[Claim for Travel Expenses]

GAO considered an employee's request for a decision as to whether his post of duty prior to his transfer to a new duty station might be considered his place of actual residence for purposes of home leave travel at Government expense. The claimant had been born at the new duty site and had served approximately 15 of his 20 years of service with the agency there; he had resided at the site from which he was transferring for about 3 years. Although the agency initially approved the claimant's designation of his actual place of residence, it later notified him that the approval had been an administrative error and that his actual place of residence was the new duty station. GAO found that: (1) there was no basis for concluding that the agency's determination of the claimant's actual residence was arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law; and (2) the agency's determination must be accorded great deference. Therefore, GAO would not substitute its judgment for that of the agency in this case. Accordingly, the claimant was not entitled to travel to the new duty site at Government expense for home leave purposes.