The Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General of the United States issued regulations in 31 CFR parts 900-904, under the authority contained in 31 U.S.C. 3711(d)(2). Those regulations prescribe standards for Federal agency use in the administrative collection, offset, compromise, and the suspension or termination of collection activity for civil claims for money, funds, or property, as defined by 31 U.S.C. 3701(b), unless specific Federal agency statutes or regulations apply to such activities or, as provided for by Title 11 of the United States Code, when the claims involve bankruptcy. The regulations in 31 CFR parts 900-904 also prescribe standards for referring debts to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for litigation. Additional guidance is contained in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Circular A-129 (Revised), “Policies for Federal Credit Programs and Non-Tax Receivables,” the Treasury's “Managing Federal Receivables,” and other publications concerning debt collection and debt management. These publications are available from the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Financial Policy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585.

Additional rules governing centralized administrative offset and the transfer of delinquent debt to Treasury or Treasury-designated debt collection centers for collection (cross-servicing) under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321, 1358 (April 26, 1996), are set forth in separate regulations issued by Treasury. Rules governing the use of certain debt collection tools created under the DCIA, such as administrative wage garnishment, also are set forth in separate regulations issued by Treasury. See generally, 31 CFR part 285.

DOE is not limited to the remedies contained in this part and may use any other authorized remedies, including alternative dispute resolution and arbitration, to collect civil claims, to the extent that such remedies are not inconsistent with the Federal Claims Collection Act, as amended, Public Law 89-508, 80 Stat. 308 (July 19, 1966), the Debt Collection Act of 1982, Public Law 97-365, 96 Stat. 1749 (October 25, 1982), the DCIA or other relevant law. The regulations in this part do not impair DOE's common law rights to collect debts.

Standards and policies regarding the classification of debt for accounting purposes (for example, write-off of uncollectible debt) are contained in OMB's Circular A-129 (Revised), “Policies for Federal Credit Programs and Non-Tax Receivables.”