B-107845, MAY 13, 1952, 31 COMP. GEN. 590

B-107845, MAY 13, 1952, 31 COMP. GEN. 590

TRANSPORTATION - HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS - SHIPMENT BY EMPLOYEE'S TRAILER AN EMPLOYEE WHO, ON A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION, TRANSPORTED HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS IN A HOUSE TRAILER USING HIS PRIVATELY OWNED TRUCK TO TOW THE TRAILER WHILE HIS DEPENDENT WIFE MADE THE TRIP IN HIS PRIVATELY OWNED AUTOMOBILE IS NOT ENTITLED TO REIMBURSEMENT, UNDER SECTION 12 (A) OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 9805, AS AMENDED, UPON A COMMUTED BASIS FOR MOVEMENT OF HIS HOUSEHOLD GOODS AS A PART OF THE TRAILER, NOR IS HE ENTITLED TO MILEAGE FOR TRAVEL IN THE TRUCK; HOWEVER, THE EMPLOYEE IS ENTITLED TO REIMBURSEMENT FOR MILEAGE FOR AUTOMOBILE TRAVEL BY DEPENDENT WIFE. AN EMPLOYEE, UPON A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION, MAY BE AUTHORIZED ONE- FOURTH DAY'S PER DIEM IN LIEU OF SUBSISTENCE COVERING A TRAVEL STATUS NOT EXCEEDING THREE HOURS WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PROHIBITION CONTAINED IN PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE STANDARDIZED GOVERNMENT TRAVEL REGULATIONS AGAINST THE PAYMENT OF PER DIEM FOR ANY ABSENCE NOT EXCEEDING THREE HOURS AS THE PROHIBITION DOES NOT APPLY WHERE THE TRAVEL STATUS ARISES FROM A CHANGE FROM ONE OFFICIAL STATION TO ANOTHER UNDER PROPER ORDERS DIRECTING A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION.

COMPTROLLER GENERAL WARREN TO LT. COL. C. BID GOOD, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, MAY 13, 1952:

BY SECOND ENDORSEMENT DATED JANUARY 28, 1952, THE CHIEF, BUDGET AND FISCAL ACCOUNTING DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE ENGINEER COMPTROLLER, FILE ENGCZ 201 CIV, FORWARDED TO THIS OFFICE YOUR LETTER OF JANUARY 5, 1952, FILE OVLVF, TOGETHER WITH ENCLOSURES, REQUESTING A DECISION AS TO THE AMOUNT PROPERLY PAYABLE ON THE VOUCHER IN FAVOR OF PHILLIP W. HURT, A CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY. THE VOUCHER, IN THE AMOUNT OF $122.55, COVERS REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES AND ALLOWANCES INCIDENT TO HIS PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION FROM CARMI, ILLINOIS, TO METROPOLIS, ILLINOIS.

IT IS STATED IN YOUR LETTER THAT THE EMPLOYEE, WHO WAS LIVING IN HIS PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSE TRAILER AT CARMI, ILLINOIS, HIS OFFICIAL DUTY STATION, TOWED HIS HOUSE TRAILER TO HIS NEW PERMANENT DUTY STATION ON OCTOBER 8, 1951, USING HIS PRIVATELY OWNED PICKUP TRUCK; AND THAT HIS WIFE MADE THE TRIP IN HIS PRIVATELY OWNED AUTOMOBILE THE NEXT DAY, OCTOBER 9, 1951. THE VOUCHER INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:

(A) PER DIEM IN LIEU OF SUBSISTENCE, 7 A.M. TO 10 A.M. ON OCTOBER 8, 1951, FOR ONE-FOURTH DAY AT $5 PER DAY, OR $1.25, AND MILEAGE AT 7 CENTS PER MILE FOR 96 MILES, OR $6.72, FOR THE EMPLOYEE'S TRAVEL IN HIS PRIVATELY OWNED PICKUP TRUCK.

(B) MILEAGE AT 7 CENTS PER MILE FOR 96 MILES, OR $6.72, FOR TRAVEL BY THE EMPLOYEE'S WIFE IN THE EMPLOYEE'S AUTOMOBILE.

(C) REIMBURSEMENT UPON A COMMUTED BASIS FOR THE ITEMS CONTAINED IN THE HOUSE TRAILER ORDINARILY CONSIDERED AS HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS.

TRAVEL ORDER NO. 1467, DATED OCTOBER 3, 1951, DIRECTED THE EMPLOYEE'S PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION FROM CARMI, ILLINOIS, TO METROPOLIS, ILLINOIS, AND AUTHORIZED TRAVEL ON OR ABOUT OCTOBER 8, 1951, BY PRIVATELY OWNED VEHICLE AT THE RATE OF 7 CENTS PER MILE, WHICH METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION WAS ADMINISTRATIVELY DETERMINED TO BE MOST ECONOMICAL AND ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE GOVERNMENT. ALSO, THE TRAVEL ORDER AUTHORIZED PER DIEM IN LIEU OF SUBSISTENCE, SHIPMENT OF HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS, AND TRAVEL OF THE EMPLOYEE'S WIFE AT A LATER DATE BY COMMON CARRIER OR REIMBURSEMENT AT THE RATE OF 7 CENTS PER MILE FOR HER TRAVEL, SEPARATE AND APART FROM THE EMPLOYEE, BY PRIVATELY OWNED AUTOMOBILE.

YOUR DOUBT IN THE MATTER IS EXPRESSED AS WHETHER THE CLAIMANT MAY BE REIMBURSED BOTH FOR MILEAGE FOR TRAVEL IN THE PICKUP TRUCK USED TO TOW THE HOUSE TRAILER AND UPON A COMMUTED BASIS FOR MOVEMENT OF THE HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS IN THE HOUSE TRAILER. AS TO COMMUTATION FOR MOVEMENT OF THE HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS BY THE HOUSE TRAILER, YOUR DOUBT IS EXPRESSED AS TO WHETHER THE VIEWS IN CERTAIN PRIOR DECISIONS OF THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE (FOR EXAMPLE, 27 COMP. GEN. 511; 27 ID. 740, AND 28 ID. 41), RELATIVE TO THE REQUIREMENT FOR AN ACTUAL SHIPMENT OF HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS BY A "CARRIER," ARE FOR APPLICATION AT THIS TIME IN VIEW OF THE DELETION OF THE WORDING "ACTUALLY SHIPPED BY CARRIER FOR THE EMPLOYEE" FROM SECTION 12 (A), EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 9805, BY EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 10196, DECEMBER 20, 1950, AND THE SUBSTITUTION IN LIEU THEREOF THE PHRASE "ACTUALLY TRANSPORTED.'

IT IS THE VIEW OF THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE THAT THE AMENDATORY LANGUAGE TO SECTION 12 (A), EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 9805, DOES NOT CHANGE THE REIMBURSEMENT RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES FOR MOVEMENT OF THEIR HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS. SEE B-108627, APRIL 30, 1952. ACCORDINGLY, REIMBURSEMENT UPON A COMMUTED BASIS MAY NOT BE AUTHORIZED FOR MOVEMENT OF THE EMPLOYEE'S HOUSEHOLD GOODS AS A PART OF THE HOUSE TRAILER TOWED BY THE PICKUP TRUCK DRIVEN BY THE EMPLOYEE. SEE 27 COMP. GEN. 511; 28 ID. 41, 49, AND 29 ID. 70.

AS TO THE PAYMENT OF MILEAGE FOR TRAVEL OF THE EMPLOYEE IN THE PICKUP TRUCK AND MILEAGE FOR TRAVEL OF THE WIFE IN THE AUTOMOBILE SEPARATE AND APART FROM THE EMPLOYEE, PAYMENT MAY BE AUTHORIZED FOR THE AUTOMOBILE TRAVEL ONLY, SINCE NO REASONABLE GROUNDS ARE FURNISHED TO SHOW THAT TRANSPORTATION OF THE EMPLOYEE AND HIS WIFE IN ONE AUTOMOBILE WAS NOT FEASIBLE. SEE 27 COMP. GEN. 57, 5 U.S.C. 83C. MOREOVER, IF THE BASIS FOR SEPARATE TRAVEL WAS FOR THE PURPOSE OF TRANSPORTATION OF THE HOUSE TRAILER TOGETHER WITH THE HOUSEHOLD GOODS, THE EXPENSE OF OPERATION OF THE PICKUP TRUCK STILL WOULD BE FOR DISALLOWANCE SINCE HOUSE TRAILERS ARE NOT REGARDED AS "HOUSEHOLD GOODS" AND THERE IS NOTHING OF RECORD TO INDICATE BY WHAT AMOUNT, IF ANY, THE COST OF TRANSPORTATION OF THE HOUSE TRAILER WAS INCREASED BY REASON OF THE HOUSEHOLD GOODS WHICH WERE MOVED THEREIN.

THE CLAIM OF ONE-FOURTH DAY'S PER DIEM IN LIEU OF SUBSISTENCE, COVERING A TRAVEL STATUS NOT EXCEEDING 3 HOURS FROM 7 TO 10 A.M., MAY BE ALLOWED WITHOUT REGARD TO THE PROHIBITION CONTAINED IN PARAGRAPH 51 OF THE STANDARDIZED GOVERNMENT TRAVEL REGULATIONS AGAINST THE PAYMENT OF PER DIEM "FOR ANY ABSENCE NOT EXCEEDING 3 HOURS," SINCE IT HAS BEEN HELD THAT THE PROHIBITION DOES NOT APPLY WHERE THE TRAVEL STATUS ARISES FROM A CHANGE FROM ONE OFFICIAL STATION TO ANOTHER UNDER PROPER ORDERS DIRECTING A PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION. SEE A-43833, AUGUST 19, 1932, AND B-51934, SEPTEMBER 12, 1945.

ACTION UPON THE VOUCHER, WHICH IS RETURNED HEREWITH, SHOULD BE TAKEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOREGOING. ALSO, ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN, AS PROPOSED, TO ADJUST REIMBURSEMENT FOR A PRIOR CHANGE OF STATION FOR WHICH YOU STATE YOU REIMBURSED THE EMPLOYEE ON D.O. VOUCHER NO. 1322, AUGUST 1951 ACCOUNTS, UPON A SIMILAR BASIS AS WAS CLAIMED IN THE PRESENT CASE.