I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2990
To establish a Commission to Educate our Nation’s Teachers and Students 
on Financial Literacy Skills. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 3, 2003
Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. ROSS, 
Mr. SANDERS, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. LEE, Mr. 
BAKER, Ms. HART, Mr. OSE, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms. HAR-
RIS, and Mr. EMANUEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish a Commission to Educate our Nation’s Teachers 
and Students on Financial Literacy Skills.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. COMMISSION TO EDUCATE OUR NATION’S 
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ON FINANCIAL 
LITERACY SKILLS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) A range of trends points to the need for in-
dividuals in the United States to receive a practical 
economics education that will give the individuals
tools to make responsible choices about their limited 
financial resources, choices which will impact indi-
viduals’ credit ratings. 
(2) An individual’s credit rating will affect his 
or her ability to buy a home, finance education, es-
tablish a small business and prepare for retirement. 
(3) Building and maintaining sound credit re-
quires knowledge of personal finance and economics. 
(4) Basic economics education is a key to un-
derstanding personal finance. 
(5) A number of Federal departments and 
agencies have implemented programs to improve per-
sonal finance and economics education, including the 
Departments of Education, Labor, Treasury, and 
Housing and Urban Development, as well as the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the 
Federal Trade Commission and the Securities Ex-
change Commission. 
(6) Coordinating existing Federal efforts, maxi-
mizing the impact of existing private sector efforts, 
and identifying and promoting best practices are 
necessary to improve economic and personal finance 
education and to improve individuals’ credit and eco-
nomic well-being.
(b) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH COMMISSION.—Not 
later than January 31, 2005, the President shall convene 
a Commission to Educate our Nation’s Teachers and Stu-
dents on Financial Literacy Skills (hereafter in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) to examine and 
identify government policies that promote economic and 
financial literacy. 
(c) SCOPE OF THE COMMISSION.—The scope of the 
Commission shall consist of issues relating to economic 
and financial education. 
(d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Commission 
shall be—
(1) to make recommendations on integrating 
economic and personal finance education into pri-
mary, secondary, and postsecondary curricula; 
(2) to identify and make recommendations re-
garding best practices in economic and personal fi-
nance education; 
(3) to make recommendations on coordinating 
existing Federal and private sector economic and fi-
nancial literacy education programs; and 
(4) to carry out such other duties as the Com-
mission members deem appropriate, consistent with 
this Act.
(e) COMMISSION MEMBERS.—To carry out the pur-
poses of the Commission, the Commission shall include—
(1) three members appointed by the President, 
one of whom shall be designated by the President as 
the Chairperson of the Commission; 
(2) two members appointed by the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives; 
(3) two members appointed by the minority 
leader of the House of Representatives; 
(4) two members appointed by the majority 
leader of the Senate; and 
(5) two members appointed by the minority 
leader of the Senate. 
(f) APPOINTMENT REQUIREMENTS.—The Commis-
sion members shall—
(1) be appointed not later than January 31, 
2005; and 
(2) include at least one representative of each 
of the following groups: 
(A) Primary and secondary educators. 
(B) Postsecondary educators. 
(C) The financial services industry. 
(D) State and local governments. 
(E) organizations involved in promoting ec-
onomics education.
(g) COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION.—
(1) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering this 
section, the Chairperson of the Commission shall—
(A) request the cooperation and assistance 
of such Federal departments and agencies as 
may be appropriate in the carrying out of this 
section; 
(B) furnish all reasonable assistance to 
State agencies, area agencies, and other appro-
priate organizations to enable them to provide 
testimony and otherwise participate in the Com-
mission’s hearings; 
(C) make available for public comment a 
proposed agenda for the Commission that re-
flects to the greatest extent possible the pur-
poses for the Commission set out in this sec-
tion; 
(D) prepare and make available back-
ground materials for the use of participants in 
the Commission that the Chairperson considers 
necessary; and
(E) appoint and fix the pay of such addi-
tional personnel as may be necessary to carry 
out the provisions of this section without regard 
to provisions of title 5, United States Code,
governing appointments in the competitive serv-
ice, and without regard to chapter 51 and sub-
chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating 
to classification and General Schedule payrates. 
(2) DUTIES
OF
THE
CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Chairperson of the Commission shall, in carrying out 
the responsibilities and functions of the Chairperson 
under this section, ensure that—
(A) the Commission shall hold hearings in 
accordance with this section; 
(B) the Commission shall be conducted in 
a manner that ensures broad participation of 
Federal, State, and local agencies and private 
organizations, professionals, and others involved 
in economic education; and 
(C) the agenda prepared under paragraph 
(1)(C) for the Commission is published in the 
Federal Register. 
(3) NONAPPLICATION OF FEDERAL ADVISORY 
COMMITTEE
ACT.—The provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 
apply to the Commission. 
(h) HEARINGS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall hold 
public hearings to receive testimony related to the
(B) identifying best practices in the teach-
ing of economics and personal finance including 
teacher training and development of curricular 
materials; 
(C) coordinating and enhancing existing 
federal and private sector efforts to improve 
economic education and financial literacy; 
(D) assessing and identifying best prac-
tices for the training of teachers and educators 
in economics and finance; and 
(E) developing models for public-private 
partnerships in the promotion of economic and 
finance education. 
(j) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 
term ‘‘State’’ means a State, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, 
American Samoa, and any other territory or possession 
of the United States. 
(k) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years begin-
ning on or after October 1, 2004, such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out this section.
(l) FINANCIAL
OBLIGATION
FOR
FISCAL
YEAR 
2005.—The financial obligation for the Commission for 
fiscal year 2005 shall not exceed $500,000. 
(m) CONTRACTS.—The Chairperson of the Commis-
sion may enter into contracts to carry out the Chair-
person’s responsibilities under this section. The Chair-
person shall enter into a contract on a sole-source basis 
to ensure the timely completion of the Commission’s ac-
tivities.
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