[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8612 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8612
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a personal finance
education portal on a centralized website of the Department of
Education pertaining to Federal financial aid.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 4, 2024
Ms. Leger Fernandez introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
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A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a personal finance
education portal on a centralized website of the Department of
Education pertaining to Federal financial aid.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Financial Fitness Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Nearly 45,300,000 people owe an average of $37,338 in
Federal student loans, and student loan debt in the United
States totals $1,765,000,000,000. The average student loan debt
has tripled since 2007.
(2) Student debt has significant racial equity
implications. Approximately half of Black college students are
using Federal student loans to cover educational costs, and
Black college graduates are still substantially more likely
than white college graduates to default on their debt within 4
years of graduation. In addition, the default rate for Black
borrowers is substantially higher than white borrowers (17
percent versus 9 percent). Students who are veterans, parents,
first-generation college students, or low income are also
likely to face higher risk of default.
(3) As of 2022, 18 percent of Hispanic and Latino college
graduates who had taken out loans for tuition and school
expenses were behind on their payments, in contrast with 9
percent of white student borrowers. Hispanic and Latino
borrowers also were the most likely to delay getting married
and having children due to student loan debt.
(4) Native American financial status remains among the
lowest of all minority populations in the Nation. Native people
are the least likely of all population groups, including other
minorities, to plan for retirement, have an emergency fund, or
have a checking account.
(5) Among college graduates with any outstanding debt for
their education, first-generation college graduates tend to owe
more.
(6) Student debt among older adults has steadily increased,
with many individuals taking on debt to finance higher
education for their children and grandchildren.
(7) Despite the fact that many students and families must
make substantial and highly consequential decisions about
student loan borrowing and face growing college affordability
challenges, only 17 States make personal finance a required
part of basic education.
(8) Of non-retired American adults, 42 percent age 18-29
have no retirement savings; 26 percent of those age 30-44; 17
percent of those age 45-59; and 13 percent of those over age
60.
(9) People with self-directed retirement savings (nearly 7
in 10 non-retired adults) must make decisions about how the
money is invested. Six in 10 non-retirees with these self-
directed accounts express low levels of comfort in making
investment decisions with their retirement savings.
(10) The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the need to provide
families with better tools to weather financial challenges,
with a rapid spike in unemployment occurring in mid-2020, along
with significant shifts to individuals' housing and
transportation needs.
(11) Nearly 1 in 10 student loan borrowers end up in
default, and even more struggle to repay their loans,
indicating an important need to ensure borrowers can access
information to help them navigate repayment and succeed
financially.
SEC. 3. PERSONAL FINANCE EDUCATION PORTAL.
(a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the
Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Secretary
of the Treasury as chair of the Financial Literacy and Education
Commission, and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall establish a
personal finance education portal on a centralized and publicly
available website of the Department of Education pertaining to Federal
financial aid for the voluntary use by recipients of aid awarded under
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
(b) Content of Personal Finance Education Portal.--The personal
finance education portal established under subsection (a) shall include
information on personal finance concepts, including the following:
(1) Core personal finance concepts, such as earning,
saving, investing, spending, and borrowing, including--
(A) the concept of compound growth as it applies to
savings and retirement savings, with information about
the different types of retirement savings accounts; and
(B) budgeting and credit usage.
(2) Managing student loan repayment, including--
(A) the interaction between savings and retirement
decisions and Federal student loan repayment plans;
(B) Federal student loan discharge or forgiveness
options;
(C) the types of voluntary benefits employers may
use to help workers while they are paying down student
loan debt;
(D) tax credits or deductions that are relevant to
student loan borrowers in repayment;
(E) how to interpret loan terms and conditions;
(F) how to distinguish between federal student
loans and private student loans and their benefits; and
(G) any other Federal policies that significantly
impact student loan borrowers in repayment, as
determined by the Secretary of Education.
(3) Any other personal finance concepts determined relevant
by the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the
Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the
Secretary of the Treasury as chair of the Financial Literacy
and Education Commission, and the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue.
(c) Provision of Content.--The personal finance content included
under subsection (b) may be provided in an interactive format through
text or video.
(d) Analytics.--The Secretary of Education, in consultation with
the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the
Secretary of the Treasury as chair of the Financial Literacy and
Education Commission, and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall
review not less than once every three years the utilization of the
portal established under subsection (a) and make such findings publicly
available.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal
years 2024 through 2027.
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