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 legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-10-10 monographic deposited born digital 40 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-61T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T P0b002ee18038af4a f:d0261t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T GAO-02-61T Debt collection Delinquent loans Wage garnishments HUD Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System Testimony A02231

It is essential that the government not only make and guarantee creditworthy loans, but also put effective practices in place to collect amounts owed. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, was intended to maximize collection of billions of dollars of non-tax delinquent debt owed to the government by requiring agencies to (1) notify the Department of Treasury of debts delinquent over 180 days for purposes of administrative offset and, (2) refer such debts to Treasury for centralized collection action known as cross-servicing. To facilitate debt collection, the act also authorizes agencies to administratively garnish the wages of delinquent debtors and bars delinquent debtors from receiving federal financial assistance in the form of certain loans, loan insurance, or loan guarantees until they resolve their delinquencies. This report discusses selected agencies and focuses on (1) difficulties they experienced in identifying and referring eligible debts to Treasury's Financial Management Service or a Treasury designated debt collection center, (2) obstacles to prompt referral of eligible debts, and (3) whether exclusions from referral requirements were consistent with established criteria. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T.pdf GAO-02-61T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-61T Testimony GAO-02-61T; Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996: Agencies Face Challenges Implementing Certain Key Provisions; Debt collection Delinquent loans Wage garnishments HUD Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System Title 15 Section 633 15 U.S.C. 633 Title 20 Section 1095a 20 U.S.C. 1095a Title 31 Section 3701 Title 31 Section 3711 Title 31 Section 3716 Title 31 Section 3720B 31 U.S.C. 3701 31 U.S.C. 3711 31 U.S.C. 3716 31 U.S.C. 3720B Title 42 Section 653 Title 42 Section 666 42 U.S.C. 653 42 U.S.C. 666 Public Law 106-387