Tell your member of Congress that they must continue fighting for student
loan borrowers!
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION
Dear Friend,
Nearly everyday this month has been one thing or another and with so much
going on you may have missed the news that after a 5 year pause of
collection activity on federal student loans, President Trump’s Department
of Education will not only restart collections on defaulted federal
student loans, BUT it will also enlist predatory tactics like wage
garnishment, tax refund interceptions AND seizure of Social Security
benefits.
If you’ve just silently cursed under your breath, I’m right there with
you.
[ [link removed] ]→ Tell your member of Congress to keep fighting for borrower relief and
support for the nearly 5.5 million people currently in default on their
student loans and the projected 10 million additional people in
delinquency.
If you remember, way, way back in 2020, there was a temporary suspension
of student loan payments, a 0% interest rate for eligible federal student
loans, and a pause on collections of defaulted loans. These were
much-needed efforts to relieve student loan debt to qualifying borrowers
experiencing financial hardship related to the pandemic— if I’m being
honest, many of us were.
And rightly so! We were collectively going through a public health
emergency, and paying back student loans was the very least of our
worries.
So borrowers were given a reprieve of sorts, all debt collection
activities, including wage garnishment and offset of certain benefits like
Social Security, were suspended from March 13, 2020, through September 30,
2024. In March, at the start of that period, $1.5 trillion in federal
student loan debt was outstanding, borrowed by or on behalf of 42.6
million individuals, near the end of the period in September, $1.6
trillion in federal student loan debt was outstanding, borrowed by or on
behalf of nearly 43.4 million individuals. [1] Suffice it to say, the
pause was welcome news to millions of borrowers, including myself.
[ [link removed] ]→ Tell your member of Congress to keep fighting for borrower relief and
support for the nearly 5.5 million people currently in default on their
student loans and the projected 10 million additional people in
delinquency.
What’s happened since then? Well, the work that the Biden Administration
focused on to help struggling borrowers following the pandemic was upended
by the Trump administration when they announced on April 21st that they
would resume seizure of defaulted borrowers’ paychecks, tax refunds, and
Social Security benefits. Does this make any sense to you?
On top of rising grocery prices (hello, one dozen eggs for $5.59),
increased housing costs, and impending tariffs that could cost the average
American household almost $4,000 per year [ [link removed] ], they now want to garnish
our wages?
[3]Absolutely not.The truth of the matter is that more than 5 million
student loan borrowers are currently in default and that number could
increase drastically. [ [link removed] ] Families are nervous and afraid. How are we to
juggle the skyrocketing cost of simply living and then be faced with
garnished paychecks? The short answer is that many of us can’t.
What’s being done about it? I know it seems like all is lost, but there is
a glimmer of hope, and we could all use that right about now. Just last
week, Representative Ayanna Pressley (A-07) and Senators Cory Booker
(D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), reintroduced the Ending Administrative
Wage Garnishment Act of 2025. This bill would provide borrower relief and
support by suspending garnishment as a tool for student debt collection by
the federal government. It would authorize the Department of Education to
refund improperly garnished wages within one week, stop garnishment on
loans that have been outstanding for more than 10 years, and also require
the Department to pay double damages to borrowers whose wages are
improperly garnished [2].
It’s good to know there are still leaders in Congress looking out for us
and speaking out on our behalf in the face of tyranny. And it's good to
know that members like you are using your voices to call out injustice and
harmful policies facing our families.
[4]→ Now we need you to use your voice to tell your member of Congress
that they must continue fighting for student loan borrowers, then send
this to your friends and family so they can do the same.
The will of the people cannot and should not be drowned out!
--Namatie, Ruth, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team
References:
[1] [ [link removed] ]Federal Student Loan Debt Relief in the Context of COVID-19
[2] [ [link removed] ]Pressley, Booker, Warren Unveil Bill to Suspend Garnishments For
Student Loan Borrowers
[3] [ [link removed] ]Tariffs could cost the average American household $3,800 per year.
Here’s how to save for it
[4] [ [link removed] ]Student loan borrowers brace for wage, garnishment: ‘Money is tight
when you’re a teacher’
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