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HR 2990 IH

To establish a Commission to Educate our Nation's Teachers and Students on Financial Literacy Skills.

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. HARRIS, and Mr. EMANUEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

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 Representatives 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 individuals 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 individuals' credit ratings.

(2) An individual's credit rating will affect his or her ability to buy a home, finance education, establish a small business and prepare for retirement.

(3) Building and maintaining sound credit requires knowledge of personal finance and economics.

(4) Basic economics education is a key to understanding personal finance.

(5) A number of Federal departments and agencies have implemented programs to improve personal 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 Exchange Commission.

(6) Coordinating existing Federal efforts, maximizing 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 economic 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 Students on Financial Literacy Skills (hereafter in this section 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 primary, secondary, and postsecondary curricula;

(2) to identify and make recommendations regarding best practices in economic and personal finance education;

(3) to make recommendations on coordinating existing Federal and private sector economic and financial literacy education programs; and

(4) to carry out such other duties as the Commission members deem appropriate, consistent with this Act.

(e) COMMISSION MEMBERS- To carry out the purposes 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 Commission 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 economics 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 appropriate organizations to enable them to provide testimony and otherwise participate in the Commission's hearings;

(C) make available for public comment a proposed agenda for the Commission that reflects to the greatest extent possible the purposes for the Commission set out in this section;

(D) prepare and make available background materials for the use of participants in the Commission that the Chairperson considers necessary; and

(E) appoint and fix the pay of such additional 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 service, and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay-rates.

(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 recommendations to be included in the Commission's report identified in subsection (h)(3).

(2) FIELD HEARINGS- The Commission shall conduct at least 4 hearings to be held in different States.

(i) REPORT-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Commission shall prepare a report describing the activities and recommendations of the Commission and shall submit the report to the President, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate, and the chief executive officers of the States not later than July 1, 2005.

(2) APPROVAL OF REPORT- Approval of the Commission's report shall require a majority of the Commission.

(3) REPORT CONTENTS- In addition to summarizing the activities of the Commission, the report shall include proposals for improving economics and finance education, including recommendations for--

(A) integrating high quality, standards-based economic and financial education in the curricula of primary, secondary and postsecondary education;

(B) identifying best practices in the teaching 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 practices 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 beginning on or after October 1, 2004, such sums as are necessary 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 Commission may enter into contracts to carry out the Chairperson's responsibilities under this section. The Chairperson shall enter into a contract on a sole-source basis to ensure the timely completion of the Commission's activities.

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