This bill would require the Secretary of Defense to set up a program to give one-on-one financial and housing counseling to members of the Armed Forces on active duty and those transitioning from service. The counseling must cover credit management, budgeting, anti-predatory lending practices, planning for moves and rentals when changing permanent station, home loans available through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and section 987 of title 10. The Secretary must try to make an agreement with a counseling organization that is HUD-approved, organized as a 501(c)(19) veteran service organization, has expertise in financial and housing issues, and can train and certify HUD-Certified Housing Counselors for military families. The Secretary may write rules to carry out the changes. The bill also requires a report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees within two years after the services are established. The report must include the number of service members who received counseling, completion rates, and indicators of financial stress and housing instability among participants.
If you are a service member on active duty or transitioning from service, the bill would give you access to personalized, one-on-one counseling on money and housing topics listed above. The program must be set up within one year of the bill becoming law. Eligible counselors would be HUD-certified and trained through a veteran service organization that meets the bill's requirements. A federal report would follow to show how many people used the service and measure results.
No publicly available information on expected costs or budgetary effects appears in the bill text or the provided metadata.
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