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other than the next officially established pay period.

(3) The Endowment shall also include in its claim:

(i) The employee's written consent to the salary offset;

(ii) The employee's signed statement acknowledging receipt of the procedures required by 5 U.S.C. 5514; or

(iii) Information regarding the completion of procedures required by 5 U.S.C. 5514, including the actions taken and the dates of those actions.

(4) If the employee is in the process of separating and has not received a final salary check or other final payment(s) from the paying agency, the Endowment must submit its claim to the paying agency for collection under 31 U.S.C. 3716. The paying agency will (under its regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), certify the total amount of its collection on the debt and notify the employee and the Endowment. If the paying agency's collection does not fully satisfy the debt, and the paying agency is aware that the debtor is entitled to payments from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other similar payments that may be due the debtor employee from other Federal government sources, then (under its regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), the paying agency will provide written notice of the outstanding debt to the agency responsible for making the other payments to the debtor employee. The written notice will state that the employee owes a debt, the amount of the debt, and that the provisions of this section have been fully complied with. However, the Endowment must submit a properly certified claim under this paragraph (a)(4) to the agency responsible for making the payments before the collection can be made.

(5) Separated employee. If the employee is already separated and all payments due from his or her former paying agency have been paid, the Endowment may request, unless otherwise prohibited, that money due and payable to the employee from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or other similar funds be administratively offset to collect the debt.

(6) Employee transfer. When an employee transfers from one paying agency to another paying agency, the Endowment will not repeat the due process procedures described in 5 U.S.C. 5514 and this subpart to resume the collection. The Endowment will submit a properly certified claim to the new paying agency and will subsequently review the debt to ensure that the collection is resumed by the new paying agency.

(b) Responsibilities of the Endowment as the paying agency. (1) Complete claim. When the Endowment receives a certified claim from a creditor agency (under the creditor agency's regulations adopted under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K), deductions should be scheduled to begin within three officially established pay intervals. Before deductions can begin, the employee will receive a written notice from the Endowment including:

(i) A statement that the Endowment has received a certified claim from the creditor agency;

(ii) The amount of the claim;

(iii) The date salary offset deductions will begin; and

(iv) The amount of such deductions. (2) Incomplete claim. When the Endowment receives an incomplete certification of debt from a creditor agency, the Endowment will return the claim with a notice that the creditor agency must comply with the procedures required under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K, and must properly certify a claim to the Endowment before the Endowment will take action to collect from the employee's current pay account.

(3) The Endowment is not authorized to review the merits of the creditor agency's determination with respect to the amount or validity of the debt certified by the creditor agency.

(4) Employees who transfer from the Endowment to another paying agency. If, after the creditor agency has submitted the claim to the Endowment, the employee transfers from the Endowment to a different paying agency before the debt is collected in full, the Endowment will certify the total amount collected on the debt and notify the employee and the creditor agency in writing. The notification to

the creditor agency will include information on the employee's transfer.

$1150.24 Under what conditions will the Endowment make a refund of amounts collected by salary offset? (a) If the Endowment is the creditor agency, it will promptly refund any amount deducted under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 5514, when:

(1) The debt is waived or all or part of the funds deducted are otherwise found not to be owed (unless expressly prohibited by statute or regulation); or

(2) An administrative or judicial order directs the Endowment to make a refund.

(b) Unless required or permitted by law or contract, refunds under this section will not bear interest.

$1150.25 Will the collection of a claim

by salary offset act as a waiver of my rights to dispute the claimed debt?

Your involuntary payment of all or any portion of a debt under this subpart will not be construed as a waiver of any rights that you may have under 5 U.S.C. 5514 or other provisions of a law or written contract, unless there are statutory or contractual provisions to the contrary.

Subpart C-Tax Refund Offset

$1150.30 Which debts can the Endowment refer to the Treasury for collection by offsetting tax refunds? (a) The regulations in this subpart implement 31 U.S.C. 3720A, which authorizes the Treasury to reduce a tax refund by the amount of a past-due, legally enforceable debt owed to a Federal agency.

(b) For purposes of this section, a past-due, legally enforceable debt referable to the Treasury for tax refund offset is a debt that is owed to the Endowment and:

(1) Is at least $25.00;

(2) Except in the case of a judgment debt, has been delinquent for at least three months and will not have been delinquent more than 10 years at the time the offset is made;

(3) Cannot currently be collected under the salary offset provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5514;

(4) Is ineligible for administrative offset under 31 U.S.C. 3716(a) by reason of 31 U.S.C. 3716(c)(2) or cannot be collected by administrative offset under 31 U.S.C. 3716(a) by the Endowment against amounts payable to the debtor by the Endowment;

(5) With respect to which the Endowment has

(i) given the debtor at least 60 days to present evidence that all or part of the debt is not past due or legally enforceable,

(ii) considered evidence presented by the debtor, and

(iii) determined that an amount of the debt is past due and legally enforceable;

(6) Has been disclosed by the Endowment to a credit reporting agency as authorized by 31 U.S.C. 3711(e) and § 1150.12 of this part, unless the credit reporting agency would be prohibited from reporting information concerning the debt by reason of 15 U.S.C. 1681c;

(7) With respect to which the Endowment has notified or has made a reasonable attempt to notify the debtor that:

(i) The debt is past due, and

(ii) Unless repaid within 60 days of the date of the Notice, the debt may be referred to the Treasury for offset against any refund of overpayment of tax; and

(8) All other requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3720A and the Treasury regulations relating to the eligibility of a debt for tax return offset (31 CFR 285.2) have been satisfied.

§ 1150.31 What are the Endowment's procedures for collecting debts by tax refund offset?

(a) The Chairperson will be the point of contact with the Treasury for administrative matters regarding the offset program.

(b) The Endowment will ensure that the procedures prescribed by the Treasury are followed in developing information about past-due debts and submitting the debts to the Treasury.

(c) The Endowment will submit to the Treasury a notification of a taxpayer's liability for past-due legally enforceable debt. This notification will contain the following:

(1) The name and taxpayer identification number of the debtor;

(2) The amount of the past-due and legally enforceable debt;

(3) The date on which the original debt became past due; and

(4) A statement certifying that, with respect to each debt reported, all of the requirements of §1150.30(b) have been satisfied.

(d) For purposes of this section, notice that collection of the debt is affected by a bankruptcy proceeding involving the debtor will bar referral of the debt to the Treasury.

(e) The Endowment shall promptly notify the Treasury to correct data when it:

(1) Determines that an error has been made with respect to a debt that has been referred;

(2) Receives or credits a payment on the debt; or

(3) Receives notice that the person owing the debt has filed for bankruptcy under Title 11 of the United States Code or has been adjudicated bankrupt and the debt has been discharged.

(f) When advising debtors of an intent to refer a debt to the Treasury for offset, the Endowment will also advise debtors of remedial actions available to defer the offset or prevent it from taking place.

Subpart D-Administrative Offset

$1150.40 Under what circumstances will the Endowment collect amounts that I owe to the Endowment (or some other Federal agency) by offsetting the debt against payments that the Endowment (or some other Federal agency) owes me?

(a) The regulations in this subpart apply to the collection of any debts you owe to the Endowment, or to any request from another Federal agency that the Endowment collect a debt you owe by offsetting your debt against a payment the Endowment owes you. Administrative offset is authorized under Section 5 of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended (31 U.S.C. 3716). The Endowment shall carry out administrative offset in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Claims Collection Standards; the regulations in this subpart are intended

only to supplement the provisions of the Federal Claims Collection Standards.

(b) The Chairperson, after attempting to collect a debt you owe to the Endowment under Section 3(a) of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended (31 U.S.C. 3711(a)), may collect the debt by administrative offset, subject to the following:

(1) The debt you owe is certain in amount; and

(2) It is in the best interest of the Endowment to collect your debt by administrative offset because of the decreased costs of collection and acceleration in the payment of the debt.

(c) No collection by administrative offset will be made on any debt that has been outstanding for more than 10 years unless facts material to the Endowment or a federal agency's right to collect the debt were not known, and reasonably could not have been known, by the official or officials responsible for discovering and collecting the debt. (d) The regulations in this subpart do not apply to:

(1) A case in which administrative offset of the type of debt involved is explicitly prohibited by statute; or

(2) Debts owed to the Endowment by Federal agencies.

§ 1150.41

How will the Endowment request that my debt to the Endowment be collected by offset against some payment that another Federal agency owes me?

The Chairperson may request that funds due and payable to you by another Federal agency instead be paid to the Endowment to satisfy a debt you owe to the Endowment. In requesting administrative offset, the Endowment will certify in writing to the Federal agency that is holding funds for you: (a) That you owe the debt;

(b) The amount and basis of the debt; and

(c) That the Endowment has complied with the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3716, its own administrative offset regulations in this subpart, and the applicable provisions of the Federal Claims Collection Standards with respect to providing you with due proc

ess.

§ 1150.42 What procedures will the En

dowment use to collect amounts I owe to a Federal agency by offsetting a payment that the Endowment would otherwise make to me?

(a) Any Federal agency may request that the Endowment administratively offset funds due and payable to you in order to collect a debt you owe to that agency. The Endowment will initiate the requested offset only upon:

(1) Receipt of written certification from the creditor agency stating:

(i) That you owe the debt;

(ii) The amount and basis of the debt; (iii) That the agency has prescribed regulations for the exercise of administrative offset; and

(iv) That the agency has complied with its own administrative offset regulations and with the applicable provisions of the Federal Claims Collection Standards, including providing you with any required hearing or review; and

(2) A determination by the Chairperson that offsetting funds payable to you by the Endowment in order to collect a debt owed by you would be in the best interest of the United States as determined by the facts and circumstances of the particular case, and that such an offset would not otherwise be contrary to law.

(b) Multiple debts. In instances where two or more creditor agencies are seeking administrative offsets, or where two or more debts are owed to a single creditor agency, the Endowment may, in its discretion, allocate the amount it owes to you to the creditor agencies in accordance with the best interest of the United States as determined by the facts and circumstances of the particular case, paying special attention to applicable statutes of limitations.

§1150.43 When may the Endowment make an offset in an expedited manner?

The Endowment may effect an administrative offset against a payment to be made to you before completion of the procedures required by §§ 1150.41 and 1150.42 if failure to take the offset would substantially jeopardize the Endowment's ability to collect the debt and the time before the payment is to be made does not reasonably permit

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§1151.3 Definitions.

As used in this part, the term:

(a) The Act means the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Public Law 93-112, as amended by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1974, (Pub. L. 93-516, 29 U.S.C. 706 et seq.) and the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Amendments of 1978, (Pub. L. 95-602).

(b) Section 504 means section 504 of the Act.

(c) Endowment means the National Endowment for the Arts.

(d) Chairman means the Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts.

(e) Recipient means any state or its political subdivision, any instrumentality of a state or its political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, organization, or other entity, or any person to which federal financial assistance is extended directly or through another recipient, including any successor, assignee, or transferee of a recipient, but excluding the ultimate beneficiary of the assistance.

(f) Federal financial assistance means any grant, loan, contract (other than a procurement contract or a contract of insurance or guaranty), or any other

arrangement by which the Endowment provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the form of:

(1) Funds;

(2) Services of federal personnel; or (3) Real and personal property or any interest in or use of such property, including:

(i) Transfers of leases of such property for less than fair market value or for reduced consideration; and,

(ii) proceeds from a subsequent transfer or lease of such property if the federal share of its fair market value is not returned to the Federal Government.

(g) Facility means all or any portion of buildings, structures, equipment, roads, walks, parking lots, or other real or personal property or interest in such property.

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(a) A recipient shall take appropriate initial and continuing steps to notify participants, beneficiaries, applicants, and employees, including those with impaired vision or hearing, and unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the recipient that it does not discriminate on the basis of handicap in violation of section 504 and this part. The notification shall state, where appropriate, that the recipient does not discriminate in admission or access to, or employment in, its programs and activities. Methods of initial and continuing notification may include the posting of notices, publication in print, audio, and visual media, placement of notices in a recipient's publication, and distribution of other written and verbal communications.

(b) If a recipient publishes or uses recruitment materials or publications containing general information that it makes available to participants, beneficiaries, applicants, or employees, it shall include in those materials or publications a statement of the policy described in paragraph (a) of this section. A recipient may meet the requirement of this paragraph either by including appropriate inserts in existing materials and publications or by revising and reprinting the materials and publications.

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