Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, listens during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 25, 2020.
Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Lawmakers are calling on the U.S. Treasury to protect recipients of direct payments from having their money seized by debt collectors.
In a letter sent to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Thursday, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and Josh Hawley, R-Mo urged the Treasury to exert its ability to protect individuals from having their direct payments seized — or “garnished” — from debt collectors.
The payments are part of the more than $2 trillion relief bill know as the CARES Act signed late last month to help alleviate the financial pain from the coronavirus pandemic. The bill calls for one-time direct payments of up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples, with $500 added for every child.
“Congress included this critical relief in order to help…
