[Query Regarding Requests for Relief]

GAO responded to four requests for the relief of Army finance and accounting officers; the cases were similar in that they were all duplicate check cases in which a payee received and negotiated both an original check and a replacement check, resulting in a monetary loss to the Government. GAO concluded that relief could be granted in three cases and that it was not necessary in the fourth. GAO also took the opportunity to focus on the complexities of properly handling duplicate check cases, describe options regarding the proper statutory authority under which to account for duplicate check losses, and note problems that resulted from recodification of Title 31. GAO suggested that the latter issue warrants congressional involvement.