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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 38 / Monday, March 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules
the indebtedness to a credit-reporting bureau see 213.15;
11 The address, telephone number, and name of the person available to discuss the debt; and 12 The possibility of referral to DOJ
for litigation if USAID cannot collect the debt administratively.
b USAID will respond promptly to written communications from the debtor, generally within 30 days of receipt of such a communication.
213.10 Redesignated as 213.9 and Amended
13. Redesignate 213.10 as 213.9
and amend newly redesignated 213.9
by revising the section heading and paragraphs a and c and adding e to read as follows:

213.9

Agency review requirements.

a For purposes of this section, whenever USAID must afford a debtor a review within the Agency, USAID shall provide the debtor with a reasonable opportunity for a review when the debtor requests reconsideration of the debt in question. The review may include the examination of documents, internal discussions with relevant officials, and discussion by letter or orally with the debtor, at USAIDs discretion. For the offset of current Federal salary under 5 U.S.C. 5514 for certain debts, an employee may request an outside hearing. See 213.21 and 213.22 when USAID is the creditor Agency.

c This section does not require an oral hearing with respect to debt collection in which the agency has determined that review of the written record is an adequate means to correct a prior mistake.

e If, after review, USAID either sustains or amends its determination, it shall notify the debtor of its intent to collect the sustained or amended debt.
The notification to collect the sustained or amended debt will include accrued interest on the sustained or amended debt, calculated from the date of delinquency. If USAID has suspended collection actions previously, it will reinstitute them unless it receives payment of the sustained or amended amount, or the debtor has made a proposal for a payment plan to which the Agency agrees, by the date specified in the notification of USAIDs decision.
213.11 Redesignated as 213.10 and Amended
14. Redesignate 213.11 as 213.10
and amend newly redesignated 213.10

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by revising paragraph b to read as follows:
213.10 Aggressive collection actions;
documentation.

b USAID documents all administrative collection actions in the claim file, along with the basis for any compromise, termination, or suspension of collection actions. USAID retains this documentation, which may include the Claims-Collection Litigation Report CCLR provided in 213.24, in the appropriate debt file.
213.12 Redesignated as 213.11 and Amended
15. Redesignate 213.12 as 213.11
and amend newly redesignated 213.11
by revising the section heading and paragraphs a1 and e to read as follows:

213.11 Interest, penalties, and administrative costs.

a
1 Interest begins to accrue on all delinquent debts starting from the day after the payment due date established in the initial written demand-forpayment notice to the debtor. USAID
will assess an annual rate of interest that is equal to the U.S. Department of the Treasury Current Value of Funds Rate CVFR unless a different rate is necessary to protect the interest of the Federal Government. USAID will notify the debtor of the basis for its finding that a different rate is necessary to protect the interest of the Government.

e Waivers for the collection of interest, penalties, and administrative costs. 1 The CFO will waive the collection of interest and administrative charges on the portion of the debt paid within 30 days after the date on which interest begins to accrue. The CFO may extend this 30-day period, on a case-bycase basis, when he or she determines that such action is in the best interest of the Federal Government. A decision to extend or not to extend the payment period is final, and is not subject to further review.
2 The CFO may without regard to the amount of the debt waive the collection of all or part of accrued interest, penalties, or administrative costs, when he or she determines that i A waiver is justified under the standards for the compromise of claims under 213.25; or ii Collection of these charges would be against equity and good conscience, or is not in the best interest of the United States.

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3 The CFO may make a decision to waive interest, penalties, or administrative costs at any time.
213.13 Redesignated as 213.12 and Amended
16. Redesignate 213.13 as 213.12
and revise newly redesignated 213.12
to read as follows:

213.12 Interest, penalties, and administrative costs pending consideration of debt waiver or review.

Interest, penalties, and administrative costs will continue to accrue on a debt during a review by USAID and during a waiver of indebtedness consideration by the Agency; except that USAID will not assess interest, penalties, and administrative costs where a statute or a regulation specifically prohibits the collection of the debt during the period of the Agencys review or consideration of a debt waiver.
17. Add new 213.13 to read as follows:
213.13

Waivers of indebtedness.

The CFO may grant waivers of indebtedness for certain types of debt identified in Federal statutes under the following waiver authorities:
a Waiver authorities1 Debts that arise out of erroneous payments of pay and allowances, and of travel, transportation, and relocation expenses and allowances. Title 5 U.S.C. 5584
provides the authority for waiving, in whole or in part, debts that arise out of erroneous payments of pay or allowances, travel, transportation, or relocation expenses and allowances to an employee of USAID, if collection would be against equity and good conscience, or not in the best interests of the United States:
i The CFO may not grant a waiver if 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 who has an interest in obtaining a waiver.
ii Fault is considered to exist if, in light of the circumstances, the employee knew, or should have known through the exercise of due diligence, that an error existed, but he or she failed to take corrective action. What an employee should have known is evaluated under a reasonable-person standard. However, employees are expected to have a general understanding of the Federal pay system applicable to them.
iii An employee with notice that a payment might be erroneous is expected to make provisions for eventual repayment. Financial hardship is not a basis for granting a waiver for an
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