[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3837 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3837
To improve financial literacy training for members of the Armed Forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 29, 2024
Mrs. Murray (for herself and Mr. Schmitt) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve financial literacy training for members of the Armed Forces.
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 ``Service Members Are Ready To Save
Act of 2024'' or the ``SMART Save Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO FINANCIAL LITERACY TRAINING.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 992 of title 10, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``grade E-4'' and
inserting ``grade E-6'';
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) In carrying out the program to provide training under this
subsection, the Secretary concerned shall--
``(A) use a curriculum across all military departments for
such training that--
``(i) focuses on ensuring that members of the armed
forces who receive such training develop proficiency in
financial literacy rather than focusing on completion
of training modules;
``(ii) is based on best practices of the Financial
Literacy Education Commission established under section
513 of the Financial Literacy and Education Improvement
Act (20 U.S.C. 9702); and
``(iii) is designed to address the needs of members
and their families;
``(B) ensure that such training--
``(i) is conducted by a financial services
counselor who is qualified as described in paragraph
(3) of subsection (b) or by other means as described in
paragraph (2)(A)(ii) of that subsection;
``(ii) is provided, to the extent practicable and
in a manner that does not harm mission readiness--
``(I) in a class held in person with fewer
than 100 attendees; or
``(II) one-on-one between the member and a
financial services counselor or a qualified
representative described in subsection
(b)(2)(A)(ii)(III); and
``(iii) is provided using computer-based methods
only if methods described in clause (ii) are
impractical or unavailable;
``(C) ensure that--
``(i) an in-person class described in subparagraph
(B)(i)(I) is available to the spouse of a member; and
``(ii) if a spouse of a member is unable to attend
such a class in person--
``(I) training is available to the spouse
through an online program managed by the
Department of Defense; and
``(II) the member is informed during the
in-person training of the member under
subparagraph (B)(i) with respect to how the
member's spouse can access the training; and
``(D) ensure that such training, and all documents and
materials provided in relation to such training, are presented
or written in manner that the Secretary determines can be
understood by the average enlisted member.''.
(b) Provision of Retirement Information.--Such section is further
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections
(e) and (g), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new
subsection (d):
``(d) Provision of Retirement Information.--In each training under
subsection (a) and in each meeting to provide counseling under
subsection (b), a member of the armed forces shall be provided with--
``(1) all forms relating to retirement that are relevant to
the member, including with respect to the Thrift Savings Plan;
``(2) information with respect to how to find additional
information; and
``(3) contact information for counselors provided through
the Personal Financial Counselor program, the Personal
Financial Management program, or online programs managed by the
Department of Defense.''.
(c) Report on Effectiveness of Financial Services Counseling.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the congressional defense committees a report on
financial literacy training and financial services counseling
provided under section 992 of title 10, United States Code, as
amended by this section, that assesses--
(A) the effectiveness of such training and
counseling, which shall be determined using actual
localized data similar to the Unit Risk Inventory
Survey of the Army; and
(B) whether additional training or counseling is
necessary for enlisted members of the Armed Forces or
for officers.
(2) Follow-on report.--Not later than 6 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit
to the congressional defense committees a report on the efforts
of the Department of Defense to address any concerns raised in
the report required by paragraph (1).
(3) Congressional defense committees defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``congressional defense committees'' has
the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, United
States Code.
(d) Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense may prescribe such
regulations as are necessary to carry out the amendments made by this
section.
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