(gentle music)
Narrator: Debt Management Services is
the government's central debt collection agency.
It's administered by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service,
part of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Debt Management Services, or DMS, helps federal agencies
prevent and detect improper payments, collect non-tax debt,
especially overdue or delinquent non-tax debt,
and withhold or offset money from
federal payments to satisfy delinquent debts.
Four different programs make up Debt Management Services.
The Treasury Offset Program,
the Do Not Pay Program,
Cross-Servicing,
and the Centralized Receivables Service.
When debt becomes delinquent,
it's referred to the Treasury Offset Program,
or TOP, for collection.
If someone owes the government money
and is also receiving a payment
from the government such as a tax refund,
the TOP program can withhold some of that payment
and use it to partially or completely pay their debt.
TOP also collects some state debts,
and offsets some payments by state governments.
The Do Not Pay Program helps federal agencies
and state governments making federal payments
detect and prevent improper payments.
Do Not Pay users can access various databases
that identify who should not receive a payment or award.
Or use data analytics to find errors and improper payments.
Cross-Servicing is a program that works to collect
money owed to federal agencies.
Cross-Servicing will call and send letters
in an effort to collect delinquent debts.
If a debt remains unpaid, Cross-Servicing
can refer the debt to private collection agencies.
Cross-Servicing can also require an employer
to withhold up to 15% of an employee's pay
to satisfy a delinquent debt.
This process is called wage garnishment.
The Centralized Receivables Service, or CRS,
helps federal agencies manage
their current accounts receivable
that are not yet eligible for the Cross-Servicing program.
CRS manages open cases and acts as needed,
whether that's creating and sending invoices,
communicating with the debtor,
tracking interest and penalties,
or arranging a payment or payment plans.
To learn more about
Debt Management Services and its programs,
visit fiscal.treasury.gov/dms