[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR3.21]

[Page 264]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
PART 3_DEBT MANAGEMENT--Table of Contents
 
                        Subpart B_Debt Collection
 
Sec. 3.21  Debt collection standards.

    Authority: 31 U.S.C. 3701, 3711, 3716-3719, 3728; 4 CFR part 102; 4 
CFR 105.4.

    Source: 50 FR 7722, Feb. 26, 1985, unless otherwise noted.


    (a) The regulations in this subpart are issued under the Federal 
Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended by the Debt Collection Act of 
1982 (31 U.S.C. 3701, 3711, 3716-3719), and the Joint Regulations issued 
under the Act by the Attorney General and the Comptroller General (4 CFR 
parts 101-105), prescribing Government-wide standards for administrative 
collection, compromise, suspension or termination of agency collection 
action, disclosure of debt information to consumer reporting agencies, 
referral of claims to private collection contractors for resolution, and 
referral to the General Accounting Office and to the Department of 
Justice for litigation of civil claims by the Government for money or 
property.
    (b) The head of each agency of the Department may carry out the 
duties and exercise the authority of the Secretary under 31 U.S.C. 3701, 
3711, 3716-3719, 3728, the Joint Regulations of the Attorney General and 
the Comptroller General, and the regulations in this part, with respect 
to the claims of the agency. An agency head may adopt regulations, in 
accordance with the Debt Collection Act and the Joint Regulations, 
setting out agency procedures for the collection by administrative 
offset of such claims and debts. If the head of an agency of the 
Department adopts regulations separate from this subpart, the procedures 
thereby established, rather than those set out in this part, shall be 
followed for the collection of the claims and debts to which the 
separate regulations apply. If an agency does not adopt separate 
regulations, the Director of the Office of Finance and Management may 
carry out the duties and exercise the authority of the Secretary on 
behalf of agency heads.
    (c) Except where administrative offset is explicitly prohibited by 
statute or where other procedures are explicitly provided for by 
statute, all contracts and other written agreements which are executed 
after the effective date of these regulations between an agency and any 
person or entity must include the following or substantially similar 
language:

Any monies that are payable or may become payable from the United States 
under this agreement to any person or legal entity not an agency or 
subdivision of a State or local government may be subject to 
administrative offset for the collection of a delinquent debt the person 
or legal entity owes to the United States, under the Federal Claims 
Collection Act of 1966, as amended by the Debt Collection Act of 1982 
(31 U.S.C. 3701, 3711, 3716-3719); 4 CFR part 102 and subpart B of this 
part. Information on the person's or legal entity's responsibility for a 
commercial debt or delinquent consumer debt owed the United States will 
be disclosed to consumer or commercial credit reporting agencies.

[50 FR 7722, Feb. 26, 1985, as amended at 55 FR 38662, Sept. 20, 1990]