Military Financial Literacy Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill creates a new program for individualized, one-on-one financial and housing counseling for active duty service members and those transitioning out of the military. The counseling covers credit management, budgeting, anti-predatory lending, and housing topics.
• The program adds new required training topics about home buying and selling, renting during station changes, VA home loans, and other financial services typically available to private sector borrowers.
• Service members will learn about legal protections they already have under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which caps interest rates and provides other safeguards against predatory lending.
• The Defense Department must partner with a HUD-approved, tax-exempt veterans service organization that has expertise in financial literacy, housing stability, and home loan benefits to deliver these services.
• Congress will get a progress report within two years of the program starting, tracking how many service members used the counseling, completion rates, and whether it actually reduced financial stress and housing instability.