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SEC. 5246. DEBT SALES BY AGENCIES.
Section 3711 of title 31, United States Code, is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(h)(1) The head of an executive, judicial, or legisla-
tive agency may sell, subject to section 504(b) of the Fed-
eral Credit Reform Act of 1990 and using competitive pro-
cedures, any nontax debt owed to the United States that
is delinquent for more than 90 days. Appropriate fees
charged by a contractor to assist in the conduct of a sale
under this subsection may be payable from the proceeds
of the sale.
‘‘(2) After terminating collection action, the head of
an executive, judicial, or legislative agency shall sell, using
competitive procedures, any nontax debt or class of nontax
debts owed to the United States, if the Secretary of the
Treasury determines the sale is in the best interests of
the United States.
‘‘(3) Sales of nontax debt under this subsection—
‘‘(A) shall be for—
‘‘(i) cash, or
‘‘(ii) cash and a residuary equity or profit
participation, if the head of the agency reason-
ably determines that the proceeds will be great-
er than sale solely for cash,
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‘‘(B) shall be without recourse, but may include
the use of guarantees if otherwise authorized, and
‘‘(C) shall transfer to the purchaser all rights
of the Government to demand payment of the
nontax debt, other than with respect to a residuary
equity or profit participation under subparagraph
(A)(ii).
‘‘(4)(A) Within one year after the date of enactment
of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1995, and
every year thereafter, each executive agency with current
and delinquent collateralized nontax debts shall report to
the Congress on the valuation of its existing portfolio of
loans, notes and guarantees, and other collateralized debts
based on standards developed by the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of the Treasury.
‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall determine what information is required to
be reported to comply with subparagraph (A). At a mini-
mum, for each financing account and for each liquidating
account (as those terms are defined in sections 502(7) and
502(8), respectively, of the Federal Credit Reform Act of
1990) the following information shall be reported:
‘‘(i) The cumulative balance of current debts
outstanding, the estimated net present value of such
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debts, the annual administrative expenses of those
debts (including the portion of salaries and expenses
that are directly related thereto), and the estimated
net proceeds that would be received by the Govern-
ment if such debts were sold.
‘‘(ii) The cumulative balance of delinquent
debts, debts outstanding, the estimated net present
value of such debts, the annual administrative ex-
penses of those debts (including the portion of sala-
ries and expenses that are directly related thereto),
and the estimated net proceeds that would be re-
ceived by the Government if such debts were sold.
‘‘(iii) The cumulative balance of guaranteed
loans outstanding, the estimated net present value of
such guarantees, the annual administrative expenses
of such guarantees (including the portion of salaries
and expenses that are directly related to such guar-
anteed loans), and the estimated net proceeds that
would be received by the Government if such loan
guarantees were sold.
‘‘(iv) The cumulative balance of defaulted loans
that were previously guaranteed and have resulted in
loans receivables, the estimated net present value of
such loan assets, the annual administrative expenses
of such loan assets (including the portion of salaries
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and expenses that are directly related to such loan
assets), and the estimated net proceeds that would
be received by the Government if such loan assets
were sold.
‘‘(v) The marketability of all debts.
‘‘(5) This subsection is not intended to limit existing
statutory authority of agencies to sell loans, debts, or
other assets.’’.
SEC. 5247. ADJUSTMENTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE DEBT.
Section 3717 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end of subsection (h) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(i)(1) The head of an executive, judicial, or legisla-
tive agency may increase an administrative claim by the
cost of living adjustment in lieu of charging interest and
penalties under this section. Adjustments under this sub-
section will be computed annually.
‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection—
‘‘(A) the term ‘cost of living adjustment’ means
the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index
for the month of June of the calendar year preced-
ing the adjustment exceeds the Consumer Price
Index for the month of June of the calendar year in
which the claim was determined or last adjusted;
and
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‘‘(B) the term ‘administrative claim’ includes all
debt that is not based on an extension of Govern-
ment credit through direct loans, loan guarantees, or
insurance, including fines, penalties, and overpay-
ments.’’.
SEC. 5248. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION REGARDING
IDENTITY OF DELINQUENT DEBTORS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 37 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended in subchapter II by adding after
section 3720D, as added by section 5245 of this subtitle,
the following new section:
‘‘§ 3720E. Dissemination of information regarding
identity of delinquent debtors
‘‘(a) The head of any agency may, with the review
of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the purpose of col-
lecting any delinquent nontax debt owed by any person,
publish or otherwise publicly disseminate information re-
garding the identity of the person and the existence of the
nontax debt.
‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget and the heads of other appropriate Federal agen-
cies, shall issue regulations establishing procedures and
requirements the Secretary considers appropriate to carry
out this section.
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‘‘(2) Regulations under this subsection shall in-
clude—
‘‘(A) standards for disseminating information
that maximize collections of delinquent nontax debts,
by directing actions under this section toward delin-
quent debtors that have assets or income sufficient
to pay their delinquent nontax debt;
‘‘(B) procedures and requirements that prevent
dissemination of information under this section re-
garding persons who have not had an opportunity to
verify, contest, and compromise their nontax debt in
accordance with this subchapter; and
‘‘(C) procedures to ensure that persons are not
incorrectly identified pursuant to this section.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for subchapter II of chapter 37 of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to sec-
tion 3720D (as added by section 5245 of this subtitle)
the following new item:
‘‘3720E. Dissemination of information regarding identity of delinquent debt-
ors.’’.
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Subpart E—Federal Civil Monetary Penalties
SEC. 5251. ADJUSTING FEDERAL CIVIL MONETARY PEN-
ALTIES FOR INFLATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Civil Penalties Infla-
tion Adjustment Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–410, 104
Stat. 890; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note) is amended—
(1) by amending section 4 to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 4. The head of each agency shall, not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1995, and at least once
every 4 years thereafter—
‘‘(1) by regulation adjust each civil monetary
penalty provided by law within the jurisdiction of the
Federal agency, except for any penalty (including
any addition to tax and additional amount) under
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Tarriff Act
of 1930, or the Social Security Act, by the inflation
adjustment described under section 5 of this Act;
and
‘‘(2) publish each such regulation in the Fed-
eral Register.’’;
(2) in section 5(a), by striking ‘‘The adjustment
described under paragraphs (4) and (5)(A) of sec-
tion 4’’ and inserting ‘‘The inflation adjustment
under section 4’’; and
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(3) by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion:
‘‘SEC. 7. Any increase under this Act in a civil mone-
tary penalty shall apply only to violations which occur
after the date the increase takes effect.’’.
(b) LIMITATION
ON INITIAL ADJUSTMENT.—The
first adjustment of a civil monetary penalty made pursu-
ant to the amendment made by to subsection (a) may not
exceed 10 percent of such penalty.
Subpart F—Gain Sharing
SEC. 5261. DEBT COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT ACCOUNT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 3720B (as added by
section 5232 of this subtitle) the following new section:
‘‘§ 3720C. Debt Collection Improvement Account
‘‘(a)(1) There is hereby established in the Treasury
a special fund to be known as the ‘Debt Collection Im-
provement Account’ (hereinafter in this section referred
to as the ‘Account’).
‘‘(2) The Account shall be maintained and managed
by the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall ensure that
agency programs are credited with amounts transferred
under subsection (b)(1).
‘‘(b)(1) Not later than 30 days after the end of a
fiscal year, an agency may transfer to the Account the
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amount described in paragraph (3), as adjusted under
paragraph (4).
‘‘(2) Agency transfers to the Account may include
collections from—
‘‘(A) salary, administrative, and tax refund off-
sets;
‘‘(B) automated levy authority;
‘‘(C) the Department of Justice;
‘‘(D) private collection agencies;
‘‘(E) sales of delinquent loans; and
‘‘(F) contracts to locate or recover assets.
‘‘(3) The amount referred to in paragraph (1) shall
be 5 percent of the amount of delinquent debt collected
by an agency in a fiscal year, minus the greater of—
‘‘(A) 5 percent of the amount of delinquent
nontax debt collected by the agency in the previous
fiscal year, or
‘‘(B) 5 percent of the amount of delinquent
nontax debt collected by the agency in the previous
4 fiscal years.
‘‘(4) In consultation with the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, the Office of Management and Budget may adjust
the amount described in paragraph (3) for an agency to
reflect the level of effort in credit management programs
by the agency. As an indicator of the level of effort in
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credit management, the Office of Management and Budg-
et shall consider the following:
‘‘(A) The number of days between the date a
claim or debt became delinquent and the date which
an agency referred the debt or claim to the Sec-
retary of the Treasury or obtained an exemption
from this referral under section 3711(g)(2) of this
title.
‘‘(B) The ratio of delinquent debts or claims to
total receivables for a given program, and the
change in this ratio over a period of time.
‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury may make pay-
ments from the Account solely to reimburse agencies for
qualified expenses. For agencies with franchise funds,
such payments may be credited to subaccounts designated
for debt collection.
‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified
expenses’ means expenditures for the improvement of
credit management, debt collection, and debt recovery ac-
tivities, including—
‘‘(A) account servicing (including cross-servic-
ing under section 3711(g) of this title),
‘‘(B) automatic data processing equipment ac-
quisitions,
‘‘(C) delinquent debt collection,
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‘‘(D) measures to minimize delinquent debt,
‘‘(E) sales of delinquent debt,
‘‘(F) asset disposition, and
‘‘(G) training of personnel involved in credit
and debt management.
‘‘(3)(A) Amounts in the Account shall be available
to the Secretary of the Treasury for purposes of this sec-
tion to the extent and in amounts provided in advance in
appropriation Acts.
‘‘(B) As soon as practicable after the end of the third
fiscal year after which appropriations are made pursuant
to this section, and every 3 years thereafter, any unappro-
priated balance in the Account shall be transferred to the
general fund of the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
‘‘(d) For direct loans and loan guarantee programs
subject to title V of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974,
amounts credited in accordance with subsection (c) shall
be considered administrative costs.
‘‘(e) The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe
such rules, regulations, and procedures as the Secretary
considers necessary or appropriate to carry out the pur-
poses of this section.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code, is amended
by inserting after the item relating to section 3720B (as
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added by section 5232 of this subtitle) the following new
item:
‘‘3720C. Debt Collection Improvement Account.’’.
Subpart G—Tax Refund Offset Authority
SEC. 5271. EXPANDING TAX REFUND OFFSET AUTHORITY.
(a) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY.—Section 3720A of
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding after
subsection (h) the following new subsection:
‘‘(i) An agency subject to section 9 of the Act of May
18, 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831h), may implement this section
at its discretion.’’.
(b) FEDERAL AGENCY DEFINED.—Section 6402(f)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
6402(f)), is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(f) FEDERAL AGENCY.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘Federal agency’ means a department, agen-
cy, or instrumentality of the United States, and includes
a Government corporation (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 103 of title 5, United States Code).’’.
SEC. 5272. EXPANDING AUTHORITY TO COLLECT PAST-DUE
SUPPORT.
(a) NOTIFICATION OF SECRETARY OF THE TREAS-
URY.—Section 3720A(a) of title 31, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) Any Federal agency that is owed by a person
a past-due, legally enforceable debt (including debt admin-
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istered by a third party acting as an agent for the Federal
Government) shall, and any agency subject to section 9
of the Act of May 18, 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831h), owed such
a debt may, in accordance with regulations issued pursu-
ant to subsections (b) and (d), notify the Secretary of the
Treasury at least once each year of the amount of such
debt.’’.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF SUPPORT COLLECTION BY
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.—Section 464(a) of the
Act of August 14, 1935 (42 U.S.C. 664(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the
following: ‘‘This subsection may be executed by the
disbursing official of the Department of the Treas-
ury.’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by adding at the end
the following: ‘‘This subsection may be executed by
the disbursing official of the Department of the
Treasury.’’.
Subpart H—Disbursements
SEC. 5281. ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER.
Section 3332 of title 31, United States Code, popu-
larly known as the Federal Financial Management Act of
1994, is amended—
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(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (h), and inserting after subsection (d) the
following new subsections:
‘‘(e)(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (d)
of this section, sections 5120 (a) and (d) of title 38, and
any other provision of law, all Federal payments to a re-
cipient who becomes eligible for that type of payments
after 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1995 shall be made by elec-
tronic funds transfer.
‘‘(2) The head of a Federal agency shall, with respect
to Federal payments made or authorized by the agency,
waive the application of paragraph (1) to a recipient of
those payments upon receipt of written certification from
the recipient that the recipient does not have an account
with a financial institution or an authorized payment
agent.
‘‘(f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law
(including subsections (a) through (e) of this section and
sections 5120 (a) and (d) of title 38), except as provided
in paragraph (2) all Federal payments made after Janu-
ary 1, 1999, shall be made by electronic funds transfer.
‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary of the Treasury may waive ap-
plication of this subsection to payments—
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President shall take steps to terminate the economic em-
bargo of Cuba.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—On the date on
which the President submits a determination under sec-
tion 6233(c)(3)—
(1) section 620(a) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)) is repealed;
(2) section 620(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(f)) is amended by striking
‘‘Republic of Cuba’’;
(3) sections 1704, 1705(d), and 1706 of the
Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 6003,
6004(d), and 6005) are repealed; and
(4) section 902(c) of the Food Security Act of
1985 is repealed.
(e) REVIEW OF SUSPENSION OF ECONOMIC EMBAR-
GO.—
(1) REVIEW.—If the President takes action
under subsection (a) to suspend the economic em-
bargo of Cuba, the President shall immediately so
notify the Congress. The President shall report to
the Congress no less frequently than every 6 months
thereafter, until he submits a determination under
section 6233(c)(3) that a democratically elected gov-
ernment in Cuba is in power, on the progress being