§ 5314. — Indebtedness offsets.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 38USC5314]
TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
PART IV--GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 53--SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS
Sec. 5314. Indebtedness offsets
(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (d) of this section and section
3485(e) of this title, the Secretary shall (unless the Secretary waives
recovery under section 5302 of this title) deduct the amount of the
indebtedness of any person who has been determined to be indebted to the
United States by virtue of such person's participation in a benefits
program administered by the Secretary from future payments made to such
person under any law administered by the Secretary.
(b) Deductions may not be made under subsection (a) of this section
with respect to the indebtedness of a person described in such
subsection unless the Secretary--
(1) has made reasonable efforts to notify such person of such
person's right to dispute through prescribed administrative
processes the existence or amount of such indebtedness and of such
person's right to request a waiver of such indebtedness under
section 5302 of this title;
(2) has made a determination with respect to any such dispute or
request or has determined that the time required to make such a
determination before making deductions would jeopardize the
Secretary's ability to recover the full amount of such indebtedness
through deductions from such payments; and
(3) has made reasonable efforts to notify such person about the
proposed deductions from such payments.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title or of any
other law, the authority of the Secretary to make deductions under this
section or to take other administrative action authorized by law for the
purpose of collecting an indebtedness described in subsection (a) of
this section, or for the purpose of determining the creditworthiness of
a person who owes such an indebtedness, shall not be subject to any
limitation with respect to the time for bringing civil actions or for
commencing administrative proceedings.
(d) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for the administration
of this section.
(Added Pub. L. 96-466, title VI, Sec. 605(a)(1), Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat.
2209, Sec. 3114; amended Pub. L. 102-16, Sec. 6(b)(3), Mar. 22, 1991,
105 Stat. 51; renumbered Sec. 5314 and amended Pub. L. 102-40, title IV,
Sec. 402(b)(1), (d)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 238, 239; Pub. L. 102-83,
Secs. 4(a)(1), (b)(1), (2)(E), 5(c)(1), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 403-
406.)
Amendments
1991--Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 402(b)(1), renumbered section 3114 of
this title as this section.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 5(c)(1), substituted ``3485(e)''
for ``1685(e)''.
Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted ``Secretary'' for
``Administrator'' in two places.
Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(a)(1), substituted ``administered by the
Secretary'' for ``administered by the Veterans' Administration'' in two
places.
Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 402(d)(1), substituted ``5302'' for ``3102''.
Pub. L. 102-16 inserted ``and section 1685(e) of this title'' after
``Subject to subsections (b) and (d) of this section''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator'' in introductory provisions and
``Secretary's'' for ``Administrator's'' in par. (2).
Pub. L. 102-40, Sec. 402(d)(1), substituted ``5302'' for ``3102'' in
par. (1).
Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
Effective Date
Section 802(f) of Pub. L. 96-466 provided that:
``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amendments made by
title VI [see Tables for classification] shall become effective on
October 1, 1980.
``(2) The amendments made by sections 603 [amending sections 1677
and 1798 [now 3698] of this title] and 604 [amending section 1786 [now
3686] of this title] shall not apply to any person receiving educational
assistance under chapter 34 or 35 of title 38, United States Code, on
September 1, 1980, for the pursuit of a program of education, as defined
in section 1652(b) [now 3452(b)] of such title, in which such person is
enrolled on that date, for as long as such person continuously
thereafter is so enrolled and meets the requirements of eligibility for
such assistance for the pursuit of such program under the provisions of
such chapter and chapter 36 of such title as in effect on that date.''
Rules and Regulations
Section 605(b) of Pub. L. 96-466 provided that: ``The Administrator
of Veterans' Affairs [now Secretary of Veterans Affairs] shall, not
later than January 1, 1981, prescribe the regulations required to be
prescribed under sections 3114 and 3115 [now 5314 and 5315] of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a).''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 3485 of this title.
