[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4248 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4248
To require the Financial Literacy and Education Commission to carry out
a study on the impact of language barriers to financial health, to
require the website and toll-free telephone number of the Commission to
be provided in the most commonly spoken languages in the United States,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 2, 2024
Ms. Butler introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Financial Literacy and Education Commission to carry out
a study on the impact of language barriers to financial health, to
require the website and toll-free telephone number of the Commission to
be provided in the most commonly spoken languages in the United States,
and for other purposes.
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 ``Multilingual Financial Literacy
Act''.
SEC. 2. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE BARRIERS TO FINANCIAL HEALTH.
(a) Study.--The Financial Literacy and Education Commission shall
carry out a study on the impact of language barriers on financial
health, including an analysis of, with respect to groups with limited
English proficiency, access to financial literacy education and
training, credit score outcomes, the cost of credit, and homebuying.
(b) Consultation.--In carrying out the study required under
subsection (a), the Financial Literacy and Education Commission shall
consult with each agency represented in the membership of the
Commission.
(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission shall submit
to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate
and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives
a report--
(1) containing all findings and determinations made in
carrying out the study required under subsection (a); and
(2) analyzing the need for language accessibility across
the financial services industry, including an identification
of--
(A) any industry in which information is provided
solely in 1 language; and
(B) any product, service, or other financial
offering for which the availability of information is
limited beyond English.
SEC. 3. LANGUAGE ACCESS TO COMMISSION WEBSITE AND TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE
NUMBER.
(a) In General.--Section 514 of the Financial Literacy and
Education Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9703) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (D), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as
subparagraph (F); and
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph (D)
the following:
``(E) be provided in at least 8 of the most
commonly spoken languages in the United States, as
determined by the Bureau of the Census; and''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Information on language resources from federal
agencies.--The website established under paragraph (1) shall
contain a separate website that provides--
``(A) information on which Federal agencies provide
financial literacy and education resources in languages
other than English, including a description of which
resources are available in which languages; and
``(B) guidance on where individuals can find
Federal resources in a particular language for various
topic areas.
``(4) Translation services provided by the department of
the treasury.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide the
translation services necessary to comply with the language
requirement under paragraph (2)(E).'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``The Commission'' and inserting
the following:
``(1) In general.--The Commission''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Language requirement.--
``(A) In general.--The toll-free telephone number
established under paragraph (1) shall provide verbal
assistance to members of the public in each of the 8
most commonly spoken languages in the United States, as
determined by the Bureau of the Census.
``(B) Translation services provided by the
department of the treasury.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall provide the staff necessary to comply
with the requirement under subparagraph (A).''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Language Access to Federal Agency Information.--The
Commission shall coordinate and promote efforts of Federal agencies to
make all financial literacy and education resources of Federal agencies
available in each of the 8 most commonly spoken languages in the United
States, as determined by the Bureau of the Census.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 4. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Financial Literacy and Education Commission shall submit to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a
report containing--
(1) legislative and regulatory recommendations on how to
address--
(A) barriers to financial inclusion caused by
language barriers, including through financial literacy
education and training; and
(B) the role that emerging technology and financial
products play in helping or harming communities with
limited English proficiency;
(2) a summary of--
(A) the actions taken by the Commission to prepare
to implement the amendments made by section 3; and
(B) actions taken by each Federal agency that is
represented in the membership of the Commission to make
financial literacy and education resources of the
agency available to the public in each of the 8 most
commonly spoken languages in the United States, as
determined by the Bureau of the Census; and
(3) an estimate of the cost--
(A) to implement the amendments made by section 3;
and
(B) for each Federal agency that is represented in
the membership of the Commission, to make financial
literacy and education resources of the agency
available to the public in each of the 8 most commonly
spoken languages in the United States, as determined by
the Bureau of the Census.
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT ON FINANCIAL LITERACY.
Section 514(h)(2) of the Financial Literacy and Education
Improvement Act (20 U.S.C. 9703(h)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as subparagraph (O);
and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
``(J) for the period covered by the report, a
summary of the efforts of the Commission to increase
financial literacy across all of the agencies that are
represented in the membership of the Commission;
``(K) an analysis of where there are financial
literacy needs across different groups, including
information by age group, socioeconomic status, race,
ethnicity, and language preference;
``(L) an analysis of limited access to credit and
disparate credit scoring across different groups,
including information by age group, gender, sexual
orientation, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and
language preference;
``(M) an explanation of how a lack of financial
literacy, systemic barriers, and other obstacles result
in a wealth gap across different groups, including
information by age group, gender, sexual orientation,
socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and language
preference;
``(N) proposals and potential policy solutions for
addressing barriers to financial literacy, disparate
credit scoring, and the wealth gap; and''.
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