Dow Jones Reports On Today's Hearing

Some excerpts from a Dow Jones Newswires article:

Banks should ignore state garnishment orders if the accounts in question include Social Security benefit payments or other protected federal funds, U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Thursday. ...

The problem, however, is that while banks may want to help out their customers, refusing to obey a garnishment order puts them at risk of state fines and penalties.

As a result, Congress should consider "whether to undertake legislation that would provide financial institutions with protections from liability," Yakimov said.

Even the Social Security Administration has largely thrown up its hands, Kelsey said.

SSA recommends to beneficiaries that if a creditor tries to garnish their Social Security check, then the beneficiary should tell the creditor their benefits can't be garnished.

"In other words, the exemption provision is to be treated as a defense to be raised by a beneficiary after a freeze or hold has been placed...rather than a bar against the imposition of the freeze or hold in the first place, Kelsey said.

Baucus said that is just wrong.