WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, member of the Environmental and Public Works committee, announced today that she is cosponsoring legislation offered by U.S. Sens. Mike Johanns (R- Neb) and John Thune (R-S.D.) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from garnishing Americans’ wages without a court order. 

The legislation specifically states EPA must receive a court order before taking any wage garnishment actions established by the 1996 Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA). The 1996 law gave federal agencies the authority to garnish up to 15 percent of a worker’s wages to pay debts owed to the federal government. Given the aggressive regulatory regime of this Administration’s EPA, particularly as it applies to rural America and agriculture, a court order is necessary to prevent overreach

Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) are also original cosponsors of the Johanns-Thune bill.