Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I announce my support of the Social Security Garnishment Modernization Act. I once again want to thank and commend Senator Collins, my co-sponsor on this legislation and co- leader on the Senate Special Committee on Aging. This is the fifth bill I have cosponsored with Senator Collins as a direct result of a hearing we have held in the Aging Committee. Earlier this month, our Committee examined the growing problem of seniors facing student loan debt in retirement. A senior with student loan debt who reaches the age of 65 has a one in four chance of being in default on that loan. If a senior still has student loan debt by the time he reaches 75, there's a better chance than not that the senior is in default on those loans. The consequences for being in default on those loans in retirement can be devastating. The Department of Education can direct the Treasury Department to garnish a substantial portion of a senior's monthly Social Security payment. Seniors can be left with just $750 a month, well below the official monthly poverty threshold of $931. This figure has not been updated since the late 1990s. This bill would update the amount of money protected from garnishment and index it for inflation going forward so that a senior today would get to keep $1,072 a month even if he was in default on his student loans.…”