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B-316381 1 (2008-07-18)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptawat0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G a A O Comptroller General . Accountability * Integrity * Reliability of the United States United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 Decision Matter of: Army-Mass Transit Benefits, Aberdeen Proving Ground File: B-316381 Date: July 18, 2008 DIGEST The Army established a policy implementing 5 U.S.C. § 7905, which permits agency heads to reimburse federal employees, including members of a uniformed service, for certain commuting expenses. The certifying officer received a request for reimbursement, consistent with Army policy, from an Army officer for expenses of taking a commuter rail train to his place of employment. In accordance with this policy, the certifying officer may certify payment for transit benefits for the eligible active duty Army officer. The Army policy answers the certifying officer's concerns about the wisdom of permitting benefits for short commuting distances or easy travel conditions or when there is only one participant in the program. In implementing 5 U.S.C. § 7905, current Army policy provides that no installation outside the national capital region may restrict the benefit to eligible service members and employees for qualified means of transportation. DECISION A certifying officer with the United States Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine (USACHPPM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, requests a decision under 31 U.S.C. § 3529 regarding mass transit benefits at USACHPPM.' Specifically, the certifying officer asks whether USACHPPM is authorized to deny requests for Mass Transit Benefits for Civilians and/or active duty Army personnel for what the certifying officer describes as short commuting 'Memorandum from Jack D. Wilson, Financial Management Analyst, Department of the Army, Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, to GAO, Apr. 18, 2008 (Request Memo).