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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 15. Transfers of contracts; assignments; assignee not subject to reduction or setoff
(a) Transfer
No contract or order, or any interest therein, shall be
transferred by the party to whom such contract or order is given to
any other party, and any such transfer shall cause the annulment of
the contract or order transferred, so far as the United States is
concerned. All rights of action, however, for any breach of such
contract by the contracting parties, are reserved to the United
States.
(b) Assignment
The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply
in any case in which the moneys due or to become due from the
United States or from any agency or department thereof, under a
contract providing for payments aggregating $1,000 or more, are
assigned to a bank, trust company, or other financing institution,
including any Federal lending agency, provided:
(1) That, in the case of any contract entered into after
October 9, 1940, no claim shall be assigned if it arises under a
contract which forbids such assignment.
(2) That, unless otherwise expressly permitted by such
contract, any such assignment shall cover all amounts payable
under such contract and not already paid, shall not be made to
more than one party, and shall not be subject to further
assignment, except that any such assignment may be made to one
party as agent or trustee for two or more parties participating
in such financing.
(3) That, in the event of any such assignment, the assignee
thereof shall file written notice of the assignment together with
a true copy of the instrument of the assignment with -
(A) the contracting officer or the head of his department or
agency;
(B) the surety or sureties upon the bond or bonds, if any, in
connection with such contract; and
(C) the disbursing officer, if any, designated in such
contract to make payment.
(c) Validity of assignment
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary governing the validity of
assignments, any assignment pursuant to this section shall
constitute a valid assignment for all purposes.
(d) Assignee liability
In any case in which moneys due or to become due under any
contract are or have been assigned pursuant to this section, no
liability of any nature of the assignor to the United States or any
department or agency thereof, whether arising from or independently
of such contract, shall create or impose any liability on the part
of the assignee to make restitution, refund, or repayment to the
United States of any amount heretofore since July 1, 1950, or
hereafter received under the assignment.
(e) Amendment of contract
Any contract of the Department of Defense, the General Services
Administration, the Department of Energy, or any other department
or agency of the United States designated by the President, except
any such contract under which full payment has been made, may, upon
a determination of need by the President, provide or be amended
without consideration to provide that payments to be made to the
assignee of any moneys due or to become due under such contract
shall not be subject to reduction or setoff. Each such
determination of need shall be published in the Federal Register.
(f) Assignor liability arising independent of contract
If a provision described in subsection (e) of this section or a
provision to the same general effect has been at any time
heretofore or is hereafter included or inserted in any such
contract, payments to be made thereafter to an assignee of any
moneys due or to become due under such contract shall not be
subject to reduction or setoff for any liability of any nature of
the assignor to the United States or any department or agency
thereof which arises independently of such contract, or hereafter
for any liability of the assignor on account of -
(1) renegotiation under any renegotiation statute or under any
statutory renegotiation article in the contract;
(2) fines;
(3) penalties (which term does not include amounts which may be
collected or withheld from the assignor in accordance with or for
failure to comply with the terms of the contract); or
(4) taxes, social security contributions, or the withholding or
non withholding of taxes or social security contributions,
whether arising from or independently of such contract.
(g) Accrued rights and obligations
Except as herein otherwise provided, nothing in this section
shall be deemed to affect or impair rights or obligations
heretofore accrued.
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