§ 586. Duties; supervision by Attorney General
(a)
Each United States trustee, within the region for which such United States trustee is appointed, shall—
(1)
establish, maintain, and supervise a panel of private trustees that are eligible and available to serve as trustees in cases under chapter
7 of title
11;
(2)
serve as and perform the duties of a trustee in a case under title 11 when required under title 11 to serve as trustee in such a case;
(3)
supervise the administration of cases and trustees in cases under chapter 7, 11, 12, 13, or 15 of title
11 by, whenever the United States trustee considers it to be appropriate—
(A)
(i)
reviewing, in accordance with procedural guidelines adopted by the Executive Office of the United States Trustee (which guidelines shall be applied uniformly by the United States trustee except when circumstances warrant different treatment), applications filed for compensation and reimbursement under section
330 of title
11; and
(ii)
filing with the court comments with respect to such application and, if the United States Trustee considers it to be appropriate, objections to such application.[1]
(B)
monitoring plans and disclosure statements filed in cases under chapter
11 of title
11 and filing with the court, in connection with hearings under sections 1125 and 1128 of such title, comments with respect to such plans and disclosure statements;
(C)
monitoring plans filed under chapters 12 and 13 of title
11 and filing with the court, in connection with hearings under sections 1224, 1229, 1324, and 1329 of such title, comments with respect to such plans;
(D)
taking such action as the United States trustee deems to be appropriate to ensure that all reports, schedules, and fees required to be filed under title 11 and this title by the debtor are properly and timely filed;
(F)
notifying the appropriate United States attorney of matters which relate to the occurrence of any action which may constitute a crime under the laws of the United States and, on the request of the United States attorney, assisting the United States attorney in carrying out prosecutions based on such action;
(G)
monitoring the progress of cases under title 11 and taking such actions as the United States trustee deems to be appropriate to prevent undue delay in such progress;
(4)
deposit or invest under section
345 of title
11 money received as trustee in cases under title 11;
(5)
perform the duties prescribed for the United States trustee under title 11 and this title, and such duties consistent with title 11 and this title as the Attorney General may prescribe;
(6)
make such reports as the Attorney General directs, including the results of audits performed under section 603(a) of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005;
(7)
in each of such small business cases—
(A)
conduct an initial debtor interview as soon as practicable after the date of the order for relief but before the first meeting scheduled under section
341
(a) of title
11, at which time the United States trustee shall—
(b)
If the number of cases under chapter 12 or 13 of title
11 commenced in a particular region so warrants, the United States trustee for such region may, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, appoint one or more individuals to serve as standing trustee, or designate one or more assistant United States trustees to serve in cases under such chapter. The United States trustee for such region shall supervise any such individual appointed as standing trustee in the performance of the duties of standing trustee.
(c)
Each United States trustee shall be under the general supervision of the Attorney General, who shall provide general coordination and assistance to the United States trustees.
(d)
(1)
The Attorney General shall prescribe by rule qualifications for membership on the panels established by United States trustees under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and qualifications for appointment under subsection (b) of this section to serve as standing trustee in cases under chapter 12 or 13 of title
11. The Attorney General may not require that an individual be an attorney in order to qualify for appointment under subsection (b) of this section to serve as standing trustee in cases under chapter 12 or 13 of title
11.
(2)
A trustee whose appointment under subsection (a)(1) or under subsection (b) is terminated or who ceases to be assigned to cases filed under title 11, United States Code, may obtain judicial review of the final agency decision by commencing an action in the district court of the United States for the district for which the panel to which the trustee is appointed under subsection (a)(1), or in the district court of the United States for the district in which the trustee is appointed under subsection (b) resides, after first exhausting all available administrative remedies, which if the trustee so elects, shall also include an administrative hearing on the record. Unless the trustee elects to have an administrative hearing on the record, the trustee shall be deemed to have exhausted all administrative remedies for purposes of this paragraph if the agency fails to make a final agency decision within 90 days after the trustee requests administrative remedies. The Attorney General shall prescribe procedures to implement this paragraph. The decision of the agency shall be affirmed by the district court unless it is unreasonable and without cause based on the administrative record before the agency.
(e)
(1)
The Attorney General, after consultation with a United States trustee that has appointed an individual under subsection (b) of this section to serve as standing trustee in cases under chapter 12 or 13 of title
11, shall fix—
(A)
a maximum annual compensation for such individual consisting of—
(2)
Such individual shall collect such percentage fee from all payments received by such individual under plans in the cases under chapter 12 or 13 of title
11 for which such individual serves as standing trustee. Such individual shall pay to the United States trustee, and the United States trustee shall deposit in the United States Trustee System Fund—
(A)
any amount by which the actual compensation of such individual exceeds 5 per centum upon all payments received under plans in cases under chapter 12 or 13 of title
11 for which such individual serves as standing trustee; and
(B)
any amount by which the percentage for all such cases exceeds—
(i)
such individual’s actual compensation for such cases, as adjusted under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1); plus
(ii)
the actual, necessary expenses incurred by such individual as standing trustee in such cases. Subject to the approval of the Attorney General, any or all of the interest earned from the deposit of payments under plans by such individual may be utilized to pay actual, necessary expenses without regard to the percentage limitation contained in subparagraph (d)(1)(B) of this section.
(3)
After first exhausting all available administrative remedies, an individual appointed under subsection (b) may obtain judicial review of final agency action to deny a claim of actual, necessary expenses under this subsection by commencing an action in the district court of the United States for the district where the individual resides. The decision of the agency shall be affirmed by the district court unless it is unreasonable and without cause based upon the administrative record before the agency.
(f)
(1)
The United States trustee for each district is authorized to contract with auditors to perform audits in cases designated by the United States trustee, in accordance with the procedures established under section 603(a) of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.
(2)
(A)
The report of each audit referred to in paragraph (1) shall be filed with the court and transmitted to the United States trustee. Each report shall clearly and conspicuously specify any material misstatement of income or expenditures or of assets identified by the person performing the audit. In any case in which a material misstatement of income or expenditures or of assets has been reported, the clerk of the district court (or the clerk of the bankruptcy court if one is certified under section
156
(b) of this title) shall give notice of the misstatement to the creditors in the case.
[1] So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon.