EPA Claims It Can Garnish Wages

If ever there was an example of a government agency gone big, bad, and out of control, it is the IRS. It is the government agency every American loves to hate, and with good reason. It used to reign supreme in that category, but there is another agency that is running it a close second. Especially since President Obama took office, the EPA has grown bigger and stronger, due to his willingness to let them run with the ball. All to fix problems that do not even exist.

Their favorite tactic has been to accuse people who they claim have violated one of their rules. Those accusations are usually followed with fines. Adding insult to injury, the EPA now claims it has the power to garnish the wages of any American whom it has fined. Without a court order!

Fox News – The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly claimed that it has the authority to unilaterally garnish the wages of individuals who have been accused of violating its rules.

According to The Washington Times, the agency announced the plan to enhance its purview last week in a notice in the Federal Register. The notice claimed that federal law allows the EPA to “garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without first obtaining a court order.”

The notice went on to say that the EPA had fast-tracked the new rule, enabling it to take effect September 2 unless the agency receives enough adverse public comments by August 1. The EPA said the rule was not subject to review because it was not a “significant regulatory action.”

The EPA has claimed this new authority by citing the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, which gives all federal agencies the power to conduct administrative wage garnishment, provided that the agency allows for hearings at which debtors to challenge the amount or the terms of repayment schedule.

I really don’t know why I am so surprised at these actions by the EPA. They are just following their own protocol of making up rules and placing them in the Federal Register at a time when they hope they will garner very little attention. Otherwise, why would they release the new rule during the week of July 4th? Obviously, it is so that it can be placed into effect with little or no backlash from the American public. It’s not the first time they have pulled this stunt and it may not be the last, but it may very well be the time that has the most lasting effect on the American people. If this rule goes into effect, the EPA will now be able to fine you and garnish your wages to secure payment of said fine.

It used to be the IRS who gave the American people the most trouble. They were very good at making us look over our shoulders, dot our I’s and cross our T’s. The EPA may be well on their way to taking over the top spot in that category. I’ve said before that the EPA needs to be reined in, but maybe I was wrong. Instead of reining this group of government thugs in, methinks it is time to shut them completely down.