[Appeal of Denial of Claim for Temporary Lodging Allowances]

A former U.S. Army officer appealed a Claims Group denial of his claim for temporary lodging allowances. The reimbursement claim was for 47 days the claimant served overseas with a field hospital. He rented a two-room apartment on a daily basis and made rental payments every 10 days. He was paid a temporary lodging allowance for at least part of the period. The record indicated that the claimant previously sought payment of this claim, at which time the housing officer requested information from a higher authority to determine whether the lodgings constituted hotel or hotel-like accommodations for the purposes of entitlement of a temporary housing allowance. That claim was denied because the claimant could not furnish proof that the establishment in which he resided was licensed as a pensione. GAO held that the claim may not be paid because there was insufficient evidence to support a conclusion that appropriate authority determined, under the applicable regulations, that he had resided in hotel or hotel-like accommodations during the period of this claim as required. Accordingly, the payment may not be authorized and the Claims Group denial was sustained.