Bill stops the government from taking Social Security to pay student loans.
S. 5456 — Stop Social Security Garnishment Act of 2026 · Filed by Bernie Sanders (I-VT) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill says the Department of Education cannot take Social Security payments. It applies to people who owe money on federal student loans. Right now, the government can take Social Security to collect unpaid student loans. This bill stops that practice. People who get Social Security would keep all their money.
Who it affects
Retirees and disabled people who get Social Security are hit by this. People who owe money on federal student loans are hit by this.
One thing to notice
The bill stops one way the government collects student loan debt. It does not stop other ways like taking money from paychecks or tax refunds.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
9 cosponsors: 9 Democrats.
- Sep 22, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 22, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Social Security — Money the federal government pays to retirees, disabled people, and survivors.
- federal student loans — Money the government lends to students to pay for school.
- Department of Education — The federal agency that handles student loans and education programs.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (663 characters) on Sep 30, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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