Under Secretary, and the Assistant Secretaries, the Administrative Assistant Secretary, the Director of Agricultural Economics, or the Director of Science and Education, to whom is assigned the general direction and supervision of his agency, direct and supervise the activities of the employees of his agency. Subject to any reservation of authority contained in delegations heretofore or hereafter published in the Federal Register, the head of any agency is hereby delegated authority to take any action, including the authority to execute any document, authorize any expenditure, and promulgate any rule, regulation, order or instruction, required by law or deemed by him to be necessary and proper to the discharge of the functions assigned to his agency. The head of any such agency may, consistent with and with due regard to his personal responsibility for the proper discharge of the functions assigned to his agency, delegate and provide for the redelegation of his authority to appropriate officers and employees.

[25 F.R. 3926, May 6, 1960, as amended at 29 F.R. 339, Jan. 15, 1964]

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 2 issued under R.S. 161, as amended; 5 U.S.C. 301. Interpret or apply secs. 1, 2, 53 Stat. 1290; 22 U.S.C. 501, 502.

SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 2 appear at 9 F.R. 5031, May 13, 1944, unless otherwise noted.

§ 2.1 Type of fellowship.

Fellowships shall be of the interntraining type, consisting of instruction by the respective bureaus of the Department of Agriculture as follows:

(a) Agricultural Research Service (Option I): (1) Agricultural economics, (2) agricultural program formulation and administration, (3) agricultural statistics, (4) rural sociology, and (5) technological research in agriculture or

more specialized application in dairy industry, animal husbandry, entomology or plant industry and soils.

(b) Agricultural Extension Service (Option II): Methods and techniques for adult education in agriculture, homemaking and rural life, and 4-H Club work.

(c) Soil Conservation Service (Option III) Agronomy, forestry, biology, range management, climatology, sedimentation, hydrology, agricultural and civil engineering.

§ 2.2 Qualifications.

Each applicant selected for a fellowship shall be:

(a) A bona fide citizen of any of the American republics other than the United States;

(b) In possession of a certificate of medical examination issued by a licensed physician within sixty days of the date of application, describing the applicant's physical condition, and stating that he is free from any communicable disease or disability that would interfere with the proper pursuit of studies or research or the performance of any activity incident to the fellowship;

(c) Able to speak, read, write and understand the English language;

(d) Of good moral character and possessing intellectual ability and suitable personal qualities;

(e) In possession of acceptable evidence of studies indicating the completion of the equivalent of a four-year college course in agriculture, economics, engineering or related science at a recognized institution of learning, or & minimum of two years of such education accompanied by at least four years of experience in the field of his option. § 2.3 Award of fellowships.

Fellowships will be awarded by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, upon the recommendation of the heads of the respective bureaus, and with the approval of the Secretary of State of the United States, or the duly authorized representative of the Secretary of State. No applicant will be considered in awarding fellowships unless his application shall have been transmitted by the government of the American republic of which the applicant is a citizen, through the diplomatic mission of the United States of America accredited to that republic.

§ 2.4 Allowances and expenses.

An applicant awarded a fellowship may be granted any or all of the following, upon recommendation of the head of the respective bureau:

(a) Monthly allowances. Monthly allowances for quarters and subsistence during the entire period spent in the United States, or its Territories or possessions, in pursuance of a fellowship, beginning on the date of arrival at his initial headquarters and ending on the date of departure for his home, as follows: (1) Not exceeding $180 per month while under assignment to headquarters in a Department or agency of the Federal or a local government in a city of more than 100,000 population; or not exceeding $150 per month while under such assignment in a city of less than 100,000 population; and (2) not exceeding $135 per month while under assignment to receive training at colleges or universities and residing in quarters usually occupied by students in attendance thereat or in similar quarters, irrespective of the population of the city wherein the institution is located.

(b) Transportation expenses. Transportation expenses from the home of the applicant (or place in which appointment is accepted) to the place or places in the United States, its Territories, or possessions, where the studies and research are to be pursued, and return to the home of the applicant (or point of departure), including travel via Washington, D. C., en route to the place of study or research and from the place of study or research to Washington, D. C., and return to that place, if necessary, for consultation with reference to the fellowship, and between places of study and research in the United States, its Territories or possessions, in accordance with the Standardized Government Travel Regulations and the act of June 3, 1926, as amended, in which connection claim for reimbursement may be made only for items in the following schedule and contingent upon prior authorization:

(3) Steamer fare: 'Not exceeding the lowest minimum first-class fare of the ship on which travel is performed. American vessels must be used if available (section 901 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, 49 Stat. 2015. This requirement has been suspended with respect to appropriations for the fiscal year 1944 by section 302 of Public Law 216-78th Congress, approved December 23, 1943). No receipts are necessary.

(4) Airplane fare: 'Transportation by air will be allowed regardless of the cost when authorized by the head of the respective bureau. When air travel has not been specifically authorized, the traveler may proceed by air with the understanding that he may claim reimbursement therefor only in an amount not exceeding what it would have cost had the travel been performed by public conveyance over land or water. No receipts are necessary.

(5) Taxicab: At the beginning and termination of the journey and at all points where a change of conveyance is necessary while in a direct travel status. No receipts are necessary.

(6) Excess baggage charges: For personal effects (not household furniture) which are not carried free by the transportation company. Receipts are necessary and they should indicate that the traveler has availed himself of the free allowance, if such an allowance is granted.

(7) Drayage or transfer of baggage: For the hauling of personal effects from home to the station or dock, et cetera. Receipts are not necessary but should be submitted if possible. Charges by porters for handling the bags or baggage will not be allowed.

(8) Steamer rug and steamer chair: Receipts are necessary. Charges for steamer cushions will not be allowed.

(9) Tips and gratuitous fees: Will not be reimbursed.

CROSS REFERENCE: For forms and procedures with respect to Government requests for transportation of passengers, see 4 CFR Part 51.

3 (c) Per diem. Per diem in lieu of subsistence while in travel status proceeding from, and to, his home at the following rates: $6 over land and by air in and outside of the United States, and $4 aboard vessels outside of the United States. No per diem will be allowed concurrently with monthly allowances, but per diem may be substituted therefor at the rate of $6 per day for any period of authorized travel.

§ 2.5 Duration of fellowships.

Fellowships will be awarded for periods not exceeding one year each from date of arrival in Washington, and may be extended for not exceeding the same periods in the manner prescribed under § 2.3 and subject to the availability of appropriations. Fellowships may be cancelled for cause by the Secretary of Agriculture on the recommendation of the appropriate bureau head, and with the approval of the Secretary of State, or the duly authorized representative of the Secretary of State.

§ 2.6 Official notification.

Each applicant recommended for a fellowship by the head of a bureau and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of State, or the duly authorized representative of the Secretary of State, shall be notified of his award through diplomatic channels. The notification shall name the option in which the award is granted, state the duration and type of fellowship, and the allowances authorized; and shall describe in general terms the program of studies: Provided, however, That the head of the bureau concerned may in his discretion subsequently amend the course of studies and duration of the fellowship within the broad outlines of the prescribed option in order to develop a program better suited to the needs and capabilities of the individual fellow.

§ 2.7 Definitions.

As used in the regulations in this part, the term "bureau" includes the Agricultural Research Service, the Extension Service, and the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. The term "heads of the respective bureaus" includes the Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, the Director of the Extension Service, and the Administrator of the Soil Conservation Service.

Sec.

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.8

3.9

PART 3-DEBT SETTLEMENT

Purposes of the act and regulations. Definitions.

Settlement of indebtedness.

Investigations and findings.

Delegations of authority.

Forms and records.

Penalties.

Indebtedness referred to Secretary of the Treasury or the Attorney General.

3.10 Scope of the act.

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 3 issued under sec. 1, 58 Stat. 836; 12 U.S.C. 1150, unless otherwise noted.

SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 3 appear at 10 F.R. 807, Jan. 23, 1945, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 13 F.R. 6903, Nov. 24, 1948.

§3.1 Purposes of the act and regulations.

The principal purposes of the act and of the regulations in this part are to provide means of: (a) Settling, by compromise, adjustment or cancellation, relatively small debts long past due and owing to the Government arising from loans or payments made under farm programs administered by the Department; (b) recovering by the Department of substantial sums which are found uncollectible when the indebtednesses are treated as full obligations, and which otherwise would probably never be collected; (c) clearing the accounts of balances so small as not to warrant continued efforts of collection; and (d) the clearing of the accounts of the records of indebtedness made uncollectible by reason of the death or disappearance of the debtors.

The existence of the act will neither serve as grounds for any relaxation in the general collection policy of the Department nor should it serve as grounds for any lessening of the efforts of farmers to pay their indebtedness. § 3.2 Definitions.

(a) “Department" means Department of Agriculture.

(b) "Indebtedness" with respect to any person, means his debt to the Government under each of the acts and programs listed in § 3.10, except that the total amount owed by any person under all loan, purchase, sale and other programs of the Commodity Credit Corporation with respect to a single commodity and

without being limited to any crop year or marketing season shall be considered to be an "indebtedness".

(c) "Compromise" means final liquidation of the indebtedness through the immediate payment of a portion thereof, and acceptance by the United States of such payment in full satisfaction of the indebtedness.

(d) "Adjustment" means the scaling down of the amount of the indebtedness including interest, conditioned upon the payment of the adjusted amount at some specified future time or times; such adjustment is not to be considered as effective as a settlement under this act until the provisions of the adjustment arrangement have been carried out.

(e) "Cancellation" means the complete discharge, without payment, of the indebtedness and the debtor.

[10 F. R. 807, Jan. 23, 1945, as amended at 11 F. R. 11984, Oct. 15, 1946]

§ 3.3 Settlement of indebtedness.

(a) Indebtedness will be compromised, adjusted, or canceled, upon applicability by the debtor except in those cases where it is found that it is legally impossible for the debtor to make application, and upon the making of all the following findings: (1) That said indebtedness has been due and payable for five years or more;

(2) That the debtor is unable to pay said indebtedness in full and has no reasonable prospect of being able to do so; officers of the Department shall not make such findings on the basis of mere unwillingness to pay on the part of the debtor, or mere financial disadvantage to him, but should find that the settlement is the most advantageous arrangement possible from the standpoint of the Government under the findings prescribed in this part. In no event shall cancellation be made unless, in addition to the foregoing requirements, there is an advantage in removing the indebtedness from the accounts.

(3) That the debtor has acted in good faith in an effort to meet his obligation; and

(4) That the principal amount of said indebtedness is not in excess of $1,000.

(b) Indebtedness may also be canceled without application when any one of the following circumstances is found:

(1) The amount of said indebtedness, including interest, is less than $10; such efforts of collection have been made as are warranted under the circumstances, and the cost of collection or of continued

maintenance of accounts is deemed greater than the amount of the indebtedness;

(2) The debtor is deceased and there is no reasonable prospect of recovering from his estate;

(3) The debtor's whereabouts has remained unknown for two years and there is no reasonable prospect of obtaining collection; heads of agencies designated in § 3.5 will prescribe procedures which will assure that cancellations on this ground will be made only after a diligent effort has been made to locate the debtor, including such contact with other agencies of the Department or otherwise as the amount of the indebtedness and the circumstances warrant;

(4) The debtor has been discharged of the indebtedness in any proceeding under "An act to establish a uniform system of bankruptcy throughout the United States."

(5) It is impossible or impracticable for legal or other reasons to obtain the debtor's application but all of the findings required by paragraph (a) of this section are made.

[10 F.R. 807, Jan. 23, 1945, as amended at 12 F.R. 441, Jan. 22, 1947, 21 F.R. 3213, May 16, 1956]

§ 3.4 Investigations and findings.

The heads of agencies designated in § 3.5 shall prescribe procedures for the conduct of investigations to determine the facts incident to the settlement of any indebtedness. These procedures should include, among other things, provisions for consultations with local authorities, businessmen, or local representatives of other Government agencies, or for obtaining the recommendations of committees or other groups or persons designated by each agency for assistance in its regular program, or otherwise. The file relating to each debtor shall contain the formal findings required by § 3.3, together with such evidence as has been obtained in support of such findings.

In order to effect uniformity in settlements, agency procedures should also provide that, where it appears from the application of the debtor or from investigation that the debtor is otherwise indebted to the United States, to the extent practicable consultation should be had (other than in cases under § 3.3 (b) (1) and (4) with any other creditor agencies, to ascertain pertinent information as to the status of such other obligation or obligations. Such informa

tion shall be considered in connection "with the settlement and for inclusion in the findings.

The head of each agency shall provide for review of proposed indebtedness settlements within his agency by officers or employees designated for that purpose under such conditions as he shall determine to be adequate to insure the protection of the interests of the United States. § 3.5 Delegations of authority.

The heads of any administration or other agency having jurisdiction over any of the acts or programs listed in § 3.10 (including those of Commodity Credit Corporation and Federal Crop Insurance Corporation) are hereby authorized, within their respective jurisdictions, to exercise any or all of the functions prescribed by this part. The head of each of such agencies may delegate and authorize the redelegation of any of the functions vested in him by this part: Provided, That the determination of any settlement shall not be delegated beyond the head of the highest field office having jurisdiction, except that in the case of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation State Offices, such authority may also be delegated to the State Administrative Officers and except that in the case of the Farmers Home Administration, such authority may also be delegated to Assistant State Directors and Chiefs, Production Loan Operations, in State offices of that administration.

[21 F. R. 3213, May 16, 1956]

§3.6 Forms and records.

The Office of Budget and Finance may prescribe or approve forms for applications for settlement of indebtedness under this part; and shall require each agency to establish records to insure the immediate availability of necessary information of operations under this part. Each agency shall furnish to the Office of Budget and Finance a report of operations under this part quarterly, or for such other periods as the Director of Finance may designate.

[21 F. R. 3213, May 16, 1956] § 3.8

Penalties.

The act prescribes the punishment by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, upon conviction, for anyone making any material representation, knowing it to be false, for the purpose

of influencing in any way the action of the Secretary or of any person acting under his authority in connection with any compromise, adjustment, or cancellation of indebtedness provided for in the act. The act also prohibits the acceptance by any officer, employee, or other person to whom is delegated any power or function under the act, of any fee, commission, gift, or other consideration, directly or indirectly, for or in connection with any transaction or business relating to the compromise, adjustment, or cancellation of indebtedness under the act.

§ 3.9

Indebtedness referred to Secretary of the Treasury or the Attorney General.

No settlement shall be effected under this part if the indebtedness is pending before the Secretary of the Treasury for compromise, or the Attorney General for collection.

§ 3.10 Scope of the act.

The authorities prescribed in this part are applicable to indebtedness arising from loans or payments made or credit extended pursuant to the following acts and programs:

1. Act of July 1, 1918 (40 Stat. 635), Loans for seed.

2. Act of March 3, 1921 (41 Stat. 1347), Loans for seed.

3. Act of March 20, 1922 (42 Stat. 467), Loans for seed.

4. Act of April 26, 1924 (43 Stat. 110), Loans for seed and feed.

5. Act of February 25, 1927 (44 Stat. 1245), Loans for seed, feed and fertilizer.

6. Act of February 28, 1927 (44 Stat. 1251), Hurricane damage loans.

7. Act of February 25, 1929 (45 Stat. 1306), as amended May 17, 1929 (46 Stat. 3), Loans for seed, feed and fertilizer and to vegetable and fruit growers.

8. Act of March 3, 1930 (46 Stat. 78-79), as amended April 24, 1930 (46 Stat. 254), Loans for seed, feed, fertilizer, fuel and oil.

9. Act of December 20, 1930 (46 Stat. 1032), as amended February 14, 1931 (46 Stat. 1160), Loans for seed, feed, fertilizer, fuel and oil and crop production, and for assisting in forming local agricultural credit corporations, livestock loan companies, or like organizations.

10. Act of February 23, 1931 (46 Stat. 1276), Loans for seed, feed, fertilizer, fuel and oil. 11. Act of January 22, 1932 (47 Stat. 5), Loans for crop production.

12. Act of March 3, 1932 (47 Stat. 60), Loans for agricultural credit corporations, livestock loan companies, or like organizations.