- active duty
has the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10.
- administrative claim
includes all debt that is not based on an extension of Government credit through direct loans, loan guarantees, or insurance, including fines, penalties, and overpayments.
- administrative offset
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.
- assignment
means—
- calendar quarter
means a 3-month period beginning on January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1.
- consumer reporting agency
means—
- cost of living adjustment
means the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for the month of June of the calendar year preceding the adjustment exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the month of June of the calendar year in which the claim was determined or last adjusted;
- creditor agency
means any agency owed a claim that seeks to collect that claim through administrative offset;
- custodian
means the custodian, or any deputy custodian, designated by the Attorney General under subsection (i)(1);
- debt
means any amount of funds or property that has been determined by an appropriate official of the Federal Government to be owed to the United States by a person, organization, or entity other than another Federal agency.
- disposable pay
means that part of the compensation of any individual from an employer remaining after the deduction of any amounts required by any other law to be withheld.
- documentary material
includes the original or any copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, chart, or other document, or data compilations stored in or accessible through computer or other information retrieval systems, together with instructions and all other materials necessary to use or interpret such data compilations, and any product of discovery;
- executive, judicial, or legislative agency
means a department, agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of Government, including government corporations.
- false claims law
means—
- false claims law investigation
means any inquiry conducted by any false claims law investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in any violation of a false claims law;
- false claims law investigator
means any attorney or investigator employed by the Department of Justice who is charged with the duty of enforcing or carrying into effect any false claims law, or any officer or employee of the United States acting under the direction and supervision of such attorney or investigator in connection with a false claims law investigation;
- head of an agency
means—
- law firm owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals
means a law firm that meets the requirements set forth in clauses (i) and (ii) of section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)(i) and (ii)) and regulations issued under those clauses;
- material
means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property.
- military department
means the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
- nontax
means, with respect to any debt or claim, any debt or claim other than a debt or claim under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
- obligation
means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee-based or similar relationship, from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment;
- official use
means any use that is consistent with the law, and the regulations and policies of the Department of Justice, including use in connection with internal Department of Justice memoranda and reports;
- original source
means an individual who either (i) prior to a public disclosure under subsection (e)(4)(a), has voluntarily disclosed to the Government the information on which allegations or transactions in a claim are based, or (2) who has 3 knowledge that is independent of and materially adds to the publicly disclosed allegations or transactions, and who has voluntarily provided the information to the Government before filing an action under this section.
- payment certifying agency
means any agency that has transmitted a voucher to a disbursing official for disbursement.
- person
means any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, including any State or political subdivision of a State;
- private collection contractor
means private debt collectors under contract with an agency to collect a nontax debt or claim owed the United States.
- product of discovery
includes—
- qualified expenses
means expenditures for the improvement of credit management, debt collection, and debt recovery activities, including—
- qualified HUBZone small business concern
has the meaning given that term in section 31(b) of the Small Business Act.
- senior executive branch official
means any officer or employee listed in paragraphs (1) through (8) of section 13103(f) of title 5.
- settle
means consider, determine, adjust, and dispose of a claim by disallowance or by complete or partial allowance.
- system of records
has the same meaning given that term in section 552a(a)(5) of title 5.
- uniformed services
means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service.