[SSA Employee's Claim for Reimbursement for Temporary Quarters Subsistence Expenses]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) requested a decision concerning an employee's entitlement to reimbursement for temporary quarters subsistence expenses incident to a transfer. GAO held that: (1) the employee was not entitled to reimbursement, since she executed a 1-year lease for an apartment and moved her household goods into it, which indicated her intent to occupy the apartment on a permanent basis; and (2) since the employee's indebtedness to the government resulted from the fact that she was not entitled to reimbursement, it was not subject to waiver. Accordingly, SSA should: (1) not pay the subsistence expenses; and (2) collect the remaining balance of the travel advance.