U.S. GOVERNMENT EXPANDS CRACKDOWN ON BAD DEBTS
The administration is expanding its
crackdown on bad debts, officials of the White House Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) told reporters.
    OMB Deputy Director Joseph Wright said the administration
this year plans to turn over to private credit rating firms
data on about 3.5 mln "deadbeats" who are seriously behind or in
default in their payments on federal loans.
    Next year, the government will turn over to private
collection bureaus four billion dlrs in bad education loans and
three billion dlrs in other bad government loans, Wright said.
    The government is also considering letting individuals make
payments on their student loans with credit cards, officials
told reporters.
    The Internal Revenue Service is already studying the use of
credit cards to pay income taxes, but this usage would require
a change in federal law while no congressional action would be
needed for credit cards to be used for student loans, the
officials said.
    The officials disclosed these plans in releasing the third
annual OMB report to Congress on management of the U.S.
government.
    The report details steps to be taken by the administration
to increase federal efficiency and to continue President
Reagan's highly publicized "war on waste, fraud and abuse."
    According to the report, elinquent U.S. debt had soared to
68.3 billion dlrs, or 18.8 pct of total receivables, by the end
of the fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30. At the end of
fiscal 1981, when Reagan took office, bad debt stood at 29.8
billion dlrs or 12.3 pct of total debt.
    But OMB officials said other Reagan administration efforts
had already saved taxpayers 84 billion dlrs and would save
another 25 billion dlrs or so by the time Reagan left office.
 Reuter
