
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 31USC3720C]

 
                       TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE
 
                   SUBTITLE III--FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
 
                           CHAPTER 37--CLAIMS
 
          SUBCHAPTER II--CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
 
Sec. 3720C. Debt Collection Improvement Account

    (a)(1) There is hereby established in the Treasury a special fund to 
be known as the ``Debt Collection Improvement 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 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 offsets;
        (B) the Department of Justice;
        (C) private collection agencies;
        (D) sales of delinquent loans; and
        (E) 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 average annual amount of delinquent nontax 
    debt collected by the agency in the previous 4 fiscal years.

    (4) In consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, 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 credit 
management, the Office of Management and Budget 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 Secretary 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 payments 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 activities, including--
        (A) account servicing (including cross-servicing under section 
    3711(g) of this title),
        (B) automatic data processing equipment acquisitions,
        (C) delinquent debt collection,
        (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 transferred to the Account shall be available to the 
Secretary of the Treasury for purposes of this section to the extent and 
in amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts.
    (B) As soon as practicable after the end of the third fiscal year 
after which amounts transferred are first available pursuant to this 
section, and every 3 years thereafter, any uncommitted 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 purposes of this section.

(Added Pub. L. 104-134, title III, Sec. 31001(t)(1), Apr. 26, 1996, 110 
Stat. 1321-373.)

                       References in Text

    The Congressional Budget Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (d), is 
titles I through IX of Pub. L. 93-344, July 12, 1974, 88 Stat. 297, as 
amended. Title V of the Act, known as the Federal Credit Reform Act of 
1990, is classified generally to subchapter III (Sec. 661 et seq.) of 
chapter 17A of Title 2, The Congress. For complete classification of 
this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 621 of 
Title 2 and Tables.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 3711 of this title.
