Washington, DC – Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) welcomed Senate passage of the Department of Defense Authorization bill today which includes a measure to help arm our men and women in uniform with the financial knowledge they and their families need to make informed decisions about their future.
“Too often, unscrupulous lenders and insurance providers seek to prey on our men and women in uniform. We need to give members of our armed services the financial knowledge they need to make informed decisions about how best to provide for their families. I am proud that the Senate today has taken an important step forward toward meeting this goal,” said Senator Clinton.
"With so many of our troops in harm's way, it was important for Congress to act on this matter. Our men and women in uniform deserve to have the education and information they need to recognize predatory lenders and unnecessary and inappropriate life insurance policies. I am pleased that the Senate has approved this measure," Senator Collins said.
The Clinton-Collins amendment requires the Department of Defense to provide consumer education for members of the armed forces and their spouses. It instructs the Secretary of Defense to carry out a comprehensive education program for military members regarding public and private financial services available to them and the life insurance and marketing practices to be on guard against. This education will be institutionalized in the initial and recurring training for members of the military.
The Clinton-Collins measure approved today also requires that counseling services on financial and insurance issues be made available, upon request, to spouses as well as members of the armed services. This will allow important financial decisions to be made as a family and also allow spouses access to assistance if they are forced to make decisions while their husband or wife is deployed. The Clinton-Collins measure requires a permanent, trained counselor at military bases with at least 2000 assigned personnel, and a part-time, equally capable counselor available at smaller bases.
News reports have exposed a number of companies using misleading sales practices to sell expensive life insurance policies to Iraq-bound recruits and other uniformed personnel. To help protect against predatory insurance practices targeting junior service members, the Clinton-Collins measure requires counselors to advise servicemembers of the availability of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) as well as other reputable products.