United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao_comptroller_general legislative 2016-06-23 U.S. Government Publishing Office 1996-12-17 monographic deposited born digital 6 p. GA 1.13:B-260909 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-260909 P0b002ee18fd43856 f:260909 DGPO 2016-06-23 2016-06-23 GAOREPORTS-B-260909 machine generated eng fdlp COMPTROLLERDECISION GAOREPORTS-B-260909 B-260909 Comptroller General Decision

1. The total amount of the debt due the United States on an erroneous salary payment is the gross amount, which includes both the amount the employee receives directly and other amounts disbursed on his behalf for such items as Medicare, health benefits, thrift savings plan, retirement, and federal and state tax withholdings. Nevertheless, the determination of the administrative law judge (ALJ) under 5 U.S.C. sec. 5514 rejecting salary offset as a means of collection for duplicate deductions other than Medicare, federal taxes, and state taxes from the employee precludes the agency from using salary offset to collect these particular deductions. As the ALJ found, the agency has admitted that it can collect these amounts by adjusting its accounts with the parties who received the erroneous withholdings. The agency is advised to promptly take that action.<p/>2. The waiver statute, at 5 U.S.C. sec. 5584(a)(2)(A) (1994), limits the waiver authority of an agency head to claims "in an amount aggregating not more than $1,500." The term "aggregate amount" is defined in 4 C.F.R. sec. 91.2(j) (1996) to mean "the gross amount of the claim against the employee . . . " Thus, the administrative law judge, acting for the agency head, erred in waiving $500 of the employee's debt since the aggregate amount of the debt totals more than $1,500. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-260909/html/GAOREPORTS-B-260909.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-B-260909/pdf/GAOREPORTS-B-260909.pdf GAO/B-260909 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-B-260909 Comptroller General Decision GAO/B-260909; Alfred H. Varga; Title 5 Section 5514 Title 5 Section 5514(a) Title 5 Section 5584 Title 5 Section 5584(a)(2)(A) Title 5 Section 5584(A)(2)(c) 5 U.S.C. 5514 5 U.S.C. 5514(a) 5 U.S.C. 5584 5 U.S.C. 5584(a)(2)(A) 5 U.S.C. 5584(A)(2)(c)