B-164128, JUN. 6, 1968
Highlights
YOUR ORDERS DID NOT INDICATE TRAVEL BY AUTOMOBILE WAS MORE ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE GOVERNMENT AND UNDER APPLICABLE REGULATIONS REIMBURSEMENT FOR PER DIEM WAS LIMITED TO CONSTRUCTIVE TRAVEL TIME BY COMMON CARRIER. YOUR AGENCY DETERMINED THAT YOU COULD HAVE LEFT WASHINGTON AT 12:40 P.M. YOUR CLAIM FOR AN ADDITIONAL 1-1/2 DAYS OF PER DIEM WAS DISALLOWED ON THE BASIS THAT THE CONSTRUCTIVE TRAVEL TIME SHOWN BY YOUR AGENCY WAS CORRECT. YOUR ORIGINAL TRAVEL VOUCHER INDICATES YOU COULD HAVE LEFT BETHEL. YOU NOW STATE THAT YOU COULD NOT HAVE LEFT BETHEL BY BUS UNTIL 5:05 P.M. THAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE ARRIVED IN WASHINGTON UNTIL 9:59 A.M.
B-164128, JUN. 6, 1968
TO MR. C. C. BREAM, JR.:
WE REFER TO YOUR LETTER OF APRIL 12, 1968, REFERENCE 126, REQUESTING REVIEW OF OUR SETTLEMENT WHICH DISALLOWED YOUR CLAIM FOR ADDITIONAL PER DIEM OF $24 IN CONNECTION WITH TRAVEL BY PRIVATELY OWNED AUTOMOBILE FROM WASHINGTON, D.C., TO BETHEL, MAINE, AND RETURN, PURSUANT TO ORDERS DATED JULY 18, 1967, ISSUED BY THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION.
YOUR ORDERS DID NOT INDICATE TRAVEL BY AUTOMOBILE WAS MORE ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE GOVERNMENT AND UNDER APPLICABLE REGULATIONS REIMBURSEMENT FOR PER DIEM WAS LIMITED TO CONSTRUCTIVE TRAVEL TIME BY COMMON CARRIER. YOU DEPARTED WASHINGTON AT 5:30 A.M., JULY 28, 1967, AND RETURNED 5 P.M., AUGUST 13, 1967, AND CLAIMED 16-3/4 DAYS OF PER DIEM AT $16 PER DAY. YOUR AGENCY DETERMINED THAT YOU COULD HAVE LEFT WASHINGTON AT 12:40 P.M., JULY 28, 1967, AND RETURNED AT 5:30 P.M., AUGUST 12, 1967, AND ALLOWED YOU PER DIEM FOR 15-1/4 DAYS. YOUR CLAIM FOR AN ADDITIONAL 1-1/2 DAYS OF PER DIEM WAS DISALLOWED ON THE BASIS THAT THE CONSTRUCTIVE TRAVEL TIME SHOWN BY YOUR AGENCY WAS CORRECT.
YOUR ORIGINAL TRAVEL VOUCHER INDICATES YOU COULD HAVE LEFT BETHEL, MAINE, BY BUS AT 8:40 A.M., SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 1967, AND ARRIVED BY AIR IN WASHINGTON ON THE SAME DAY. YOU NOW STATE THAT YOU COULD NOT HAVE LEFT BETHEL BY BUS UNTIL 5:05 P.M., AUGUST 13, 1967, AND THAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE ARRIVED IN WASHINGTON UNTIL 9:59 A.M., AUGUST 14, 1967.
THE SCHEDULE OF THE BRUNSWICK TRANSPORTATION COMPANY FOR THE PERIOD IN QUESTION INDICATES BUSES LEFT BETHEL AT 8:40 A.M., SATURDAYS ONLY, AND AT 5:05 P.M., SUNDAYS ONLY. IN VIEW OF THIS WE SEE NO REASON WHY YOUR RETURN BY CONSTRUCTIVE COMMON CARRIER SHOULD NOT BE COMPUTED AS COMMENCING AT 8:40 A.M. ON AUGUST 12, 1967. WE NOTE THAT YOU ACTUALLY DEPARTED BY PRIVATELY OWNED AUTOMOBILE FROM BETHEL AT 8 A.M., SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 1967. ACCORDINGLY, THE DISALLOWANCE OF YOUR CLAIM MUST BE SUSTAINED.