Request for Waiver of Debt

An enlisted member of the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve requested reconsideration of the denial of his application for waiver of his debt to the United States. The debt arose from an administrative error due to failure to collect for excess leave of 38 days used when he extended his enlistment. Collections of pay and allowances had been made for 10 days, but pay and allowances were not withheld for the remaining 28 days. The member received leave and earnings statements (LES) regularly during the period of the overpayment. The LES reflected a negative balance for part of the period in question, and a positive balance for the remainder of time Although the member may not have been aware that the payments for excess leave were initially erroneous, he should have known that something was wrong with his leave balance when it increased from minus 26.5 days in July 1975 to plus 6 days in August 1975 without any corresponding entry for it on his pay accounts for collection of the value of the leave. Since he failed to make a reasonable inquiry at that time, GAO considered him at least partially at fault in the matter, and was precluded by law from granting his application for waiver. Accordingly, the prior decision was sustained.