[Forest Service Employee's Claim for Travel Expenses]

The Forest Service requested a decision regarding an employee's claim for per diem expenses incident to a training program held less than 35 miles from his official duty station, contending that the claimant's full-time attendance at the meeting site was necessary since night sessions were held to shorten the number of days required to give the training. GAO held that: (1) Department of Agriculture regulations prohibited per diem expenses for an overnight stay within a 35-mile radius of a claimant's official duty station, unless it was advantageous to keep the employee at that location; and (2) it would not object to payment of per diem expenses, since the claimant's attendance was needed at night as well as during the regular workday. Accordingly, it would not object to the payment of per diem expenses.