(a) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, agencies may request that
moneys which are due and payable to a debtor from the Civil Service
Retirement and Disability Fund be administratively offset in reasonable
amounts in order to collect debts owed to the United States by the
debtor. Such requests shall be made to the appropriate officials of the
Office of Personnel Management in accordance with such regulations as
may be prescribed by the Director of that Office.
(b) When making a request for administrative offset under paragraph
(a) of this section, an agency shall include a written certification
that:
(1) The debtor owes the United States a debt, including the amount
of the debt;
(2) The requesting agency has complied with all applicable statutes,
regulations, and procedures of the Office of Personnel Management; and
(3) The requesting agency has complied with the requirements of the
applicable provisions of the Federal Claims Collection Standards,
including any required hearing or review.
(c) Once an agency decides to request administrative offset under
paragraph (a) of this section, it should make the request as soon as
practical after completion of the applicable due process procedures in
order that the Office of Personnel Management may identify and ``flag''
the debtor's account in anticipation of the time when the debtor becomes
eligible and requests to receive payments from the Fund. This will
satisfy any requirement that offset be initiated prior to expiration of
the applicable statute of limitations. At such time as the debtor makes
a claim for payments from the Fund, if at least a year has elapsed since
the offset request was originally made, the debtor should be permitted
to offer a satisfactory repayment plan in lieu of offset
upon establishing that changed financial circumstances would render the
offset unjust.
(d) In accordance with procedures established by the Office of
Personnel Management, agencies may request an offset from the Civil
Service Retirement and Disability Fund prior to completion of due
process procedures.
(e) If the requesting agency collects part or all of the debt by
other means before deductions are made or completed pursuant to
paragraph (a) of this section, the agency shall act promptly to modify
or terminate its request for offset under paragraph (a).
