
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 5USC5584]

 
             TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
 
                           PART III--EMPLOYEES
 
                      Subpart D--Pay and Allowances
 
                     CHAPTER 55--PAY ADMINISTRATION
 
                 SUBCHAPTER VIII--SETTLEMENT OF ACCOUNTS
 
Sec. 5584. Claims for overpayment of pay and allowances, and of 
        travel, transportation and relocation expenses and allowances
        
    (a) A claim of the United States against a person arising out of an 
erroneous payment of pay or allowances made on or after July 1, 1960, or 
arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or 
relocation expenses and allowances, to an employee of an agency, the 
collection of which would be against equity and good conscience and not 
in the best interests of the United States, may be waived in whole or in 
part by--
        (1) the authorized official;
        (2) the head of an agency when--
            (A) the claim is in an amount aggregating not more than 
        $1,500; and
            (B) the waiver is made in accordance with standards which 
        the authorized official shall prescribe; or

        (3) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United 
    States Courts when the claim is in an amount aggregating not more 
    than $10,000 and involves an officer or employee of the 
    Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal 
    Judicial Center, or any of the courts set forth in section 610 of 
    title 28.

    (b) The authorized official or the head of the agency, as the case 
may be, may not exercise his authority under this section to waive any 
claim--
        (1) if, in his opinion, there exists, in connection with the 
    claim, an indication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or lack of 
    good faith on the part of the employee or any other person having an 
    interest in obtaining a waiver of the claim;
        (2) except in the case of employees of the Government Printing 
    Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the 
    Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is 
    received in his office, after the expiration of three years 
    immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay 
    was discovered or three years immediately following October 21, 
    1968, whichever is later;
        (3) except in the case of employees of the Government Printing 
    Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the 
    Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is 
    received in his office after the expiration of three years 
    immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of 
    allowances was discovered or three years immediately following 
    October 2, 1972, whichever is later;
        (4) in the case of employees of the Government Printing Office, 
    the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, 
    or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his 
    office after the expiration of 3 years immediately following the 
    date on which the erroneous payment of pay or allowances was 
    discovered or 3 years immediately following July 25, 1974, whichever 
    is later; or
        (5) in the case of a claim involving an erroneous payment of 
    travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances, if 
    application for waiver is received in his office after the 
    expiration of 3 years immediately following the date on which the 
    erroneous payment was discovered.

    (c) A person who has repaid to the United States all or part of the 
amount of a claim, with respect to which a waiver is granted under this 
section, is entitled, to the extent of the waiver, to refund, by the 
employing agency at the time of the erroneous payment, of the amount 
repaid to the United States, if he applies to that employing agency for 
that refund within two years following the effective date of the waiver. 
The employing agency shall pay that refund in accordance with this 
section.
    (d) In the audit and settlement of the accounts of any accountable 
official, full credit shall be given for any amounts with respect to 
which collection by the United States is waived under this section.
    (e) An erroneous payment, the collection of which is waived under 
this section, is deemed a valid payment for all purposes.
    (f) This section does not affect any authority under any other 
statute to litigate, settle, compromise, or waive any claim of the 
United States.
    (g) For the purpose of this section, ``agency'' means--
        (1) an Executive agency;
        (2) the Government Printing Office;
        (3) the Library of Congress;
        (4) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol;
        (5) the Botanic Garden; and
        (6) the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the 
    Federal Judicial Center, and any of the courts set forth in section 
    610 of title 28.

For purposes of this section, the Director of the Administrative Office 
of the United States Courts shall be the head of the agency in the case 
of those entities set forth in paragraph (6) of this subsection.
    (g) \1\ For the purpose of this section, the term ``authorized 
official'' means--
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    \1\ So in original. Probably should be ``(h)''.
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        (1) the head of an agency, with respect to an agency or employee 
    in the legislative branch; or
        (2) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with 
    respect to any other agency or employee.

(Added Pub. L. 90-616, Sec. 1(a), Oct. 21, 1968, 82 Stat. 1212; amended 
Pub. L. 92-453, Sec. 3(1), Oct. 2, 1972, 86 Stat. 760; Pub. L. 93-359, 
Sec. 1, July 25, 1974, 88 Stat. 393; Pub. L. 96-54, Sec. 2(a)(35), Aug. 
14, 1979, 93 Stat. 383; Pub. L. 99-224, Sec. 1(a), Dec. 28, 1985, 99 
Stat. 1741; Pub. L. 100-702, title X, Sec. 1009(a), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 
Stat. 4667; Pub. L. 102-190, div. A, title VI, Sec. 657(a), Dec. 5, 
1991, 105 Stat. 1393; Pub. L. 104-316, title I, Sec. 103(d), Oct. 19, 
1996, 110 Stat. 3828.)


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-316, Sec. 103(d)(1), in par. (1) 
substituted ``authorized official'' for ``Comptroller General of the 
United States'', and in par. (2) inserted ``and'' at end of subpar. (A), 
redesignated subpar. (C) as (B) and substituted ``authorized official'' 
for ``Comptroller General'', and struck out former subpar. (B) which 
read as follows: ``the claim is not the subject of an exception made by 
the Comptroller General in the account of any accountable official; 
and''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104-316, Sec. 103(d)(2), substituted 
``authorized official'' for ``Comptroller General'' in introductory 
provisions.
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104-316, Sec. 103(d)(3), added subsec. (g) 
defining ``authorized official''.
    1991--Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 102-190 substituted ``$1,500'' for 
``$500''.
    1988--Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 100-702, Sec. 1009(a)(1), added par. 
(3).
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 100-702, Sec. 1009(a)(2), added par. (6) and 
last sentence.
    1985--Pub. L. 99-224, Sec. 1(a)(1), substituted ``and of travel, 
transportation and relocation expenses and allowances'' for ``other than 
travel and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation 
expenses'' in section catchline.
    Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-224, Sec. 1(a)(2), substituted ``made on or 
after July 1, 1960, or arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, 
transportation or relocation expenses and allowances'' for ``, other 
than travel and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation 
expenses payable under section 5724a of this title, on or after July 1, 
1960''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99-224, Sec. 1(a)(3), added par. (5).
    1979--Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 96-54 substituted ``July 25, 1974'' 
for ``the date on which this clause (4) is enacted into law''.
    1974--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93-359, Sec. 1(1), substituted ``agency'' 
for ``executive agency'' in provisions preceding cl. (1) and in cl. (2) 
preceding subcl. (A).
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93-359, Sec. 1(1)-(4), substituted ``agency'' 
for ``executive agency'' in provisions preceding cl. (1), inserted 
``except in the case of employees of the Government Printing Office, the 
Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the 
Botanic Garden,'' immediately following the designation ``(2)'' in cl. 
(2) and immediately following the designation ``(3)'' in cl. (3), struck 
out ``or'' at end of cl. (2), substituted ``October 2, 1972, whichever 
is later; or'' for ``the effective date of the amendment authorizing the 
waiver of allowances, whichever is later'' in cl. (3) and struck out the 
period at end of cl. (3), and added cl. (4).
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 93-359, Sec. 1(5), added subsec. (g).
    1972--Pub. L. 92-453 inserted ``and allowances, other than travel 
and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation expenses'' in 
section catchline, and substituted ``payment of pay or allowances, other 
than travel and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation 
expenses payable under section 5724a of this title'' for ``payment of 
pay'' in subsec. (a).
    Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 92-453 inserted ``if application for waiver 
is received in his office'' in cl. (2), and substituted ``October 21, 
1968'' for ``the effective date of this section.''
    Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 92-453 added cl. (3).


                    Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 104-316 effective 60 days after Oct. 19, 1996, 
see section 101(e)(2) of Pub. L. 104-316, set out as a note under 
section 130c of Title 2, The Congress.


                    Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

    Section 1009(b) of Pub. L. 100-702 provided that: ``The amendments 
made by this section [amending this section] shall apply with respect to 
any claim arising before the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 19, 
1988] which is pending on such date, and to any claim which arises on or 
after such date of enactment.''


                    Effective Date of 1985 Amendment

    Section 4 of Pub. L. 99-224 provided that: ``The amendments made by 
section 1 of this Act [amending this section] shall apply to any claim 
arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, transportation, or 
relocation expenses and allowances made on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Dec. 28, 1985]. The amendments made by sections 2 
and 3 of this Act [amending section 2774 of Title 10, Armed Forces, and 
section 716 of Title 32, National Guard] shall apply to any claim 
arising out of an erroneous payment of travel and transportation 
allowances made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.''


                    Effective Date of 1979 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 96-54 effective July 12, 1979, see section 2(b) 
of Pub. L. 96-54. set out as a note under section 305 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 6302, 8118 of this title; 
title 22 section 2504; title 42 section 5055.
