105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4857

AN ACT

To reduce waste, fraud, and error in Government

programs, and for other purposes.tices, Federal payment systems, Federal benefitto Federal management and debt collection pracprograms by making improvements with respect
105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4857

AN ACT

To reduce waste, fraud, and error in Government programs

by making improvements with respect to Federal management and debt collection practices, Federal payment

systems, Federal benefit programs, and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Government Waste, Fraud, and Error Reduction Act of

6 1998’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Purposes.

Sec. 3. Definition.

Sec. 4. Application of Act.

TITLE I—GENERAL MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS

Sec. 101. Improving financial management.

Sec. 102. Improving travel management.

TITLE II—IMPROVING FEDERAL DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES

Sec. 201. Miscellaneous technical corrections to subchapter II of chapter 37 of

title 31, United States Code.

Sec. 202. Barring delinquent Federal debtors from obtaining Federal benefits.

Sec. 203. Collection and compromise of nontax debts and claims.

TITLE III—SALE OF DEBTS OWED TO UNITED STATES

Sec. 301. Authority to sell debts.

Sec. 302. Requirement to sell certain debts.

TITLE IV—TREATMENT OF HIGH VALUE DEBTS

Sec. 401. Annual report on high value debts.

Sec. 402. Review by Inspectors General.

Sec. 403. Requirement to seek seizure and forfeiture of assets securing high

value debt.

TITLE V—FEDERAL PAYMENTS

Sec. 501. Promoting electronic payments.

9 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

10 The purposes of this Act are the following:
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1 (1) To reduce waste, fraud, and error in Fed2 eral benefit programs.

3 (2) To focus Federal agency management at4 tention on high-risk programs.

5 (3) To better collect debts owed to the United

6 States.

7 (4) To improve Federal payment systems.

8 (5) To improve reporting on Government oper9 ations.

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

11 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘nontax debt’’ means

12 any debt (within the meaning of that term as used in

13 chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code) other than a

14 debt under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the Tar15 iff Act of 1930.

16 SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF ACT.

17 No provision of this Act shall apply to the Depart18 ment of the Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service to

19 the extent that such provision—

20 (1) involves the administration of the internal

21 revenue laws; or

22 (2) conflicts with the Internal Revenue Service

23 Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the Internal

24 Revenue Code of 1986, or the Tariff Act of 1930.
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1 TITLE I—GENERAL

2 MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS

3 SEC. 101. IMPROVING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.

4 (a) REPEAL.—Section 3515 of title 31, United States

5 Code, is amended—

6 (1) in subsection (a)—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘1999’’; and

9 (B) by inserting ‘‘Congress and’’ after

10 ‘‘submit to’’;

11 (2) by striking subsection (e); and

12 (3) by striking subsections (f), (g), and (h).

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), this section shall take effect on the date

16 of the enactment of this Act.

17 (2) SECRETARY’S WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Sub18 section (a)(1) of this section shall take effect March

19 1, 1998.

20 SEC. 102. IMPROVING TRAVEL MANAGEMENT.

21 (a) LIMITED EXCLUSION FROM REQUIREMENT RE22 GARDING OCCUPATION OF QUARTERS.—Section 5911(e)

23 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at

24 the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The preceding sen-
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1 tence shall not apply with respect to lodging provided

2 under chapter 57 of this title.’’.

3 (b) USE OF TRAVEL MANAGEMENT CENTERS,

4 AGENTS, AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS.—

5 (1) REQUIREMENT TO ENCOURAGE USE.—The

6 head of each executive agency shall, with respect to

7 travel by employees of the agency in the perform8 ance of the employment duties by the employee, re9 quire, to the extent practicable, the use by such em10 ployees of travel management centers, travel agents

11 authorized for use by such employees, and electronic

12 reservation and payment systems for the purpose of

13 improving efficiency and economy regarding travel

14 by employees of the agency.

15 (2) PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—(A) The Ad16 ministrator of General Services shall develop a plan

17 regarding the implementation of this subsection and

18 shall, after consultation with the heads of executive

19 agencies, submit to Congress a report describing

20 such plan and the means by which such agency

21 heads plan to ensure that employees use travel man22 agement centers, travel agents, and electronic res23 ervation and payment systems as required by this

24 subsection.
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1 (B) The Administrator shall submit the plan re2 quired under subparagraph (A) not later than March

3 31, 1999.

4 (c) PAYMENT OF STATE AND LOCAL TAXES ON

5 TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of Gen7 eral Services shall ensure that employees of execu8 tive agencies are not inappropriately charged State

9 and local taxes on travel expenses, including trans10 portation, lodging, automobile rental, and other mis11 cellaneous travel expenses.

12 (2) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 1999,

13 the Administrator shall, after consultation with the

14 heads of executive agencies, submit to Congress a

15 report describing the steps taken, and proposed to

16 be taken, to carry out this subsection.

17 TITLE II—IMPROVING FEDERAL

18 DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES

19 SEC. 201. MISCELLANEOUS TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO

20 SUBCHAPTER II OF CHAPTER 37 OF TITLE 31,

21 UNITED STATES CODE.

22 (a) CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.—Section

23 3716(h)(3) of title 31, United States Code, is amended

24 to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(3) In applying this subsection with respect to

2 any debt owed to a State, other than past due sup3 port being enforced by the State, subsection

4 (c)(3)(A) shall not apply.’’.

5 (b) DEBT SALES.—Section 3711 of title 31, United

6 States Code, is amended by striking subsection (i).

7 (c) GAINSHARING.—Section 3720C(b)(2)(D) of title

8 31, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘delin9 quent loans’’ and inserting ‘‘debts’’.

10 (d) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PRIVATE COLLECTION

11 CONTRACTORS.—

12 (1) COLLECTION BY SECRETARY OF THE

13 TREASURY.—Section 3711(g) of title 31, United

14 States Code, is further amended by adding at the

15 end the following:

16 ‘‘(11) In attempting to collect under this subsection

17 through the use of garnishment any debt owed to the

18 United States, a private collection contractor shall not be

19 precluded from verifying the debtor’s current employer,

20 the location of the payroll office of the debtor’s current

21 employer, the period the debtor has been employed by the

22 current employer of the debtor, and the compensation re23 ceived by the debtor from the current employer of the

24 debtor.
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1 ‘‘(12)(A) The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide

2 that any contract with a private collection contractor

3 under this subsection shall include a provision that the

4 contractor shall be subject to penalties under the con5 tract—

6 ‘‘(i) if the contractor fails to comply with any

7 restrictions under applicable law regarding the col8 lection activities of debt collectors; or

9 ‘‘(ii) if the contractor engages in unreasonable

10 or abusive debt collection practices in connection

11 with the collection of debt under the contract.

12 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a

13 private collection contractor under this subsection shall

14 not be subject to any liability or contract penalties in con15 nection with efforts to collect a debt pursuant to a con16 tract under this subsection by reason of actions that are

17 required by the contract or by applicable law or regula18 tions.

19 ‘‘(13) In evaluating the performance of a contractor

20 under any contract entered into under this subsection, the

21 Secretary of the Treasury shall consider the contractor’s

22 gross collections net of commissions (as a percentage of

23 account amounts placed with the contractor) under the

24 contract. The frequency of valid debtor complaints shall

25 also be considered in the evaluation criteria.
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1 ‘‘(14) In selecting contractors for performance of col2 lection services, the Secretary of the Treasury shall evalu3 ate bids received through a methodology that considers the

4 bidder’s prior performance in terms of net amounts col5 lected under government collection contracts of similar

6 size, if applicable. The frequency of valid debtor com7 plaints shall also be considered in the evaluation criteria.’’.

8 (2) COLLECTION BY PROGRAM AGENCY.—Sec9 tion 3718 of title 31, United States Code, is further

10 amended by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(h) In attempting to collect under this subsection

12 through the use of garnishment any debt owed to the

13 United States, a private collection contractor shall not be

14 precluded from verifying the current place of employment

15 of the debtor, the location of the payroll office of the debt16 or’s current employer, the period the debtor has been em17 ployed by the current employer of the debtor, and the com18 pensation received by the debtor from the current em19 ployer of the debtor.

20 ‘‘(i)(1) The head of an executive, judicial, or legisla21 tive agency that contracts with a private collection con22 tractor to collect a debt owed to the agency, or a guaranty

23 agency or institution of higher education that contracts

24 with a private collection contractor to collect a debt owed

25 under any loan program authorized under title IV of the
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1 Higher Education Act of 1965, shall include a provision

2 in the contract that the contractor—

3 ‘‘(A) shall be subject to penalties under the con4 tract if the contractor fails to comply with any re5 strictions imposed under applicable law on the collec6 tion activities of debt collectors; and

7 ‘‘(B) shall be subject to penalties under the

8 contract if the contractor engages in unreasonable or

9 abusive debt collection practices in connection with

10 the collection of debt under the contract.

11 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a

12 private collection contractor under this section shall not

13 be subject to any liability or contract penalties in connec14 tion with efforts to collect a debt owed to an executive,

15 judicial, or legislative agency, or owed under any loan pro16 gram authorized under title IV of the Higher Education

17 Act of 1965, by reason of actions required by the contract,

18 or by applicable law or regulations.

19 ‘‘(j) In evaluating the performance of a contractor

20 under any contract for the performance of debt collection

21 services entered into by an executive, judicial, or legislative

22 agency, the head of the agency shall consider the contrac23 tor’s gross collections net of commissions (as a percentage

24 of account amounts placed with the contractor) under the
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1 contract. The frequency of valid debtor complaints shall

2 also be considered in the evaluation criteria.

3 ‘‘(k) In selecting contractors for performance of col4 lection services, the head of an executive, judicial, or legis5 lative agency shall evaluate bids received through a meth6 odology that considers the bidder’s prior performance in

7 terms of net amounts collected under government collec8 tion contracts of similar size, if applicable. The frequency

9 of valid debtor complaints shall also be considered in the

10 evaluation criteria.’’.

11 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—None of the amendments

12 made by this subsection shall be construed as alter13 ing or superseding the provisions in section 362 of

14 title 11, United States Code or section 6103 of the

15 Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

16 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 3720A(h) of

17 title 31, United States Code, is amended—

18 (1) beginning in paragraph (3), by striking the

19 close quotation marks and all that follows through

20 the matter preceding subsection (i); and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘For purposes of this subsection, the disbursing official

23 for the Department of the Treasury is the Secretary of

24 the Treasury or his or her designee.’’.
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1 (f) CORRECTION OF REFERENCES TO FEDERAL

2 AGENCY.—(1) Sections 3716(c)(6) and 3720A(a), (b), (c),

3 and (e) of title 31, United States Code, are each amended

4 by striking ‘‘Federal agency’’ each place it appears and

5 inserting ‘‘executive, judicial, or legislative agency’’.

6 (2) Section 3716(h)(2)(C), of title 31, United States

7 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘a Federal agency’’ and in8 serting ‘‘an executive, judicial, or legislative agency’’.

9 (g) CLARIFICATION OF INAPPLICABILITY OF ACT TO

10 CERTAIN AGENCIES.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, no provision in this Act, the Debt Collection

12 Improvement Act of 1996 (chapter 10 of title III of Public

13 Law 104–134; 31 U.S.C. 3701 note), chapter 37 or sub14 chapter II of chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code,

15 or any amendments made by such Acts or any regulations

16 issued thereunder, shall apply to activities carried out pur17 suant to a law enacted to protect, operate, and administer

18 any deposit insurance funds, including the resolution and

19 liquidation of failed or failing insured depository institu20 tions.

21 (h) CONTRACTS FOR COLLECTION SERVICES.—Sec22 tion 3718 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—

23 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (b)(1)(A),

24 by inserting ‘‘, or any monetary claim, including any
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1 claims for civil fines or penalties, asserted by the At2 torney General’’ before the period;

3 (2) in the third sentence of subsection

4 (b)(1)(A)—

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘or in connection with

6 other monetary claims’’ after ‘‘collection of

7 claims of indebtedness’’;

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘or claim’’ after ‘‘the in9 debtedness’’; and

10 (C) by inserting ‘‘or other person’’ after

11 ‘‘the debtor’’; and

12 (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘or any other

13 monetary claim of’’ after ‘‘indebtedness owed’’.

14 SEC. 202. BARRING DELINQUENT FEDERAL DEBTORS FROM

15 OBTAINING FEDERAL BENEFITS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3720B of title 31, United

17 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘§ 3720B. Barring delinquent Federal debtors from

19 obtaining Federal benefits

20 ‘‘(a)(1) A person shall not be eligible for the award

21 or renewal of any Federal benefit described in paragraph

22 (2) if the person has an outstanding nontax debt that is

23 in a delinquent status with any executive, judicial, or legis24 lative agency, as determined under standards prescribed

25 by the Secretary of the Treasury. Such a person may ob-
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1 tain additional Federal benefits described in paragraph (2)

2 only after such delinquency is resolved in accordance with

3 those standards.

4 ‘‘(2) The Federal benefits referred to in paragraph

5 (1) are the following:

6 ‘‘(A) Financial assistance in the form of a loan

7 (other than a disaster loan) or loan insurance or

8 guarantee.

9 ‘‘(B) Any Federal permit or license otherwise

10 required by law.

11 ‘‘(b) The Secretary of the Treasury may exempt any

12 class of claims from the application of subsection (a) at

13 the request of an executive, judicial, or legislative agency.

14 ‘‘(c)(1) The head of any executive, judicial, or legisla15 tive agency may waive the application of subsection (a)

16 to any Federal benefit that is administered by the agency

17 based on standards promulgated by the Secretary of the

18 Treasury.

19 ‘‘(2) The head of an executive, judicial, or legislative

20 agency may delegate the waiver authority under para21 graph (1) to the chief financial officer of the agency.

22 ‘‘(3) The chief financial officer of an agency to whom

23 waiver authority is delegated under paragraph (2) may re24 delegate that authority only to the deputy chief financial
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1 officer of the agency. The deputy chief financial officer

2 may not redelegate such authority.

3 ‘‘(d) As used in this section, the term ‘nontax debt’

4 means any debt other than a debt under the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986 or the Tariff Act of 1930.’’.

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

7 at the beginning of chapter 37 of title 31, United States

8 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section

9 3720B and inserting the following:

‘‘3720B. Barring delinquent Federal debtors from obtaining Federal benefits.’’.

10 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—The amendment made by this

11 section shall not be construed as altering or superseding

12 the provisions in section 525 of title 11, United States

13 Code.

14 SEC. 203. COLLECTION AND COMPROMISE OF NONTAX

15 DEBTS AND CLAIMS.

16 (a) USE OF PRIVATE COLLECTION CONTRACTORS

17 AND FEDERAL DEBT COLLECTION CENTERS.—Para18 graph (5) of section 3711(g) of title 31, United States

19 Code, is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(5)(A) Nontax debts referred or transferred under

21 this subsection shall be serviced, collected, or com22 promised, or collection action thereon suspended or termi23 nated, in accordance with otherwise applicable statutory

24 requirements and authorities.
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1 ‘‘(B) The head of each executive agency that operates

2 a debt collection center may enter into an agreement with

3 the Secretary of the Treasury to carry out the purposes

4 of this subsection.

5 ‘‘(C) The Secretary of the Treasury shall—

6 ‘‘(i) maintain a schedule of private collection

7 contractors and debt collection centers operated by

8 agencies that are eligible for referral of claims under

9 this subsection;

10 ‘‘(ii) maximize collections of delinquent nontax

11 debts by referring delinquent nontax debts promptly;

12 ‘‘(iii) maintain competition between private col13 lection contractors;

14 ‘‘(iv) ensure, to the maximum extent prac15 ticable, that a private collection contractor to which

16 a nontax debt is referred is responsible for any ad17 ministrative costs associated with the contract under

18 which the referral is made.

19 ‘‘(D) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘nontax

20 debt’ means any debt other than a debt under the Internal

21 Revenue Code of 1986 or the Tariff Act of 1930.’’.

22 (b) LIMITATION ON DISCHARGE BEFORE USE OF

23 PRIVATE COLLECTION CONTRACTOR OR DEBT COLLEC24 TION CENTER.—Paragraph (9) of section 3711(g) of title

25 31, United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through

2 (H) as clauses (i) through (viii);

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(9)’’;

4 (3) in subparagraph (A) (as designated by

5 paragraph (2) of this subsection) in the matter pre6 ceding clause (i) (as designated by paragraph (1) of

7 this subsection), by inserting ‘‘and subject to sub8 paragraph (B)’’ after ‘‘as applicable’’; and

9 (4) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(B)(i) The head of an executive, judicial, or legisla11 tive agency may not discharge a nontax debt or terminate

12 collection action on a nontax debt unless the debt has been

13 referred to a private collection contractor or a debt collec14 tion center, referred to the Attorney General for litigation,

15 sold without recourse, administrative wage garnishment

16 has been undertaken, or in the event of bankruptcy, death,

17 or disability.

18 ‘‘(ii) The head of an executive, judicial, or legislative

19 agency may waive the application of clause (i) to any

20 nontax debt, or class of nontax debts if the head of the

21 agency determines that the waiver is in the best interest

22 of the United States.

23 ‘‘(iii) As used in this subparagraph, the term ‘nontax

24 debt’ means any debt other than a debt under the Internal

25 Revenue Code of 1986 or the Tariff Act of 1930.’’.
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1 TITLE III—SALE OF NONTAX

2 DEBTS OWED TO UNITED

3 STATES

4 SEC. 301. AUTHORITY TO SELL NONTAX DEBTS.

5 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro6 vide that the head of each executive, judicial, or legislative

7 agency shall establish a program of nontax debt sales in

8 order to—

9 (1) minimize the loan and nontax debt port10 folios of the agency;

11 (2) improve credit management while serving

12 public needs;

13 (3) reduce delinquent nontax debts held by the

14 agency;

15 (4) obtain the maximum value for loan and

16 nontax debt assets; and

17 (5) obtain valid data on the amount of the Fed18 eral subsidy inherent in loan programs conducted

19 pursuant to the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990

20 (Public Law 93–344).

21 (b) SALES AUTHORIZED.—(1) The head of an execu22 tive, judicial, or legislative agency may sell, subject to sec23 tion 504(b) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2

24 U.S.C. 661c(b)) and using competitive procedures, any
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1 nontax debt owed to the United States that is adminis2 tered by the agency.

3 (2) Costs the agency incurs in selling nontax debt

4 pursuant to this section may be deducted from the pro5 ceeds received from the sale. Such costs may include, but

6 are not limited to—

7 (A) the costs of any contract for identification,

8 billing, or collection services;

9 (B) the costs of contractors assisting in the sale

10 of nontax debt;

11 (C) the fees of appraisers, auctioneers, and re12 alty brokers;

13 (D) the costs of advertising and surveying; and

14 (E) other reasonable costs incurred by the

15 agency.

16 (3) Sales of nontax debt under this section—

17 (A) shall be for—

18 (i) cash; or

19 (ii) cash and a residuary equity, joint ven20 ture, or profit participation, if the head of the

21 agency, in consultation with the Director of the

22 Office of Management and Budget and the Sec23 retary of the Treasury, determines that the pro24 ceeds will be greater than the proceeds from a

25 sale solely for cash;
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1 (B) shall be without recourse against the

2 United States, but may include the use of guaran3 tees if otherwise authorized by law; and

4 (C) shall transfer to the purchaser all rights of

5 the United States to demand payment of the nontax

6 debt, other than with respect to a residuary equity,

7 joint venture, or profit participation under subpara8 graph (A)(ii).

9 (c) EXISTING AUTHORITY NOT AFFECTED.—This

10 section is not intended to limit existing statutory authority

11 of the head of an executive, judicial, or legislative agency

12 to sell loans, nontax debts, or other assets.

13 SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT TO SELL CERTAIN NONTAX

14 DEBTS.

15 (a) SALE OF DELINQUENT LOANS.—The head of

16 each executive, judicial, or legislative agency shall sell any

17 nontax loan owed to the United States by the later of—

18 (1) the date on which the nontax debt becomes

19 24 months delinquent; or

20 (2) 24 months after referral of the nontax debt

21 to the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section

22 3711(g)(1) of title 31, United States Code. Sales

23 under this subsection shall be conducted under the

24 authority in section 301.
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1 (b) SALE OF NEW LOANS.—The head of each execu2 tive, judicial, or legislative agency shall sell each loan obli3 gation arising from a program administered by the agen4 cy, not later than 6 months after the loan is disbursed,

5 unless the head of the agency determines that the sale

6 would interfere with the mission of the agency administer7 ing the program under which the loan was disbursed, or

8 the head of the agency, in consultation with the Director

9 of the Office of Management and Budget and the Sec10 retary of the Treasury, determines that a longer period

11 is necessary to protect the financial interests of the United

12 States. Such loan obligations shall be audited annually in

13 accordance with generally accepted audit standards. Sales

14 under this subsection shall be conducted under the author15 ity in section 301.

16 (c) SALE OF NONTAX DEBTS AFTER TERMINATION

17 OF COLLECTION ACTION.—After terminating collection

18 action, the head of an executive, judicial, or legislative

19 agency shall sell, using competitive procedures, any nontax

20 debt or class of nontax debts owed to the United States

21 unless the head of the agency, in consultation with the

22 Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the

23 Secretary of the Treasury, determines that the sale is not

24 in the best financial interests of the United States. Such
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1 nontax debts shall be audited annually in accordance with

2 generally accepted audit standards.

3 (d) LIMITATIONS.—(1) The head of an executive, ju4 dicial, or legislative agency shall not, without the approval

5 of the Attorney General, sell any nontax debt that is the

6 subject of an allegation of or investigation for fraud, or

7 that has been referred to the Department of Justice for

8 litigation.

9 (2) The head of an executive, judicial, or legislative

10 agency may exempt from sale any class of nontax debts

11 if the head of the agency determines that the sale would

12 interfere with the mission of the agency administering the

13 program under which the indebtedness was incurred.

14 TITLE IV—TREATMENT OF HIGH

15 VALUE NONTAX DEBTS

16 SEC. 401. ANNUAL REPORT ON HIGH VALUE NONTAX

17 DEBTS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the

19 end of each fiscal year, the head of each agency that ad20 ministers a program that gives rise to a delinquent high

21 value nontax debt shall submit a report to Congress that

22 lists each such debt.

23 (b) CONTENT.—A report under this section shall, for

24 each debt listed in the report, include the following:
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1 (1) The name of each person liable for the debt,

2 including, for a person that is a company, coopera3 tive, or partnership, the names of the owners and

4 principal officers.

5 (2) The amounts of principal, interest, and pen6 alty comprising the debt.

7 (3) The actions the agency has taken to collect

8 the debt, and prevent future losses.

9 (4) Specification of any portion of the debt that

10 has been written-down administratively or due to a

11 bankruptcy proceeding.

12 (5) An assessment of why the borrower de13 faulted.

14 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

15 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the

16 meaning that term has in chapter 37 of title 31,

17 United States Code, as amended by this Act.

18 (2) HIGH VALUE NONTAX DEBT.—The term

19 ‘‘high value nontax debt’’ means a nontax debt hav20 ing an outstanding value (including principal, inter21 est, and penalties) that exceeds $1,000,000.

22 SEC. 402. REVIEW BY INSPECTORS GENERAL.

23 The Inspector General of each agency shall review the

24 annual report to Congress required in section 401 and

25 make such recommendations as necessary to improve per-
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1 formance of the agency. Each Inspector General shall peri2 odically review and report to Congress on the agency’s

3 nontax debt collection management practices. As part of

4 such reviews, the Inspector General shall examine agency

5 efforts to reduce the aggregate amount of high value

6 nontax debts that are resolved in whole or in part by com7 promise, default, or bankruptcy.

8 SEC. 403. REQUIREMENT TO SEEK SEIZURE AND FORFEIT9 URE OF ASSETS SECURING HIGH VALUE

10 NONTAX DEBT.

11 The head of an agency authorized to collect a high

12 value nontax debt that is delinquent shall, when appro13 priate, promptly seek seizure and forfeiture of assets

14 pledged to the United States in any transaction giving rise

15 to the nontax debt. When an agency determines that sei16 zure or forfeiture is not appropriate, the agency shall in17 clude a justification for such determination in the report

18 under section 401.

19 TITLE V—FEDERAL PAYMENTS

20 SEC. 501. PROMOTING ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS.

21 (a) EARLY RELEASE OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS.—

22 Section 3903(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amend23 ed—

24 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(1) provide that the required payment date

2 is—

3 ‘‘(A) the date payment is due under the

4 contract for the item of property or service pro5 vided; or

6 ‘‘(B) no later than 30 days after a proper

7 invoice for the amount due is received if a spe8 cific payment date is not established by con9 tract;’’; and

10 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

11 end of paragraph (8), by striking the period at the

12 end of paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by

13 adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(10) provide that the Director of the Office of

15 Management and Budget may waive the application

16 of requirements under paragraph (1) to provide for

17 early payment of vendors in cases where an agency

18 will implement an electronic payment technology

19 which improves agency cash management and busi20 ness practice.’’.

21 (b) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT ELECTRONIC PAY22 MENT.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to an agreement be24 tween the head of an executive agency and the appli25 cable financial institution or institutions based on
26

•HR 4857 EH

1 terms acceptable to the Director of the Office of

2 Management and Budget, the head of such agency

3 may accept an electronic payment, including debit

4 and credit cards, to satisfy a nontax debt owed to

5 the agency.

6 (2) GUIDELINES FOR AGREEMENTS REGARDING

7 PAYMENT.—The Director of the Office of Manage8 ment and Budget shall develop guidelines regarding

9 agreements between agencies and financial institu10 tions under paragraph (1).

Passed the House of Representatives October 20,

1998.

Attest:

Clerk.