Payment of Employees Evacuated From Saigon

An opinion was requested concerning the agency's authority to pay from its appropriation final salary, severance pay, and pay in lieu of notice to former employees of the Vietnamese-American Association (VAA) who were evacuated from Saigon and now reside in the United States as refugees. The employees were evacuated before their checks for piasters could be converted into dollars. The Treasury acted in accordance with its regulations in refusing to convert piaster checks into U.S. dollars, and the agency may not use its appropriation to pay VAA employees now in the United States, except for the final unpaid grant installment.