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                             January 13, 1997
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                             GSBCA 13664-RELO


                     In the Matter of ROBERT F. HEMPEL


     Robert F. Hempel, Rapid City, SD, Claimant.

     David Tarr, Division of Travel Management, Baltimore, MD,
appearing for Social Security Administration.

PARKER, Board Judge.

     Robert F. Hempel, an employee of the Social Security
Administration (SSA), asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to
review SSA's denial of his claim for certain meal expenses incurred
incident to his permanent change of duty station from Denver,
Colorado to Rapid City, South Dakota.  Specifically, Mr. Hempel
claimed reimbursement of $38.42 for meals eaten by him and his wife
on June 21, 1995, the same day that they moved into permanent
quarters.  SSA denied the claim because it interpreted applicable
regulations as prohibiting the payment of temporary quarters
subsistence expenses (TQSE) for expenses incurred on the same day
that an employee moves into permanent quarters.  As explained
below, we grant Mr. Hempel's claim.  Reimbursement may be made, if
otherwise proper, for each calendar day an employee occupies
temporary quarters, including the day on which he enters his
permanent residence, up to the maximum allowable period.

     The essential facts are as follows.  Having been authorized
TQSE for up to thirty days, Mr. Hempel rented temporary quarters in
Rapid City on May 31, 1995.  On June 21, movers delivered Mr.
Hempel's household goods to his new permanent residence.  The
movers did not finish unloading his household goods until early
evening and, as Mr. Hempel puts it, "the only thing unpacked was
the bed we had to sleep in.  We still had to have things hooked up
the next day.  Our only means of having meals that day was to eat
out."  The Hempels incurred a total of $38.42 for meals on the day
they moved in.

                                Discussion

     In describing the period of eligibility for temporary quarters
expenses, section 302-5.2(f) of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR)
provides as follows:

          The period of eligibility shall terminate when
          the employee or any member of the immediate
          family occupies permanent residence quarters
          or when the authorized period of time expires,
          whichever occurs first.

The next section, 302-5.2(g), entitled "Effect of Partial Days on
Eligibility," explains that:

          The temporary quarters period shall terminate
          at midnight of the last day of eligibility.

41 CFR 302-5.2(f), (g) (1995).

     The first somewhat confusing provision tells us that the
period of eligibility terminates on the day the employee moves into
his permanent residence.  But is that day the last day of the
period, or the first day after the period?  Whichever day is the
last one, the second section tells us that the period terminates at
midnight on that day.

     Our predecessors at GAO have answered this question in a way
which makes sense to us.  According to GAO, the period of
eligibility ends at midnight on the day the employee moves into his
permanent residence.  Thus, if otherwise proper, for each calendar
day the employee occupies temporary quarters, including the day on
which he enters his permanent residence, he may be reimbursed
reasonably incurred subsistence expenses.  Joseph B. Stepan, 56
Comp. Gen. 15 (1977).

     Here, application of the rule leads to a fair and reasonable
result.  Mr. Hempel and his wife did not move into their permanent
residence until the evening of June 21.  Certainly they were
entitled to eat something that day.  Since the cost of the meals
was reasonable, Mr. Hempel is entitled to reimbursement.

                                 Decision

     The claim is GRANTED.




                                   ___________________
                                   ROBERT W. PARKER
                                   Board Judge