May 1, 1997
                                                  


                             GSBCA 13646-RELO


                    In the Matter of MICHAEL L. MORGAN


     Michael L. Morgan, Marina, CA, Claimant.

     Tsgt. Judith Vera, Chief, Travel Office, Beale Air Force Base,
CA, appearing for Department of the Air Force.

DANIELS, Board Judge (Chairman).

     Michael L. Morgan, an automotive mechanic, was transferred in
the interest of the Government from Fort Ord, California, to Beale
Air Force Base, California, in January of 1994.  Mr. Morgan's
permanent change of station orders authorized reimbursement of
temporary quarters subsistence expenses (TQSE) incurred for a
period of 60 days for Mr. Morgan, his wife, his daughter, and his
stepson.  Although Mr. Morgan filed two separate vouchers for
reimbursement of TQSE, the Department of the Air Force has never
made payment in response to either of them.

     There is a long and tortuous history to this matter.  Many
actors have had a role in the drama, but none has been helpful in
addressing the merits of Mr. Morgan's requests for payment.  We
conclude, based on the scant information provided by the claimant,
that the claim must be denied in large part.

     On March 16, 1994, Mr. Morgan submitted to the Air Force a
voucher for TQSE for himself and his three dependents for the
period from January 11 through March 7, 1994.  He asked to be paid 
$7,062.16 -- $560 for lodging, $6,305.89 for meals, and $196.27 for
laundry.  The Air Force personnel who received the voucher
considered the amounts claimed in it to be excessive.  At their
request, the agency's Office of Special Investigations (OSI)
conducted a formal investigation of relevant matters.  OSI filed a
report which included some findings, but came to no particular
conclusion as to whether payment should be made in the amount
requested.  The Air Force provided the report to us with a cover
letter which says that the report "may not be further disseminated
without the express written concurrence of [OSI]."  We do not rely
on the report for anything other than (a) its presentation of
copies of the voucher submitted by Mr. Morgan and (b) its admission
that Mr. Morgan gave the Air Force receipts relating to the amounts
noted in the voucher, but the agency travel office lost those
receipts.

     In October 1994, Mr. Morgan filed a claim with the General
Accounting Office (GAO) for TQSE associated with his transfer to
Beale Air Force Base.  This claim seeks reimbursement in the amount
of $3,052 -- $560 for lodging, $2,352 for meals, and $140 for
laundry.  GAO took no action on the claim.  In July 1996, the
authority to settle claims against the Government relating to
relocation expenses of federal civilian employees was transferred
from GAO to this Board.  Legislative Branch Appropriations Act,
1996, Pub. L. No. 104-53,  211, 109 Stat. 514, 535 (1995);
Determination by Acting Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (June 28, 1996); Delegation of Authority from the Acting
Administrator of General Services (July 17, 1996); General
Accounting Office Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-316,  202(n), 110
Stat. 3826, 3843 (1996).  GAO then sent this claim to us for
resolution.

     During the nearly two years that this claim was before GAO,
that office asked the Department of Defense (DoD) for a response on
four separate occasions.  The department never responded.  We have
asked the department on numerous occasions to provide its views on
the claim.  The only substantive reply has been a submission of the
1994 investigative report.

     We cautioned Mr. Morgan that the justification and
documentation supporting the claim were not clear, and asked him to
provide whatever further justification and documentation he had. 
Mr. Morgan explained in detail how he believed the Air Force had
not treated him fairly, particularly with regard to this claim.  He
provided only a small amount of information regarding the claim
itself, however.

     As best as we can piece together the background of this
matter, the relevant facts are as follows.  When Mr. Morgan was
transferred to Beale Air Force Base, his family remained behind in
Marina, California.  While at Beale from January 11 to March 7, Mr.
Morgan stayed in a campground nearby.  The rest of the family moved
in with Mrs. Morgan's parents in Marina.  According to Mr. Morgan,
the family planned to have its house renovated for sale during the
first half of 1994, and then, after his stepson had finished high
school, sell the house and move to the Beale area.  By May,
however, he had become "fairly disgusted with the Air Force," so he
moved his family back into its house and began looking for work in
the Marina area.  In September, he found employment there with the
Navy and moved back home on a permanent basis.

     The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) and the Defense
Department's Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), which amplify the FTR
for application to DoD civilian personnel, both limit reimbursement
for TQSE in three ways: first, costs claimed must have been
actually incurred; second, those costs must also have been
reasonably incurred; and third, for certain types of expenses
(including lodging), receipts must be provided.  Guy E. Mercier,
GSBCA 13795-RELO (Mar. 20, 1997); Suzanne G. Wade, GSBCA
13720-RELO, 97-1 BCA  28,706 (1996); Kevin S. Foster, GSBCA
13639-RELO, 97-1 BCA  28,688 (1996); 41 CFR 302-5.4(a) (1993); JTR
C13000.  In this case, since the Air Force lost Mr. Morgan's
receipts, we will not apply the third limitation.  The first two,
however, remain critical considerations in our evaluation of the
merits of this claim.

     The only item for which Mr. Morgan seeks reimbursement which
has been explained in his filing with GAO and letters to us is
lodging.  He states that he stayed in a campground during the
period of time in which he claims TQSE, and spent $10 per night, or
$560 in all, there.  This item addresses an actual cost, and $10
per night to stay in a campground is a reasonable amount.  We
therefore direct the Air Force to reimburse Mr. Morgan for this
expense.

     Although we asked Mr. Morgan to tell us why he should recover
the other costs he allegedly incurred, the claimant has provided no
justification for these items.  As to meals, in his initial
voucher, he asserts that he spent $6,305.89 for home-prepared
meals.  In his claim to GAO, he asks for $10 for each breakfast,
$14 for each lunch, and $18 for each dinner, over a fifty-six day
period; he does not say whether these costs were for home-prepared
or restaurant meals.  We have no idea how the first and second sets
of figures relate to each other.  The first amount, which averages
$112.61 per day, is outlandish.  The second, which is based on
identical costs for each meal on each day, fails to persuade us
that it reflects actual expenses; the likelihood that every one of
Mr. Morgan's dinners, for example, cost precisely the same as every
other dinner he ate over a two-month period is remote.  Similarly,
with regard to the amount claimed for coin-operated laundry, we
have no idea who spent the stated amounts for what cleaning at what
locations.

     We have no doubt that Mr. Morgan actually ate meals and did
laundry during the fifty-six days for which he seeks reimbursement
of expenses.  Because he has not established that he actually and
reasonably incurred any particular amounts of expenses, however, we
conclude that the agency has properly not reimbursed the alleged
meal and laundry costs.  Luther R. Dixon, GSBCA 13694-RELO (Apr. 4,
1997).





                              _________________________
                              STEPHEN M. DANIELS
                              Board Judge