Request for Waiver of Debt to the United States

A Navy member requested reconsideration of the denial of his application for waiver of his debt to the United States. The debt arose from erroneous payments of a basic allowance for quarters (BAQ) that he received during a period when he was residing in Government quarters. When the member moved from private quarters to Government quarters, his entitlement to BAQ ended. However, the record of the transaction apparently had been lost, and the member continued to be paid BAQ. Disbursing officials at the member's duty station withheld BAQ payments from his pay because they were aware that he was residing in Government quarters. The member was assured that BAQ was being withheld and that the proper officials had been notified of his move to Government quarters. About 6 months later, the member's net pay substantially increased because new disbursing officers at his duty station ceased withholding payment of BAQ. After an audit determined that the member had erroneously received BAQ payments for 16 months, the member received a further erroneous BAQ payment in an amount representing the BAQ payments previously withheld by the disbursing officers. The member promptly refunded this payment and requested that his debt for the BAQ he had erroneously received be waived. The member stated that he: (1) did not actually know that he was being overpaid during that time, (2) questioned disbursing officials as to the correctiness of the higher pay he had begun to receive and was assured that everything was in order, and (3) would not deliberately attempt to defraud the Government. In requesting reconsideration, the member suggested that the Claims Division's denial was unfair when it held that the member failed to question properly the correctness of his pay. GAO held that a reasonably prudent person of the member's rank and experience would have insisted on an examination of his records and an understandable explanation of his pay entitlements. Since the member failed to make that inquiry, GAO found him partially at fault and was precluded by law from granting his application for waiver. Accordingly, the action denying the waiver was sustained.