Interest to Employees' Health and Welfare Trust

The Department of Labor requested a decision on whether the Department may properly pay interest to the health and welfare trust fund for benefit payments advanced by the trust and reimbursed by the Department 5 to 13 months late. The payments were due for employees who lost their jobs because of the expansion of Redwood National Park. There was no agreement by the Department to pay interest, and neither authorizing nor appropriation acts provide for interest for late payment benefits. In the absence of express contractual or statutory authorization, the United States may not pay interest on its unpaid accounts.