,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #eggi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #bh1 #bjba,ms4 ,leger ,fernandez 7for herself and ,mrs4 ,spartz7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife to require the ,secretary of ,education to create a personal finance education portal on a centralized website of the ,department of ,education pertaining to ,federal financial aid4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,financial ,fitness ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,nearly #dc1jjj1jjj people owe an average of #cf1djf in ,federal student loans1 and student loan debt in the ,united ,states totals #a1gcj1jjj1jjj1jjj1 growing #f times faster than the ,nation's economy4 7#b7 ,student debt has significant racial equity implications4 ,almost half of ,black college students are using ,federal student loans to cover educational costs1 and ,black college graduates are still substantially more likely than white college graduates to default on their debt within #d years of graduation 7#g4f percent versus #b4d percent of white graduates74 ,in addition1 #d years after graduation1 #dh percent of ,black students owe an average of #ab4e percent more than they borrowed4 ,students who are veterans1 parents1 first-generation college students1 or low income are also likely to face higher risk of default4 7#c7 ,since before the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 about #bc percent of ,hispanic and ,latino college graduates who had taken out loans for tuition and school expenses were behind on their payments1 in contrast with #f percent of white student borrowers4 ,hispanic and ,latino borrowers also were the most likely to delay getting married and having children due to student loan debt4 7#d7 ,native ,american financial status remains among the lowest of all minority populations in the ,nation4 ,native people are the least likely of all population groups1 including other minorities1 to plan for retirement1 have an emergency fund1 or have a checking account4 ,native ,american and ,alaska ,native borrowers take on student loan debt at a rate higher than the overall population1 #gf percent compared to #fi percent4 7#e7 ,among college graduates with any outstanding debt for their education1 first-generation college graduates tend to owe more4 ,about two-thirds of first-generation college graduates owe at least #be1jjj or more1 compared with #eg percent of second-generation college graduates1 and #bjj1jjj ,united ,states service members owe nearly #c1jjj1jjj1jjj in student loans4 7#f7 ,student debt among older adults has steadily increased1 with many individuals taking on debt to finance higher education for their children and grandchildren4 7#g7 ,despite the fact that many students and families must make substantial and highly consequential decisions about student loan borrowing and face growing college affordability challenges1 less than half of ,states make personal finance a core part of basic education4 7#h7 ,just over #b in #aj non-retirees under age #de have retirement savings that meet their age-specific thresholds4 #db percent of ,americans age #ah-bi have no retirement savings2 #bf percent of those age #cj-dd2 #ag percent of those age #de-ei2 and #ac percent of those over age #fj4 7#i7 ,people with self-directed retirement savings 7nearly #g in #aj non-retired adults7 must make decisions about how the money is invested4 ,six in #aj non-retirees with these self-directed accounts express low levels of comfort in making investment decisions with their retirement savings4 7#aj7 ,the ,,covid-#ai pandemic exacerbated the need to provide families with better tools to weather financial challenges1 with a rapid spike in unemployment occurring in mid-#bjbj1 along with significant shifts to individuals' housing and transportation needs4 7#aa7 ,nearly #a in #aj student loan borrowers end up in default1 and even more struggle to repay their loans1 indicating an important need to ensure borrowers can access information to help them navigate repayment and succeed financially4 #c4 ,personal finance education portal ,section #dhe of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajib7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7n7 ,personal finance education portal 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury as chair of the ,financial ,literacy and ,education ,commission1 and the ,commissioner of ,internal ,revenue1 shall create a personal finance education portal on a centralized and publicly available website of the ,department pertaining to ,federal financial aid for the voluntary use by recipients of aid awarded under this title4 7#b7 ,content of personal finance education portal ,the personal finance education portal created under paragraph 7#a7 shall include information on personal finance concepts1 including the following3 7,a7 ,core personal finance concepts1 such as earning1 saving1 investing1 spending1 and borrowing1 including-- 7i7 the concept of compound growth as it applies to savings and retirement savings1 with information about the different types of retirement savings accounts2 and 7ii7 budgeting and credit usage4 7,b7 ,managing student loan repayment1 including-- 7i7 the interaction between savings and retirement decisions and ,federal student loan repayment plans2 7ii7 ,federal student loan discharge or forgiveness options2 7iii7 the types of voluntary benefits employers may use to help workers while they are paying down student loan debt2 7iv7 tax credits or deductions that are relevant to student loan borrowers in repayment2 and 7v7 any other ,federal policies that significantly impact student loan borrowers in repayment1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7,c7 ,any other personal finance concepts determined relevant by the ,secretary1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury as chair of the ,financial ,literacy and ,education ,commission1 and the ,commissioner of ,internal ,revenue4 7#c7 ,provision of content ,the personal finance content included under paragraph 7#b7 may be provided in an interactive format through text or video4 7#d7 ,analytics ,the ,secretary1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,bureau of ,consumer ,financial ,protection1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury as chair of the ,financial ,literacy and ,education ,commission1 and the ,commissioner of ,internal ,revenue1 shall review not less than once every three years the utilization of the portal and make such findings publicly available4 7#e7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this subsection4 4