AND EDUCATION
COMMISSION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a commission to be
known as the ‘‘Financial Literacy and Education Commission’’.
(b) PURPOSE.—The Commission shall serve to improve the
financial literacy and education of persons in the United States
through development of a national strategy to promote financial
literacy and education.
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—
(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 3 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act), 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,
H. R. 2622—53
Labor, and Veterans Affairs, the Federal Trade Commis-
sion, the General Services Administration, the Small Busi-
ness Administration, the Social Security Administration,
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the
Office of Personnel Management; and
(C) 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, depart-
ments, or other Federal Government entities, whom the
President determines to be engaged in a serious effort
to improve financial literacy and education.
(2) ALTERNATES.—Each member of the Commission may
designate an alternate if the member is unable to attend a
meeting of the Commission. Such alternate shall be an indi-
vidual who exercises significant decisionmaking authority.
(d) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall serve
as the Chairperson.
(e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall hold, at the call of the
Chairperson, at least 1 meeting every 4 months. All such meetings
shall be open to the public. The Commission may hold, at the
call of the Chairperson, such other meetings as the Chairperson
sees fit to carry out this title.
(f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the Commission
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may
hold hearings.
(g) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall hold its first
meeting not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 514. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) DUTIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, through the authority
of the members referred to in section 513(c), shall take such
actions as it deems necessary to streamline, improve, or aug-
ment the financial literacy and education programs, grants,
and materials of the Federal Government, including curricula
for all Americans.
(2) AREAS OF EMPHASIS.—To improve financial literacy and
education, the Commission shall emphasize, among other ele-
ments, basic personal income and household money manage-
ment 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 signifi-
cance of credit reports and credit scores in obtaining credit,
the importance of their accuracy (and how to correct inac-
curacies), 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 prod-
ucts, services, and opportunities;
H. R. 2622—54
(G) understand resources that ought to be easily acces-
sible 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 unpro-
fessional 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 lit-
eracy 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 pro-
grams not simply to improve knowledge, but rather to
improve consumers’ financial choices and outcomes.
(b) WEBSITE.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish and
maintain 
a 
website, 
such 
as 
the 
domain 
name
‘‘FinancialLiteracy.gov’’, or a similar domain name.
(2) PURPOSES.—The website established under paragraph
(1) shall—
(A) serve as a clearinghouse of information about Fed-
eral 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 edu-
cation;
(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 content
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.
(c) TOLL-FREE HOTLINE.—The Commission shall establish a
toll-free telephone number that shall be made available to members
of the public seeking information about issues pertaining to finan-
cial literacy and education.
(d) DEVELOPMENT
AND DISSEMINATION
OF MATERIALS.—The
Commission shall—
(1) develop materials to promote financial literacy and edu-
cation; and
(2) disseminate such materials to the general public.
(e) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS.—The Commission shall take
such steps as are necessary to coordinate and promote financial
literacy and education efforts at the State and local level, including
promoting partnerships among Federal, State, and local govern-
ments, nonprofit organizations, and private enterprises.
H. R. 2622—55
(f) NATIONAL STRATEGY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall—
(A) not later than 18 months after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, 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) STRATEGY.—The strategy to promote basic financial lit-
eracy 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 finan-
cial 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 duplica-
tion among Federal financial literacy and education activi-
ties and proposed means of eliminating any such overlap
and duplication.
(3) NATIONAL STRATEGY REVIEW.—The Commission shall,
not less than annually, review the national strategy developed
under this subsection and make such changes and recommenda-
tions as it deems necessary.
(g) CONSULTATION.—The Commission shall actively consult with
a variety of representatives from private and nonprofit organiza-
tions and State and local agencies, as determined appropriate by
the Commission.
(h) REPORTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after the date
of the first meeting of the Commission, and annually thereafter,
the Commission shall issue a report, the Strategy for Assuring
Financial Empowerment (‘‘SAFE Strategy’’), to the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and
the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Represent-
atives on the progress of the Commission in carrying out this
title.
(2) CONTENTS.—The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include—
(A) the national strategy for financial literacy and edu-
cation, as described under subsection (f);
(B) information concerning the implementation of the
duties of the Commission under subsections (a) through
(g);
(C) an assessment of the success of the Commission
in implementing the national strategy developed under
subsection (f);
(D) an assessment of the availability, utilization, and
impact of Federal financial literacy and education mate-
rials;
H. R. 2622—56
(E) information concerning the content 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 main-
stream financial systems; and
(J) such other materials relating to the duties of the
Commission as the Commission deems appropriate.
(3) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial report under paragraph
(1) shall include information regarding all Federal programs,
materials, and grants which seek to improve financial literacy,
and assess the effectiveness of such programs.
(i) TESTIMONY.—The Commission shall annually provide testi-
mony by the Chairperson to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 515. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) HEARINGS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall hold such hearings,
sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony,
and receive such evidence as the Commission deems appro-
priate to carry out this title.
(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;
(C) consumer and community groups;
(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.—The Commission
may secure directly from any Federal department or agency such
information as the Commission considers necessary to carry out
this title. Upon request of the Chairperson, the head of such depart-
ment or agency shall furnish such information to the Commission.
(c) PERIODIC STUDIES.—The Commission may conduct periodic
studies regarding the state of financial literacy and education in
the United States, as the Commission determines appropriate.
(d) MULTILINGUAL.—The Commission may take any action to
develop and promote financial literacy and education materials
H. R. 2622—57
in languages other than English, as the Commission deems appro-
priate, including for the website established under section 514(b),
at the toll-free number established under section 514(c), and in
the materials developed and disseminated under section 514(d).
SEC. 516. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.
(a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of the Commis-
sion shall serve without compensation in addition to that received
for their service as an officer or employee of the United States.
(b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Commission shall
be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,
at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter
I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from
their homes or regular places of business in the performance of
services for the Commission.
(c) ASSISTANCE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of Financial
Education of the Department of the Treasury shall provide
assistance to the Commission, upon request of the Commission,
without reimbursement.
(2) DETAIL
OF
GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES.—Any Federal
Government employee may be detailed to the Commission with-
out reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interrup-
tion or loss of civil service status or privilege.
SEC. 517. STUDIES BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL.
(a) EFFECTIVENESS STUDY.—Not later than 3 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit a report to Congress assessing the
effectiveness of the Commission in promoting financial literacy and
education.
(b) STUDY
AND
REPORT
ON
THE
NEED
AND
MEANS
FOR
IMPROVING FINANCIAL LITERACY AMONG CONSUMERS.—
(1) STUDY
REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of the
United States shall conduct a study to assess the extent of
consumers’ knowledge and awareness of credit reports, credit
scores, and the dispute resolution process, and on methods
for improving financial literacy among consumers.
(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.
(C) The extent of consumers’ knowledge of the data
collection process.
(D) The extent to which consumers know how to get
a copy of a consumer report.
(E) The extent to which consumers know and under-
stand the factors that positively or negatively impact credit
scores.
H. R. 2622—58
(3) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 12-month
period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress on the
findings and conclusions of the Comptroller General pursuant
to the study conducted under this subsection, together with
such recommendations for legislative or administrative action
as the Comptroller General may determine to be appropriate,
including recommendations on methods for improving financial
literacy among consumers.
SEC. 518. THE NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGN
TO ENHANCE THE STATE OF FINANCIAL LITERACY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury (in this section
referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), after review of the recommendations
of the Commission, as part of the national strategy, shall develop,
implement, and conduct a pilot national public service multimedia
campaign to enhance the state of financial literacy and education
in the United States.
(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary, after review
of the recommendations of the Commission, shall select and
work with a nonprofit organization or organizations that are
especially well-qualified in the distribution of public service
campaigns, and have secured private sector funds to produce
the pilot national public service multimedia campaign.
(2) DEVELOPMENT
OF
MULTIMEDIA
CAMPAIGN.—The Sec-
retary, after review of the recommendations of the Commission,
shall develop, in consultation with nonprofit, public, or private
organizations, especially those that are well qualified by virtue
of their experience in the field of financial literacy and edu-
cation, to develop the financial literacy national public service
multimedia campaign.
(3) FOCUS OF CAMPAIGN.—The pilot national public service
multimedia campaign shall be consistent with the national
strategy, and shall promote the toll-free telephone number and
the website developed under this title.
(c) MULTILINGUAL.—The Secretary may develop the multimedia
campaign in languages other than English, as the Secretary deems
appropriate.
(d) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The Secretary shall develop
measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot national public
service multimedia campaign, as measured by improved financial
decision making among individuals.
(e) REPORT.—For each fiscal year for which there are appropria-
tions pursuant to the authorization in subsection (e), the Secretary
shall submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate
and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives, describing the
status and implementation of the provisions of this section and
the state of financial literacy and education in the United States.
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary, not to exceed $3,000,000 for
fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006, for the development, production,
and distribution of a pilot national public service multimedia cam-
paign under this section.
H. R. 2622—59
SEC. 519. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this title, including
administrative expenses of the Commission.
TITLE VI—PROTECTING EMPLOYEE
MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS
SEC. 611. CERTAIN EMPLOYEE INVESTIGATION COMMUNICATIONS
EXCLUDED FROM DEFINITION OF CONSUMER REPORT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a), as amended by this Act is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(x) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS FOR EMPLOYEE
INVESTIGATIONS.—
‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS DESCRIBED IN THIS SUBSECTION.—
A communication is described in this subsection if—
‘‘(A) but for subsection (d)(2)(D), the communication
would be a consumer report;
‘‘(B) the communication is made to an employer in
connection with an investigation of—
‘‘(i) suspected misconduct relating to employment;
or
‘‘(ii) compliance with Federal, State, or local laws
and regulations, the rules of a self-regulatory organiza-
tion, or any preexisting written policies of the
employer;
‘‘(C) the communication is not made for the purpose
of investigating a consumer’s credit worthiness, credit
standing, or credit capacity; and
‘‘(D) the communication is not provided to any person
except—
‘‘(i) to the employer or an agent of the employer;
‘‘(ii) to any Federal or State officer, agency, or
department, or any officer, agency, or department of
a unit of general local government;
‘‘(iii) to any self-regulatory organization with regu-
latory authority over the activities of the employer
or employee;
‘‘(iv) as otherwise required by law; or
‘‘(v) pursuant to section 608.
‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURE.—After taking any adverse
action based in whole or in part on a communication described
in paragraph (1), the employer shall disclose to the consumer
a summary containing the nature and substance of the commu-
nication upon which the adverse action is based, except that
the sources of information acquired solely for use in preparing
what would be but for subsection (d)(2)(D) an investigative
consumer report need not be disclosed.
‘‘(3) SELF-REGULATORY ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘self-regulatory organization’
includes any self-regulatory organization (as defined in section
3(a)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), any entity
established under title I of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,
any board of trade designated by the Commodity Futures
H. R. 2622—60
Trading Commission, and any futures association registered
with such Commission.’’.
(b) 
TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
603(d)(2)(D) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
1681a(d)(2)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or (x)’’ after ‘‘subsection
(o)’’.
TITLE VII—RELATION TO STATE LAWS
SEC. 711. RELATION TO STATE LAWS.
Section 625 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681t),
as so designated by section 214 of this Act, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or for the prevention
or mitigation of identity theft,’’ after ‘‘information on con-
sumers,’’;
(2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) with respect to the conduct required by the specific
provisions of—
‘‘(A) section 605(g);
‘‘(B) section 605A;
‘‘(C) section 605B;
‘‘(D) section 609(a)(1)(A);
‘‘(E) section 612(a);
‘‘(F) subsections (e), (f), and (g) of section 615;
‘‘(G) section 621(f);
‘‘(H) section 623(a)(6); or
‘‘(I) section 628.’’; and
(3) in subsection (d)—
(A) by striking paragraph (2);
(B) by striking ‘‘(c)—’’ and all that follows through
‘‘do not affect’’ and inserting ‘‘(c) do not affect’’; and
(C) by striking ‘‘1996; and’’ and inserting ‘‘1996.’’.
TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 811. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—Section 601 of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 note) is amended by striking ‘‘the Fair Credit
Reporting Act.’’ and inserting ‘‘the ‘Fair Credit Reporting Act’.’’.
(b) SECTION 604.—Section 604(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)) is amended in paragraphs (1) through
(5), other than subparagraphs (E) and (F) of paragraph (3), by
moving each margin 2 ems to the right.
(c) SECTION 605.—
(1) Section 605(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681c(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(1) cases’’ and
inserting ‘‘(1) Cases’’.
(2)(A) Section 5(1) of Public Law 105–347 (112 Stat. 3211)
is amended by striking ‘‘Judgments which’’ and inserting ‘‘judg-
ments which’’.
(B) The amendment made by subparagraph (A) shall be
deemed to have the same effective date as section 5(1) of
Public Law 105–347 (112 Stat. 3211).
(d) SECTION 609.—Section 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended—
H. R. 2622—61
(1) in paragraph (2), by moving the margin 2 ems to the
right; and
(2) in paragraph (3)(C), by moving the margins 2 ems
to the left.
(e) SECTION 617.—Section 617(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681o(a)(1)) is amended by adding ‘‘and’’ at the
end.
(f) SECTION
621.—Section 621(b)(1)(B) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking
‘‘25(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘25A’’.
(g) TITLE 31.—Section 5318 of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by redesignating the second item designated as sub-
section (l) (relating to applicability of rules) as subsection (m).
(h) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2411(c) of Public Law
104–208 (110 Stat. 3009–445) is repealed.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.