,i  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hidd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #h1 #bjbd,ms4  
,leger ,fernandez introduced the        
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,education and the    
,workforce  ,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 aid4  #a4 ,short title ,this  
,act may be cited as the ,financial     
,fitness ,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress 
finds the following3 7#a7 ,nearly       
#de1cjj1jjj people owe an average of    
#cg1cch in ,federal student loans1 and  
student loan debt in the ,united ,states
 totals #a1gfe1jjj1jjj1jjj4 ,the average
 student loan debt has tripled since    
#bjjg4  7#b7 ,student debt has          
significant racial equity implications4 
,approximately 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 graduation4 ,in 
addition1 the default rate for ,black   
borrowers is substantially higher than  
white borrowers 7#ag percent versus #i  
percent74 ,students who are veterans1   
parents1 first-generation college       
students1 or low income are also likely 
to face higher risk of default4  7#c7   
,as of #bjbb1 #ah 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 #i 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  7#e7 ,among college graduates 
with any outstanding debt for their     
education1 first-generation college     
graduates tend to owe more4  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 only #ag      
,states make personal finance a required
 part of basic education4  7#h7 ,of     
non-retired ,american adults1 #db       
percent 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  7a7 ,in general ,not  
later than #c years after the date of   
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,education1 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 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 #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj et seq474  7b7 ,content 
of personal finance education portal    
,the personal finance education portal  
established under subsection 7a7 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-- 7,a7 the     
concept of compound growth as it applies
 to savings and retirement savings1 with
 information about the different types  
of retirement savings accounts2 and     

7,b7 budgeting and credit usage4  7#b7  
,managing student loan repayment1       
including-- 7,a7 the interaction between
 savings and retirement decisions and   
,federal student loan repayment plans2  
7,b7 ,federal student loan discharge or 
forgiveness options2  7,c7 the types of 
voluntary benefits employers may use to 
help workers while they are paying down 
student loan debt2  7,d7 tax credits or 
deductions that are relevant to student 
loan borrowers in repayment2  7,e7 how  
to interpret loan terms and conditions2 
7,f7 how to distinguish between ,federal
 student loans and private student loans
 and their benefits2 and  7,g7 any other
 ,federal policies that significantly   
impact student loan borrowers in        
repayment1 as determined by the         
,secretary of ,education4  7#c7 ,any    
other personal finance concepts         
determined relevant by the ,secretary of
 ,education1 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  7c7 ,provision of  
content ,the personal finance content   
included under subsection 7b7 may be    
provided in an interactive format       
through text or video4  7d7 ,analytics  
,the ,secretary of ,education1 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 established under         
subsection 7a7 and make such findings   
publicly available4  7e7 ,authorization 
of appropriations ,there are authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this    
,act #e1jjj1jjj for the period of fiscal
 years #bjbd through #bjbg4