Two months ago, debt collectors won a victory when congressional lawmakers allowed stimulus checks to be garnished by creditors and government agencies. Now, as the credit industry hits a jackpot during the pandemic, the leading lobby group for debt collectors has more than tripled the amount of cash it funnels to lawmakers as it campaigns to block upcoming Democratic legislation to protect millions of Americans from the repo man.


During the Trump presidency, the debt collection industry spent more than $2 million on lobbying and delivered $343,000 to Republican campaigns, according to the advocacy group Allied Progress. The industry was rewarded with last-minute Trump administration rules—now delayed by the Biden administration—that critics say would permit debt collectors to harass their targets.

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