§ 11.54 - Contracts with debt collection agencies.

(a) General. FEMA shall utilize mandatory, government-wide debt collection agency contracts negotiated by the General Services Administration or the Department of the Treasury to effect collection of debts owed FEMA.

(b) Debt collection contract provisions. Contracts entered into under authority of this section shall have provisions relating to:

(1) Protection of data relating to individuals which shall not be less than that provided under the terms of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a).

(2) Protection of data derived from Department of the Treasury taxpayer identity information files shall in accordance with 26 U.S.C. 6103(p)(4) and 26 CFR parts 301 and 601.

(3) Authority to terminate collection action, settle or compromise claims shall remain with the Director of the Agency or the ACO rather than with the Contracting Officer.

(4) Resolution of disputes relating to the claim shall remain with the ACO or the Agency Director. Resolution of disputes arising under the contract or with the contractor shall remain with the Agency Contracting Officer who shall handle such disputes in accordance with the Contract Disputes Act (Pub. L. 95-563).

(5) Judicial enforcement of the claim shall be handled by the U.S. Department of Justice.

(6) The contractor shall adhere to Federal and State laws and regulations pertaining to debt collection practices including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.)

(7) Contracts, entered into under provisions of this section, shall be subject to competition to the maximum practicable extent.

(8) The contractor shall be required to strictly account for all amounts collected.

(c) Collection fees. Contracts entered into under this section may provide that fees payable to the contractor may be paid only from the amounts collected from the debtor as determined by the Contracting Officer. However, such contracts shall be funded only from funds available for the time period in which the contract is executed.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 3067-0122)