[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1764 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1764
To suspend and reform the authority under the Higher Education Act of
1965 for the Secretary of Education to carry out an administrative wage
garnishment program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 14, 2025
Mr. Booker (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To suspend and reform the authority under the Higher Education Act of
1965 for the Secretary of Education to carry out an administrative wage
garnishment program.
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 ``Ending Administrative Garnishment
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF WAGE GARNISHMENT.
Section 488A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1095a)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Suspension of Authority.--
``(1) In general.--Beginning on the date of enactment of
the Ending Administrative Garnishment Act of 2025, the
authority provided under subsection (a) to garnish the
disposable pay of an individual shall be suspended until the
date the Secretary submits to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee
on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives the
certification described in paragraph (2).
``(2) Certification.--Not earlier than 1 year after the
date of enactment of the Ending Administrative Garnishment Act
of 2025, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee
on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives a
certification that either--
``(A) the Secretary has implemented a process
through which--
``(i) individuals who have had their
disposable pay improperly garnished in
violation of this section, or of any other
instruction by the Secretary, are able to have
their refund processed and returned to them not
later than one calendar week after the date of
such violation;
``(ii) the Secretary can independently
cease or suspend the administrative wage
garnishment program authorized under this
section at any time, at the sole discretion of
the Secretary, including suspension of the
garnishment of any individual student loan
borrower or a cohort of borrowers; and
``(iii) the Secretary obtains a quarterly
verification from each employer through which
garnishment is carried out under this section
that all information necessary to implement
garnishment under this section with respect to
an individual employee is accurate, including
an estimate of the amount scheduled to be
garnished in the subsequent quarter, and the
name, address, phone number, and email address
for both the employee and the employer; or
``(B) the Secretary is unable to implement the
process described in subparagraph (A) and has
determined that the garnishment of the disposable pay
shall not apply to individuals as authorized under
subsection (a).
``(3) Data collection.--
``(A) In general.--If the Secretary submits a
certification under paragraph (2) that the Secretary
has implemented the process described in paragraph
(2)(A), the Secretary, upon submission of such
certification, shall establish a centralized database
containing--
``(i) the addresses, occupations,
employers, and other collectible demographic
data of individuals whose disposable pay was
subject to garnishment under this section on
the day before the date of enactment of the
Ending Administrative Garnishment Act of 2025;
and
``(ii) the addresses, occupations,
employers, and other collectible demographic
data of individuals whose disposable pay is
subject to garnishment under subsection (a).
``(B) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the
date the Secretary establishes the database under
subparagraph (A), and not less often than annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of
the Senate and the Committee on Education and Workforce
of the House of Representatives summarizing the
information contained in the database and evaluating
the exercise of the Secretary's authority under
subsection (a).
``(g) Right of Action Against Employer.--The employer shall be
liable for, and the Secretary, the guaranty agency, or an individual,
as appropriate, may sue the employer in a State or Federal court of
competent jurisdiction to recover, any amount that such employer
improperly withholds from wages due an employee following receipt by
such employer of notice of suspension or revocation of the withholding
order, and actual damages, plus attorneys' fees, costs, and, in the
court's discretion, punitive damages.
``(h) Department Action After Improper Garnishment.--Not later than
10 days after the date the Secretary receives an individual's
disposable pay that has been improperly garnished, the Secretary shall
pay the borrower twice the actual amount of wages garnished.
Notwithstanding section 432(a)(2), an injunction against the Secretary
may be issued to enforce this subsection.
``(i) Limits on Use.--The Secretary may not garnish the disposable
pay of an individual under this section with respect to a loan that has
been outstanding for more than 10 years.''.
<all>