Request for Waiver of Indebtedness

A Naval chief warrant officer requested reconsideration of a decision sustaining the Claims Division's denial of his application for waiver of the Government's claim against him. Erroneous payments for separate rations were made to the officer while he was concurrently receiving a basic allowance for subsistence. As a permanent officer, he was entitled to receive a monthly basic allowance for subsistence; separate rations are paid at a daily rate to enlisted members only. In the previous decision, the officer was found to be at least partially at fault since the dual credit was shown on his leave and earnings statements (LES), and he should have been aware of the excess payments. He was held liable for the entire debt because, under applicable legislation, a member is at fault when a reasonable person under the circumstances should have known that an error existed and should have brought the matter to the attention of the disbursing officer. In his request for reconsideration, the officer contended that he was unfamiliar with the term separate rations. Additionally, he contended that, since he was found to be partially at fault, he should be only partially liable for the debt. The fact that the officer was unfamiliar with separate rations as a term did not change the dual credits recorded on his LES. Regardless of his lack of comprehension, the officer must be presumed to know that a member is entitled to only one subsistence allowance. Both the courts and GAO have long maintained that persons who receive money erroneously paid by the Government acquire no right to the money and are bound in equity and good conscience to make restitution. A determination that a person is partially at fault entirely precludes waiver. GAO held that waiver was not appropriate in this case, and the prior decision was sustained.