IIB
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 436
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 25, 1999
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs
AN ACT
To reduce waste, fraud, and error in Government programs
by making improvements with respect to Federal man-
agement and debt collection practices, Federal payment
systems, Federal benefit programs, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Government Waste, Fraud, and Error Reduction Act of
1999’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
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 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 NONTAX DEBTS OWED TO UNITED STATES
Sec. 301. Authority to sell nontax debts.
Sec. 302. Requirement to sell certain nontax debts.
TITLE IV—TREATMENT OF HIGH VALUE NONTAX DEBTS
Sec. 401. Annual report on high value nontax debts.
Sec. 402. Review by Inspectors General.
Sec. 403. Requirement to seek seizure and forfeiture of assets securing high
value nontax debt.
TITLE V—FEDERAL PAYMENTS
Sec. 501. Transfer of responsibility to Secretary of the Treasury with respect
to prompt payment.
Sec. 502. Promoting electronic payments.
Sec. 503. Debt services account.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To reduce waste, fraud, and error in Fed-
eral benefit programs.
(2) To focus Federal agency management at-
tention on high-risk programs.
(3) To better collect debts owed to the United
States.
(4) To improve Federal payment systems.
(5) To improve reporting on Government oper-
ations.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION.
As used in this Act, the term ‘‘nontax debt’’ means
any debt (within the meaning of that term as used in
chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code) other than a
debt under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or the Tar-
iff Act of 1930.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF ACT.
No provision of this Act shall apply to the Depart-
ment of the Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service to
the extent that such provision—
(1) involves the administration of the internal
revenue laws; or
(2) conflicts with the Internal Revenue Service
Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, or the Tariff Act of 1930.
TITLE I—GENERAL
MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS
SEC. 101. IMPROVING FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.
Section 3515 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting
‘‘2000’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘Congress and’’ after
‘‘submit to’’; and
(2) by striking subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h).
SEC. 102. IMPROVING TRAVEL MANAGEMENT.
(a) LIMITED EXCLUSION FROM REQUIREMENT RE-
GARDING OCCUPATION OF QUARTERS.—Section 5911(e)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The preceding sen-
tence shall not apply with respect to lodging provided
under chapter 57 of this title.’’.
(b) USE
OF
TRAVEL
MANAGEMENT
CENTERS,
AGENTS, AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS.—
(1) REQUIREMENT TO ENCOURAGE USE.—The
head of each executive agency shall, with respect to
travel by employees of the agency in the perform-
ance of the employment duties by the employee, re-
quire, to the extent practicable, the use by such em-
ployees of travel management centers, travel agents
authorized for use by such employees, and electronic
reservation and payment systems for the purpose of
improving efficiency and economy regarding travel
by employees of the agency.
(2) PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—(A) The Ad-
ministrator of General Services shall develop a plan
regarding the implementation of this subsection and
shall, after consultation with the heads of executive
agencies, submit to Congress a report describing
such plan and the means by which such agency
heads plan to ensure that employees use travel man-
agement centers, travel agents, and electronic res-
ervation and payment systems as required by this
subsection.
(B) The Administrator shall submit the plan re-
quired under subparagraph (A) not later than March
31, 2000.
(c) PAYMENT
OF STATE
AND LOCAL TAXES
ON
TRAVEL EXPENSES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of Gen-
eral Services shall develop a mechanism to ensure
that employees of executive agencies are not inap-
propriately charged State and local taxes on travel
expenses, including transportation, lodging, auto-
mobile rental, and other miscellaneous travel ex-
penses.
(2) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 2000,
the Administrator shall, after consultation with the
heads of executive agencies, submit to Congress a
report describing the steps taken, and proposed to
be taken, to carry out this subsection.
TITLE II—IMPROVING FEDERAL
DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES
SEC. 201. MISCELLANEOUS CORRECTIONS TO SUBCHAPTER
II OF CHAPTER 37 OF TITLE 31, UNITED
STATES CODE.
(a) 
CHILD
SUPPORT
ENFORCEMENT.—Section
3716(h)(3) of title 31, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(3) In applying this subsection with respect to
any debt owed to a State, other than past due sup-
port being enforced by the State, subsection
(c)(3)(A) shall not apply.’’.
(b) DEBT SALES.—Section 3711 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by striking subsection (i).
(c) GAINSHARING.—Section 3720C(b)(2)(D) of title
31, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘delin-
quent loans’’ and inserting ‘‘debts’’.
(d) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PRIVATE COLLECTION
CONTRACTORS.—
(1) COLLECTION
BY
SECRETARY
OF
THE
TREASURY.—Section 3711(g) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(11) In attempting to collect under this subsection
through the use of garnishment any debt owed to the
United States, a private collection contractor shall not be
precluded from verifying the debtor’s current employer,
the location of the payroll office of the debtor’s current
employer, the period the debtor has been employed by the
current employer of the debtor, and the compensation re-
ceived by the debtor from the current employer of the
debtor.
‘‘(12) In evaluating the performance of a contractor
under any contract entered into under this subsection, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall consider the contractor’s
gross collections net of commissions (as a percentage of
account amounts placed with the contractor) under the
contract. The existence and frequency of valid debtor com-
plaints shall also be considered in the evaluation criteria.
‘‘(13) In selecting contractors for performance of col-
lection services, the Secretary of the Treasury shall evalu-
ate bids received through a methodology that considers the
bidder’s prior performance in terms of net amounts col-
lected under Government collection contracts of similar
size, if applicable. The existence and frequency of valid
debtor complaints shall also be considered in the evalua-
tion criteria.’’.
(2) COLLECTION BY PROGRAM AGENCY.—Sec-
tion 3718 of title 31, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(h) In attempting to collect under this subsection
through the use of garnishment any debt owed to the
United States, a private collection contractor shall not be
precluded from verifying the current place of employment
of the debtor, the location of the payroll office of the debt-
or’s current employer, the period the debtor has been em-
ployed by the current employer of the debtor, and the com-
pensation received by the debtor from the current em-
ployer of the debtor.
‘‘(i) In evaluating the performance of a contractor
under any contract for the performance of debt collection
services entered into by an executive, judicial, or legislative
agency, the head of the agency shall consider the contrac-
tor’s gross collections net of commissions (as a percentage
of account amounts placed with the contractor) under the
contract. The existence and frequency of valid debtor com-
plaints shall also be considered in the evaluation criteria.
‘‘(j) In selecting contractors for performance of col-
lection services, the head of an executive, judicial, or legis-
lative agency shall evaluate bids received through a meth-
odology that considers the bidder’s prior performance in
terms of net amounts collected under government collec-
tion contracts of similar size, if applicable. The existence
and frequency of valid debtor complaints shall also be con-
sidered in the evaluation criteria.’’.
(3) CONSTRUCTION.—None of the amendments
made by this subsection shall be construed as alter-
ing or superseding the provisions of title 11, United
States Code, or section 6103 of the Internal Reve-
nue Code of 1986.
(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 3720A(h) of
title 31, United States Code, is amended—
(1) beginning in paragraph (3), by striking the
close quotation marks and all that follows through
the matter preceding subsection (i); and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘For purposes of this subsection, the disbursing official
for the Department of the Treasury is the Secretary of
the Treasury or his or her designee.’’.
(f) CORRECTION
OF REFERENCES
TO FEDERAL
AGENCY.—Sections 3716(c)(6) and 3720A(a), (b), (c),
and (e) of title 31, United States Code, are each amended
by striking ‘‘Federal agency’’ each place it appears and
inserting ‘‘executive, judicial, or legislative agency’’.
(g) INAPPLICABILITY OF ACT TO CERTAIN AGEN-
CIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
provision in this Act, the Debt Collection Improvement Act
of 1996 (chapter 10 of title III of Public Law 104–134;
31 U.S.C. 3701 note), chapter 37 or subchapter II of
chapter 33 of title 31, United States Code, or any amend-
ments made by such Acts or any regulations issued there-
under, shall apply to activities carried out pursuant to a
law enacted to protect, operate, and administer any de-
posit insurance funds, including the resolution and liq-
uidation of failed or failing insured depository institutions.
(h) CONTRACTS FOR COLLECTION SERVICES.—Sec-
tion 3718 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in the first sentence of subsection (b)(1)(A),
by inserting ‘‘, or, if appropriate, any monetary
claim, including any claims for civil fines or pen-
alties, asserted by the Attorney General’’ before the
period;
(2) in the third sentence of subsection
(b)(1)(A)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or in connection with
other monetary claims’’ after ‘‘collection of
claims of indebtedness’’;
(B) by inserting ‘‘or claim’’ after ‘‘the in-
debtedness’’; and
(C) by inserting ‘‘or other person’’ after
‘‘the debtor’’; and
(3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘or any other
monetary claim of’’ after ‘‘indebtedness owed’’.
SEC. 202. BARRING DELINQUENT FEDERAL DEBTORS FROM
OBTAINING FEDERAL BENEFITS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3720B of title 31, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 3720B. Barring delinquent Federal debtors from
obtaining Federal benefits
‘‘(a)(1) A person shall not be eligible for the award
or renewal of any Federal benefit described in paragraph
(2) if the person has an outstanding nontax debt that is
in a delinquent status with any executive, judicial, or legis-
lative agency, as determined under standards prescribed
by the Secretary of the Treasury. Such a person may ob-
tain additional Federal benefits described in paragraph (2)
only after such delinquency is resolved in accordance with
those standards.
‘‘(2) The Federal benefits referred to in paragraph
(1) are the following:
‘‘(A) Financial assistance in the form of a loan
(other than a disaster loan) or loan insurance or
guarantee.
‘‘(B) Any Federal permit or Federal license re-
quired by law.
‘‘(b) The Secretary of the Treasury may exempt any
class of claims from the application of subsection (a) at
the request of an executive, judicial, or legislative agency.
‘‘(c)(1) The head of any executive, judicial, or legisla-
tive agency may waive the application of subsection (a)
to any Federal benefit that is administered by the agency
based on standards promulgated by the Secretary of the
Treasury.
‘‘(2) The head of an executive, judicial, or legislative
agency may delegate the waiver authority under para-
graph (1) to the chief financial officer or, in the case of
any Federal performance-based organization, the chief op-
erating officer of the agency.
‘‘(3) The chief financial officer or chief operating offi-
cer of an agency to whom waiver authority is delegated
under paragraph (2) may redelegate that authority only
to the deputy chief financial officer or deputy chief operat-
ing officer of the agency. Such deputy chief financial offi-
cer or deputy chief operating officer may not redelegate
such authority.
‘‘(d) As used in this section, the term ‘nontax debt’
means any debt other than a debt under the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 or the Tariff Act of 1930.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
at the beginning of chapter 37 of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section
3720B and inserting the following:
‘‘3720B. Barring delinquent Federal debtors from obtaining Federal benefits.’’.
(c) CONSTRUCTION.—The amendment made by this
section shall not be construed as altering or superseding
the provisions of title 11, United States Code.
SEC. 203. COLLECTION AND COMPROMISE OF NONTAX
DEBTS AND CLAIMS.
(a) USE OF PRIVATE COLLECTION CONTRACTORS
AND FEDERAL DEBT COLLECTION CENTERS.—Para-
graph (5) of section 3711(g) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(5)(A) Nontax debts referred or transferred under
this subsection shall be serviced, collected, or com-
promised, or collection action thereon suspended or termi-
nated, in accordance with otherwise applicable statutory
requirements and authorities.
‘‘(B) The head of each executive agency that operates
a debt collection center may enter into an agreement with
the Secretary of the Treasury to carry out the purposes
of this subsection.
‘‘(C) The Secretary of the Treasury shall—
‘‘(i) maintain a schedule of private collection
contractors and debt collection centers operated by
agencies that are eligible for referral of claims under
this subsection;
‘‘(ii) maximize collections of delinquent nontax
debts by referring delinquent nontax debts to private
collection contractors promptly;
‘‘(iii) maintain competition between private col-
lection contractors;
‘‘(iv) ensure, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, that a private collection contractor to which
a nontax debt is referred is responsible for any ad-
ministrative costs associated with the contract under
which the referral is made.
‘‘(D) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘nontax
debt’ means any debt other than a debt under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 or the Tariff Act of 1930.’’.
(b) LIMITATION ON DISCHARGE BEFORE USE OF
PRIVATE COLLECTION CONTRACTOR OR DEBT COLLEC-
TION CENTER.—Paragraph (9) of section 3711(g) of title
31, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through
(H) as clauses (i) through (viii);
(2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(9)’’;
(3) in subparagraph (A) (as designated by
paragraph (2) of this subsection) in the matter pre-
ceding clause (i) (as designated by paragraph (1) of
this subsection), by inserting ‘‘and subject to sub-
paragraph (B)’’ after ‘‘as applicable’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(B)(i) The head of an executive, judicial, or legisla-
tive agency may not discharge a nontax debt or terminate
collection action on a nontax debt unless the debt has been
referred to a private collection contractor or a debt collec-
tion center, referred to the Attorney General for litigation,
sold without recourse, administrative wage garnishment
has been undertaken, or in the event of bankruptcy, death,
or disability.
‘‘(ii) The head of an executive, judicial, or legislative
agency may waive the application of clause (i) to any
nontax debt, or class of nontax debts if the head of the
agency determines that the waiver is in the best interest
of the United States.
‘‘(iii) As used in this subparagraph, the term ‘nontax
debt’ means any debt other than a debt under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 or the Tariff Act of 1930.’’.
TITLE 
III—SALE 
OF 
NONTAX
DEBTS 
OWED 
TO 
UNITED
STATES
SEC. 301. AUTHORITY TO SELL NONTAX DEBTS.
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro-
vide that the head of each executive, judicial, or legislative
agency shall establish a program of nontax debt sales in
order to—
(1) minimize the loan and nontax debt port-
folios of the agency;
(2) improve credit management while serving
public needs;
(3) reduce delinquent nontax debts held by the
agency;
(4) obtain the maximum value for loan and
nontax debt assets; and
(5) obtain valid data on the amount of the Fed-
eral subsidy inherent in loan programs conducted
pursuant to the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990
(Public Law 93–344).
(b) SALES AUTHORIZED.—(1) Section 3711 of title
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sub-
section (h) the following new subsection:
‘‘(i)(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 (2 U.S.C. 661c(b)) and
using competitive procedures, any nontax debt owed to the
United States that is administered by the agency.
‘‘(2) Costs the agency incurs in selling nontax debt
pursuant to this subsection may be deducted from the pro-
ceeds received from the sale. Such costs include—
‘‘(A) the costs of any contract for identification,
billing, or collection services;
‘‘(B) the costs of contractors assisting in the
sale of nontax debt;
‘‘(C) the fees of appraisers, auctioneers, and re-
alty brokers;
‘‘(D) the costs of advertising and surveying;
and
‘‘(E) other reasonable costs incurred by the
agency, as determined by the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget.
‘‘(3) Sales of nontax debt under this subsection—
‘‘(A) shall be for—
‘‘(i) cash; or
‘‘(ii) cash and a residuary equity, joint
venture, or profit participation, if the head of
the agency, in consultation with the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget and the
Secretary of the Treasury, determines that the
proceeds will be greater than the proceeds from
a sale solely for cash;
‘‘(B) shall be without recourse against the
United States; and
‘‘(C) shall transfer to the purchaser all rights
of the United States to demand payment of the
nontax debt, other than with respect to a residuary
equity, joint venture, or profit participation under
subparagraph (A)(ii), but shall not transfer to the
purchaser any rights or defenses uniquely available
to the United States.
‘‘(3) This subsection is not intended to limit existing
statutory authority of the head of an executive, judicial,
or legislative agency to sell loans, nontax debts, or other
assets.’’.
SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT TO SELL CERTAIN NONTAX
DEBTS.
Section 3711 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended further by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
‘‘(j)(1)(A) The head of each executive, judicial, or leg-
islative agency shall sell any nontax loan owed to the
United States by the later of—
‘‘(i) the date on which the nontax debt becomes
24 months delinquent; or
‘‘(ii) 24 months after referral of the nontax
debt to the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to
section 3711(g)(1) of title 31, United States Code.
Sales under this subsection shall be conducted under
the authority in section 301.
‘‘(B) The head of an executive, judicial, or legislative
agency, in consultation with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, may exempt from sale delinquent debt or debts under
this subsection if the head of the agency determines that
the sale is not in the best financial interest of the United
States.
‘‘(2) The head of each executive, judicial, or legisla-
tive agency shall sell each loan obligation arising from a
program administered by the agency, not later than 6
months after the loan is disbursed, unless the head of the
agency determines that the sale would interfere with the
mission of the agency administering the program under
which the loan was disbursed, or the head of the agency,
in consultation with the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury, de-
termines that a longer period is necessary to protect the
financial interests of the United States. Sales under this
subsection shall be conducted under the authority in sec-
tion 301.
‘‘(3) 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 unless the head of the
agency, in consultation with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, determines that the sale is not in the best financial
interests of the United States. Sales under this paragraph
shall be conducted under the authority of subsection (i).
‘‘(4)(A) The head of an executive, judicial, or legisla-
tive agency shall not, without the approval of the Attorney
General, sell any nontax debt that is the subject of an
allegation of or investigation for fraud, or that has been
referred to the Department of Justice for litigation.
‘‘(B) The head of an executive, judicial, or legislative
agency may exempt from sale under this subsection any
class of nontax debts or loans if the head of the agency
determines that the sale would interfere with the mission
of the agency administering the program under which the
indebtedness was incurred.’’.
TITLE IV—TREATMENT OF HIGH
VALUE NONTAX DEBTS
SEC. 401. ANNUAL REPORT ON HIGH VALUE NONTAX
DEBTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the
end of each fiscal year, the head of each agency that ad-
ministers a program that gives rise to a delinquent high
value nontax debt shall submit a report to Congress that
lists each such debt.
(b) CONTENT.—A report under this section shall, for
each debt listed in the report, include the following:
(1) The name of each person liable for the debt,
including, for a person that is a company, coopera-
tive, or partnership, the names of the owners and
principal officers.
(2) The amounts of principal, interest, and pen-
alty comprising the debt.
(3) The actions the agency has taken to collect
the debt, and prevent future losses.
(4) Specification of any portion of the debt that
has been written-down administratively or due to a
bankruptcy proceeding.
(5) An assessment of why the debtor defaulted.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this title:
(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the
meaning that term has in chapter 37 of title 31,
United States Code, as amended by this Act.
(2) HIGH
VALUE
NONTAX
DEBT.—The term
‘‘high value nontax debt’’ means a nontax debt hav-
ing an outstanding value (including principal, inter-
est, and penalties) that exceeds $1,000,000.
SEC. 402. REVIEW BY INSPECTORS GENERAL.
The Inspector General of each agency shall review the
applicable annual report to Congress required in section
401 and make such recommendations as necessary to im-
prove performance of the agency. Each Inspector General
shall periodically review and report to Congress on the
agency’s nontax debt collection management practices. As
part of such reviews, the Inspector General shall examine
agency efforts to reduce the aggregate amount of high
value nontax debts that are resolved in whole or in part
by compromise, default, or bankruptcy.
SEC. 403. REQUIREMENT TO SEEK SEIZURE AND FORFEIT-
URE OF ASSETS SECURING HIGH VALUE
NONTAX DEBT.
The head of an agency authorized to collect a high
value nontax debt that is delinquent shall, when appro-
priate, promptly seek seizure and forfeiture of assets
pledged to the United States in any transaction giving rise
to the nontax debt. When an agency determines that sei-
zure or forfeiture is not appropriate, the agency shall in-
clude a justification for such determination in the report
under section 401.
TITLE V—FEDERAL PAYMENTS
SEC. 501. TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITY TO SECRETARY
OF 
THE 
TREASURY 
WITH 
RESPECT 
TO
PROMPT PAYMENT.
(a) DEFINITION.—Section 3901(a)(3) of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Director of
the Office of Management and Budget’’ and inserting
‘‘Secretary of the Treasury’’.
(b) INTEREST.—Section 3902(c)(3)(D) of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Director of
the Office of Management and Budget’’ and inserting
‘‘Secretary of the Treasury’’.
(c) REGULATIONS.—Section 3903(a) of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Director of
the Office of Management and Budget’’ and inserting
‘‘Secretary of the Treasury’’.
SEC. 502. PROMOTING ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS.
(a) EARLY RELEASE OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS.—
Section 3903(a) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(1) provide that the required payment date
is—
‘‘(A) the date payment is due under the
contract for the item of property or service pro-
vided; or
‘‘(B) no later than 30 days after a proper
invoice for the amount due is received if a spe-
cific payment date is not established by con-
tract;’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the
end of paragraph (8), by striking the period at the
end of paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(10) provide that the Secretary of the Treas-
ury may waive the application of requirements under
paragraph (1) to provide for early payment of ven-
dors in cases where an agency will implement an
electronic payment technology which improves agen-
cy cash management and business practice.’’.
(b) AUTHORITY
TO
ACCEPT
ELECTRONIC
PAY-
MENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to an agreement be-
tween the head of an executive agency and the appli-
cable financial institution or institutions based on
terms acceptable to the Secretary of the Treasury,
the head of such agency may accept an electronic
payment, including debit and credit cards, to satisfy
a nontax debt owed to the agency.
(2) GUIDELINES FOR AGREEMENTS REGARDING
PAYMENT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall de-
velop guidelines regarding agreements between agen-
cies and financial institutions under paragraph (1).
SEC. 503. DEBT SERVICES ACCOUNT.
(a) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO DEBT SERVICES AC-
COUNT.—The Secretary of the Treasury may transfer bal-
ances in accounts established before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act pursuant to section of 3711(g)(7) of title
31, United States Code, to the Debt Services Account es-
tablished under subsection (b). All amounts transferred to
the Debt Services Account under this section shall remain
available until expended.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
DEBT
SERVICES
AC-
COUNT.—Subsection (g)(7) of section 3711 of title 31,
United States Code, is amended by striking the second
sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘Any fee charged
pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into an ac-
count established in the Treasury to be known as the
‘Debt Services Account’ (hereinafter referred to in this
section as the ‘Account’).’’
(c) REIMBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—Section 3711(g)
of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (8);
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10)
as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively; and
(3) by amending paragraph (9) (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (2)) to read as follows:
‘‘(9) To carry out the purposes of this sub-
section, including services provided under sections
3716 and 3720A, the Secretary of the Treasury
may—
‘‘(A) prescribe such rules, regulations, and
procedures as the Secretary considers nec-
essary;
‘‘(B) transfer such funds from funds ap-
propriated to the Department of the Treasury
as may be necessary to meet liabilities and obli-
gations incurred prior to the receipt of fees that
result from debt collection; and
‘‘(C) reimburse any funds from which
funds were transferred under subparagraph (B)
from fees collected pursuant to sections 3711,
3716, and 3720A. Any reimbursement under
this subparagraph shall occur during the period
of availability of the funds transferred under
subparagraph (B) and shall be available to the
same extent and for the same purposes as the
funds originally transferred.’’.
(d) DEPOSIT OF TAX REFUND OFFSET FEES.—The
last sentence of section 3720A(d) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows: ‘‘Amounts
paid to the Secretary of the Treasury as fees under this
section shall be deposited into the Debt Services Account
of the Department of the Treasury described in section
3711(g)(7) and shall be collected and accounted for in ac-
cordance with the provisions of that section.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives February 24,
1999.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.