GAO-17-797SP, PRINCIPLES OF FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS …
United States Government Accountability Office
Office of the General Counsel
GAO-17-797SP
PRINCIPLES OF FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS LAW
Chapter 3
Availability of Appropriations: Purpose
Fourth Edition
2017 Revision
This document supersedes chapter 4 of GAO, Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, 3rd ed., GAO-04-261SP (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 2004). Chapters 5 through 15 of the third edition of Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, in conjunction with GAO, Principles of Federal Appropriations Law: Annual Update to the Third Edition, GAO-15-303SP (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 2015), remain the most currently available material on the topics discussed therein. Both Principles and the Annual Update to the Third Edition are available at legal/redbook/overview.
Table of Contents
A. The purpose statute: 31 U.S.C. ? 1301(a)
9
B. The necessary expense rule and the three-step analysis
14
C. Step 1: logical relationship between the expenditure and the
appropriation
17
1. Overview of Step 1
17
a. Expenditure must contribute to accomplishing the
purposes of the corresponding appropriation
17
(1) Determining authorized purposes: examine the
language of the appropriation
19
(2) Determining authorized purposes: examining other
statutes
20
b. Agency determinations play a role
23
2. New or additional duties
28
3. Termination of program
30
a. Termination desired by the agency
30
b. Reauthorization pending
31
4. Personal expenses must primarily benefit
the government
33
a. Introduction
33
b. Apparel
34
(1) 5 U.S.C. ? 7903
38
(2) Federal Employees Uniform Act
40
(3) The Occupational Safety and Health Act
of 1970
41
c. Child care; elder care
43
d. Commuting and parking
46
(1) Transit benefits
49
(2) Parking
50
e. Entertainment of government personnel
51
f. Greeting cards and seasonal decorations
53
(1) Greeting cards
53
(2) Seasonal decorations
54
g. Personal qualification expenses
55
(1) Personal qualification is a personal expense
55
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(2) Statutory authority: 5 U.S.C. ? 5757
58
h. Recreation and welfare
59
i. Telework
62
j. Miscellaneous employee expenses
65
5. Food
67
a. Employees in travel status
69
b. Employees working at official duty station under
unusual conditions
69
c. Training
72
d. Employees' food while attending non-federal
meetings
74
(1) Food must be incidental to the meeting
75
(2) Additional rules where the cost of meals is
charged separately
78
(3) Reimbursement for alternate meals
not permitted
79
e. Employees' food at meetings organized by a
federal entity
79
(1) General rule: no use of appropriations for food
at meetings organized by a federal entity
79
(2) Exceptions: where food at federally organized
meetings may be permissible
81
f. Agency hosting a formal conference
83
g. Awards ceremonies
88
h. Cultural awareness programs
89
i. Cafeterias and kitchen appliances
89
j. Bottled water
91
k. Focus groups
91
l. Accomplishment of a statutory responsibility
92
m. Food for persons other than government
personnel
94
n. Official reception and representation funds
96
6. Considerations for various categories of expenditures 102
a. Advertising and dissemination of information on
agency activities
102
(1) Advertising and promotion
103
(2) Dissemination of information
105
b. Attorney's fees
107
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(1) Hiring of attorneys by government agencies
109
(2) Suits against government officers
and employees
112
(3) Suits unrelated to federal employees
126
(4) Claims by federal employees
127
(a) Discrimination proceedings
127
(b) Other employee claims
130
(5) The Criminal Justice Act
135
(6) Types of actions covered
136
(7) Miscellaneous cases
137
(8) The Equal Access to Justice Act
138
(9) Contract matters
145
(a) Bid protests
145
(b) Contract disputes
147
(10) Public participation in administrative proceedings:
funding of intervenors
148
c. Awards
156
(1) Government Employees' Incentive Awards Act 156
(a) Only federal employees may receive
awards under the Act
158
(b) Cash and non-cash awards are permissible 158
(c) Agencies may pay for travel, food, and
miscellaneous expenses if they are related
to an award
159
(d) Awards for money-saving employee
suggestions must be for suggestions that
save government money
163
(e) Awards are at an agency's discretion
164
(2) Other awards statutes
164
(3) Decisions that predate the Government
Employees' Incentive Awards Act
165
d. Books and periodicals
166
e. Business cards
168
f. Contests
169
(1) Entry fees
169
(2) Government-sponsored contests
170
g. Cultural awareness programs
175
h. Entertainment for persons other than government
personnel
177
(1) Entertainment authorized by law
177
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(2) Entertainment not specifically authorized
by law
179
i. Fines and penalties owed by federal employees
180
j. Gift giving
185
k. Health care and health-related items
192
(1) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
193
(2) Employee programs related to health: 5 U.S.C.
? 7901
196
(a) Treatment of on-the-job illness and dental
conditions
197
(b) Pre-employment and other examinations
197
(c) Referral of employees to private physicians
and dentists
200
(d) Preventive programs relating to health
201
(3) Federal Employees Health Benefits Act
of 1959
203
(4) The government's provision of a safe, sanitary
workplace
203
(5) Some other health-related decisions
206
l. Miscellaneous items incident to the federal
workplace
208
m. Office furnishings (decorative items)
211
n. Photographs
214
o. Postage
215
p. Rewards
216
(1) Contractual basis
216
(2) Rewards to informers
218
(a) Payments to informers: Internal Revenue
Service
221
(b) Payments to informers: Customs Service
223
(3) Lost or missing government property
225
(4) Rewards to government employees
227
(5) Military deserters
228
q. Traditional ceremonies
229
r. Training
230
s. Travel
232
D. Step 2: expenditure must not be prohibited
233
1. Agency communications with Congress and the public 236
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a. Lobbying
237
(1) Grassroots lobbying
238
(a) The Anti-Lobbying Act: 18 U.S.C. ? 1913
238
(b) Appropriations act provisions: publicity or
propaganda designed to influence pending
legislation
247
(c) Cases involving violations of appropriations
act provisions barring grassroots lobbying 252
(d) Cases with no violation of appropriations
act provisions barring grassroots lobbying 258
(2) Provision of assistance to private
lobbying groups
264
(3) Promotion of legislative proposals: Interior
appropriations act restriction
266
(4) Lobbying with grant funds: the Byrd
Amendment
269
b. Publicity or propaganda
278
(1) Self-aggrandizement
283
(2) Covert propaganda
287
(3) Purely partisan materials
293
c. Employee communications with Congress
298
d. Advertising in government publications
300
e. Publicity experts
301
2. Compensation restrictions
305
a. Dual compensation
306
b. Employment of aliens
307
c. Forfeiture of annuities and retired pay
309
(1) The Alger Hiss case
310
(2) Types of offenses covered
311
(3) Related statutory provisions
313
3. Guard services: Anti-Pinkerton Act
313
a. Evolution of the law prior to 1978
313
b. The present state of the law
317
4. Insurance
319
a. The self-insurance rule
319
b. Exceptions to the rule
323
(1) Departments and agencies generally
323
(2) Government corporations
327
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c. Specific areas of concern
328
(1) Property owned by government contractors
328
(2) Use of motor vehicles
329
(3) Losses in shipment
331
(4) Bonding of government personnel
332
5. Meetings and conventions
334
a. Historical background
334
b. Attendance at meetings: individuals other than
federal employees
337
c. Use of grant funds
342
d. Attendance at meetings: federal employees
343
e. Attendance at meetings: military personnel
348
f. Invitational travel
349
g. Rental of meeting space in District of Columbia
353
6. Membership fees: 5 U.S.C. ? 5946
354
7. Sovereign immunity
361
a. Is the charge a tax or a fee?
363
(1) Firefighting services
365
(2) Other decisions and opinions considering
whether a charge is a tax or a fee
369
b. Is the tax imposed upon the United States?
374
(1) State gasoline taxes
376
(2) Taxes upon government contractors
377
(a) Federal government contractors are subject
to state and local taxation
377
(b) Federal government may reimburse its
contractors for taxes they pay
379
(3) Public utilities
381
(4) Other decisions and opinions concerning
incidence of taxes
382
c. Federal immunuity from state and local fines and
penalties
387
d. Impermissible infringement upon federal activity
388
e. Recovery of taxes improperly paid
390
f. Quantum meruit
391
8. Telephone services
393
a. Telephone service to private residences
393
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(1) The statutory prohibition and its major
exception
393
(2) Funds to which the statute applies
395
(3) What is a "private residence"?
396
(4) Application of the general rule
397
(5) Exceptions
399
b. Long-distance calls
404
c. Mobile or cellular telephones
405
E. Step 3: expenditure must not be provided for in another
appropriation
407
1. Specific appropriation prevails over the general one
407
2. Multiple appropriations available for the
same purpose
410
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