For the purpose of this part, except as where otherwise specifically provided, the term or terms:
Agency means a subagency, office, or corporation within USDA subject to the authority or general supervision of the Secretary.
Centralized administrative offset means referral of a debt to the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) for offset of payments made to a debtor by Federal agencies other than USDA.
Claim and debt are synonymous and interchangeable, and refer to an amount of money, funds, or property that has been determined by an agency official to be due the United States from any person, organization, or entity, except another Federal agency.
Commercial debt means a debt arising out of a business activity.
Consumer debt means a debt arising out of a personal activity.
Contracting officer has the same meaning as in 41 U.S.C. 601.
Credit reporting agencies (also known as credit bureaus) means major consumer credit reporting agencies that have signed agreements with agencies to receive and integrate credit information (data) from voluntary subscribers (Federal agencies and private sector entities) into their respective databases for the purpose of generating credit reports for sale to purchasers of credit data.
Creditor agency means a Federal agency or USDA agency to which a debtor owes a debt, including a debt collection center when acting on behalf of a creditor agency in matters pertaining to collection of the debt.
Day means calendar day unless otherwise specified.
Debt collection center means Treasury or other government agency or division, designated by the Secretary of the Treasury with authority to collect debt on behalf of creditor agencies in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(g).
Debtor means a person who owes a delinquent, nontax debt to the United States.
Delinquent means a debt that has not been paid by the date specified in the agency's initial written demand for payment or applicable agreement or instrument (including a post-delinquency payment agreement), unless other satisfactory payment arrangements have been made, or as otherwise defined by program specific statutes or regulations.
Federal agency means any other Department or entity within the Executive branch of the government.
Government or Federal government means the government of the United States, unless otherwise specified.
Internal administrative offset means a non-centralized administrative offset between a USDA creditor agency and a USDA payment authorizing agency.
Justice means the United States Department of Justice.
NAD means the USDA National Appeals Division.
Non-centralized administrative offset means an agreement between a USDA creditor agency and a payment authorizing agency to offset the payments made by the payment authorizing agency to satisfy a USDA debt. An internal administrative offset is a type of non-centralized administrative offset.
Offset means withholding funds payable by the United States to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt owed by the payee.
OGC means the USDA Office of the General Counsel.
Payee means a person who is due a payment from a payment authorizing agency, and includes a person who is entitled to all or part of a payment.
Payment authorizing agency means a Federal agency or USDA agency that is authorized to disburse payments to a recipient.
Person means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization, State or local government, or any other type of public or private entity other than a Federal agency.
Recoupment means a special method for adjusting debts arising under the same transaction or occurrence, such as obligations arising under the same contract.
Reviewing officer means a person designated by a creditor agency as responsible for conducting a hearing or providing documentary review on the existence of the debt and the propriety of an administrative collection action.
Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture, unless otherwise specified.
Treasury means the United States Department of the Treasury.
USDA means the United States Department of Agriculture.