Claim for Reimbursement of Unauthorized Expenses

A former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assistant regional counsel requested reconsideration of a Claims Group disallowance of his claim. The claim originated from an incident in which the employee had requested that a notice of a public hearing be advertised in the newspapers. Since he failed to obtain written authorization before placing the notices, the employee paid the newspapers from his own personal funds and sought reimbursement from EPA. EPA referred the matter to the Claims Group which disallowed the claim. A voucher cannot be paid nor can a claim by a newspaper be allowed unless prior written authority has been obtained. After-the-fact approval or attempted ratification is not sufficient to remove the statutory bar against payment. Since EPA could not have paid the claim under the existing statutory language if it were filed directly by the newspapers, there was no legal basis to reimburse the employee. No officer or employee of the Government can create a valid claim in his favor by paying obligations of the United States from his own funds, except when the necessity for an expenditure arises in urgent and unforeseen circumstances, which was not the case here. The settlement action was affirmed.