The following definitions apply to this subpart:

(a) Administrative offset, as defined in 31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(1), means withholding funds payable by the United States (including funds payable by the United States on behalf of a State government) to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a claim.

(b) Agency means a department, agency or sub-agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the Federal government, including government corporations.

(c) Business day means Monday through Friday, excluding Federal legal holidays. For purposes of computation, the last day of the period will be included unless it is a Federal legal holiday.

(d) Creditor agency means any agency that is owed a debt, including a debt collection center when acting on behalf of a creditor agency in matters pertaining to the collection of a debt.

(e) Cross-serviced agency means an arrangement between GSA and another agency whereby GSA provides financial support services to the other agency on a reimbursable basis. Financial support services can range from simply providing computer and software timesharing services to full-service administrative processing.

(f) Disposable pay means the amount that remains from an employee's Federal pay after required deductions for Federal, State and local income taxes; Social Security taxes, including Medicare taxes; Federal retirement programs, including contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP); premiums for life (excluding amounts deducted for supplemental coverage) and health insurance benefits; Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax levies; and such other deductions that may be required by law to be withheld.

(g) Employee means any individual employed by GSA or a cross-serviced agency of the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of the Federal Government, including Government corporations.

(h) FCCS means the Federal Claims Collection Standards jointly published by the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury at 31 CFR parts 900 through 904.

(i) Financial hardship means an inability to meet basic living expenses for goods and services necessary for the survival of the debtor and his or her spouse and dependents.

(j) For the purposes of the standards in this subpart, unless otherwise stated, the term “Administrator” refers to the Administrator of General Services or the Administrator's delegate.

(k) For the purposes of the standards in this subpart, the terms “claim” and “debt” are synonymous and interchangeable. They refer to an amount of money, funds, or property that has been determined by GSA to be due the United States from an employee of GSA or a cross-serviced agency from sources which include loans insured or guaranteed by the United States and all other amounts due the United States from fees, leases, rents, royalties, services, sales of real or personal property, overpayments, penalties, damages, interest, fines and forfeitures and all other similar sources, including debt administered by a third party as an agent for the Federal Government. For the purposes of administrative offset under 31 U.S.C. 3716, the terms “claim” and “debt” include an amount of money, funds, or property owed by an employee to a State (including past-due support being enforced by a State), the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(l) For the purposes of the standards in this subpart, unless otherwise stated, the terms “GSA” and “Agency” are synonymous and interchangeable.

(m) Hearing official means a Board Judge of the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA).

(n) Pay means basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retired pay, retainer pay, or in the case of an individual not entitled to basic pay, other authorized pay.

(o) Pre-offset hearing means a review of the documentary evidence concerning the existence and/or amount of a debt, and/or the terms of a repayment schedule, provided such repayment schedule is established other than by a written agreement entered into pursuant to this subpart. If the hearing official determines that the issues in dispute cannot be resolved solely by review of the written record, such as when the validity of the debt turns on the issue of credibility or veracity, an oral hearing may be provided.

(p) Program official means a supervisor or management official of the employee's service, staff office, cross-serviced agency, or other designated Agency officials.

(q) Reconsideration means a request by the employee to have a secondary review by GSA of the existence and/or amount of the debt, and/or the proposed offset schedule.

(r) Salary offset means an administrative offset to collect a debt under 5 U.S.C. 5514 by deduction(s) at one or more officially established pay intervals from the current pay account of an employee without his or her consent.

(s) Waiver means the cancellation, remission, forgiveness, or non-recovery of a debt or debt-related charge as permitted or required by law.

[68 FR 68752, Dec. 10, 2003, as amended at 78 FR 29247, May 20, 2013]