VA False Alarm Charges

The Veterans Administration (VA) requested an opinion as to its liability for fees charged by a municipal government for false alarms, contending that the fee was a penalty from which the federal government was insulated as a matter of sovereign immunity. GAO held that the VA was not liable for the fees, since no statutory authority exists which would waive sovereign immunity and permit the the VA to pay this penalty. Accordingly, appropriated funds could not be used to pay the fees.