§ 11.55 - Referral to GAO or Justice Department.

(a) Referral to the Department of Justice. With the exception of debts described in paragraph (b), of this section, those debts which cannot be collected or compromised or terminated in accordance with 3 CFR parts 103 and 104 and §§ 11.50 and 11.51, shall be referred to the Department of Justice for collection action. All such referrals shall be done by the ACO, who shall consult with the FEMA Office of General Counsel. The referral shall be accompanied by a copy of the complete debt collection file. In addition, the following information shall be provided:

(1) Current address of debtor. Effort shall be made to locate the debtor if he is missing. If the debtor is a corporation, then the name and address of the agent upon whom service of process may be made, shall be provided.

(2) Credit data which may be in the form of a credit report or a statement, under oath, of the debtor's assets and liabilities.

(3) History of prior collection actions.

(4) Data required by the GAO Claims Collection Litigation Report form. If the debt is less than $600, exclusive of interest, then referral shall not be made to the Department of Justice, except in unusual cases.

(b) Referral to the General Accounting Office. Debts arising from audits exceptions taken by the General Accounting Office (GAO) shall be referred to GAO before referring such debts to the Department of Justice. If the merits of the debt or the propriety of a proposed compromise, suspension or termination are in doubt, then the matter should be referred to GAO prior to referral to the Department of Justice.

(c) Prompt referral. Such referrals shall be made as early as possible consistent with aggressive collection action, and, in any event, well within the statute of limitation for bringing suit against the debtor. Ordinarily, debt collection referrals will be made to the Department of Justice within six months after FEMA has determined that a debt is owing in an amount certain.