34 C.F.R. § 31.1 – Scope.

(a) General. The Secretary establishes the standards and procedures in this part that apply to the offset from disposable pay of a current or former Federal employee or from amounts payable from the Federal retirement account of a former Federal employee to recover a debt owed the United States under a program adminstered by the Secretary of Education.
(b) Exclusions. This part does not apply to—
1. (1) Offsets under 34 CFR part 32 to recover for overpayments of pay or allowances to an employee of the Department;
2. (2) Offsets under 34 CFR part 30; or
3. (3) Offsets under section 124 of Pub. L. 97-276 to collect debts owed to the United States on judgments.
(c) Reports to consumer reporting agency. The Secretary may report a debt to a consumer reporting agency after notifying the employee, in accordance with 34 CFR 30.35, of the intention to report the debt, and after providing the employee an opportunity to inspect documents, receive a hearing, and enter into a repayment agreement under this part.
(Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5514; 31 U.S.C. 3711; 31 U.S.C. 3716)