____________________ May 22, 1997 ____________________ GSBCA 13796-RELO In the Matter of RAMONA CARRIGAN Ramona Carrigan, Charlottesville, VA, Claimant. Donald R. Kronenberger, Jr., Regional Attorney, Office of General Counsel, Department of Agriculture, Atlanta, GA, appearing for Department of Agriculture. DeGRAFF, Board Judge. In 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) transferred Ramona Carrigan from Harrisonburg, Virginia to Louisa, Virginia. USDA gave Ms. Carrigan an advance of $5000 to cover her travel and relocation expenses, and agreed to reimburse her for sixty days of temporary quarters subsistence expenses (TQSE). USDA also agreed to pay for storage of Ms. Carrigan's household goods for sixty days. On October 5, 1995, Ms. Carrigan paid $20 to Hessian Hills Apartments for what the receipt describes as an "application fee for apartment rental." That same day, according to Ms. Carrigan, she wrote a check to Hessian Hills Apartments for a $200 security deposit on an apartment, and another check to the apartment's tenants to purchase their draperies. There is no receipt for either of these amounts. There are no canceled checks because, Ms. Carrigan says, the checks were never cashed. Ms. Carrigan supplied a copy of a page from her checking account register, showing checks for the application fee, the security deposit, and the draperies. On October 9, 1995, Ms. Carrigan paid Hunters Creek Apartments $565. The receipt for this payment states that it was for "application fee and rent" from November 1, 1995, through January 30, 1996. The words "Temporary Quarters" are written on the receipt. Ms. Carrigan reported for duty in Louisa, Virginia on October 16, 1995. A few days later, her household goods were picked up by a moving company. Ms. Carrigan signed a lease with Hunters Creek Apartments dated October 20, 1995. The lease agreement said that the term of the agreement began on October 20 and ended on October 31, 1995. At Ms. Carrigan's request, her household goods were not placed in storage. Instead, they were delivered to the apartment she leased from Hunters Creek Apartments. Ms. Carrigan signed another lease with Hunters Creek Apartments dated November 1, 1995. The lease agreement said that the term of the agreement began on November 1 and ended on November 30, 1995. Ms. Carrigan signed a third lease with Hunters Creek Apartments dated December 1, 1995. The lease agreement said that the term of the agreement began on December 1 and ended on December 31, 1995. The agreement also said that Ms. Carrigan requested a lease addendum effective January 1, 1996. The lease addendum said that if Ms. Carrigan stayed in her apartment beyond the term of the lease, she would become a month-to-month tenant. Ms. Carrigan paid one month's rent on December 1, 1995, and the words "Temporary Quarters" are typed on her receipt. Ms. Carrigan also paid Hunters Creek Apartments $200 on January 1, 1996. The receipt for this payment states that this was a "deposit." On February 22, 1996, Ms. Carrigan submitted a travel voucher to USDA. She claimed $1166.50 for the first thirty days of TQSE and $1255.47 for the second thirty days of TQSE. Ms. Carrigan claimed that her TQSE period began to run on October 20, 1995. The voucher also requested reimbursement for various other expenses, not at issue here. On March 7, 1996, USDA denied Ms. Carrigan's claim because, in its view, Ms. Carrigan had not established that the quarters she occupied were temporary. According to USDA's personnel records, Ms. Carrigan's permanent address was at Hunters Creek Apartments and, as of March 7, 1996, she still lived at that address. On April 30, 1996, Ms. Carrigan submitted a second travel voucher to USDA. She claimed $1270.78 for thirty days of TQSE, beginning on November 1, 1995. On the expense record that corresponds to this voucher, Ms. Carrigan said that she entered her temporary quarters on October 20, 1995, that she vacated her temporary quarters on December 30, 1995, and that she was waiting to hear from Hessian Hills Apartments in between those dates. In a letter that accompanied her second travel voucher, Ms. Carrigan stated that she intended to make her permanent residence at Hessian Hills Apartments and that she initially intended to move there on January 1, 1996, after the apartment she wanted became available on December 18, 1995. On December 18, she says, she learned that the apartment she wished to occupy would not be vacated because the tenants were having health problems. Ms. Carrigan explained that she had written checks for a deposit and for draperies, and she supplied a copy of her checking account register. In her April 30, 1996 letter, Ms. Carrigan said that she intended to move her household goods at her own expense to Hessian Hills Apartments. She also said that she had changed her address in USDA's records because she was not receiving mail, including mail from the National Finance Center. On May 9, 1996, Ms. Carrigan submitted a third travel voucher to USDA. She claimed $1119.40 for thirty days of TQSE. Ms. Carrigan claimed that her TQSE period began to run on December 1, 1995, and stated in her expense record that she vacated her temporary quarters on December 30, 1995. There are some discrepancies between the amounts claimed on the May 9 voucher for December 1 through 18, 1995, and the amounts claimed on the February 22 voucher for those same days. On May 14, 1996, USDA denied Ms. Carrigan's claim because, in USDA's opinion, Ms. Carrigan did not establish that she occupied temporary quarters. According to USDA, Ms. Carrigan continued to occupy her quarters at Hunters Creek Apartments in May 1996. On June 3, 1996, Ms. Carrigan asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to review the denial of her claim. On July 17, 1996, claims involving expenses incurred by federal civilian employees for official travel and transportation were transferred from GAO to the General Services Board of Contract Appeals. 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). The authority to settle these claims has more recently been vested by statute in the Administrator of General Services. General Accounting Office Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-316,  202(n), 110 Stat. 3826, 3843 (1996). USDA prepared a report concerning this case in September 1996, and stated that Ms. Carrigan was still living at Hunters Creek Apartments at that time. According to statute and the Federal Travel Regulation, when an employee is transferred from one permanent duty station to another, the agency shall pay the subsistence expenses the employee incurs while occupying temporary quarters, provided certain requirements are met. 5 U.S.C.  5724a(a)(3) (1994); 41 CFR ch. 302. The regulation defines temporary quarters as follows: Generally, the term temporary quarters refers to lodging obtained from private or commercial sources for the purpose of temporary occupancy after vacating the residence occupied when the transfer was authorized. However, occupancy of temporary quarters that eventually become the employee's permanent residence shall not prevent payment of the temporary quarters allowance if, in the agency's judgment, the employee shows satisfactorily that the quarters occupied were intended initially to be only temporary. In making this determination, the agency should consider factors such as the duration of the lease, movement of household effects into the quarters, type of quarters, expressions of intent, attempts to secure a permanent dwelling, and the length of time the employee occupies the quarters. 41 CFR 302-5.2(c) (1995). In its March 7, 1996 report, USDA mentioned the factors listed in the regulation and explained that Ms. Carrigan had not provided any evidence to establish that she meant to stay only temporarily at Hunters Creek Apartments. The agency also noted that Ms. Carrigan moved all of her household goods into Hunters Creek Apartments. In response to the agency's decision, on April 30, 1996, Ms. Carrigan submitted another voucher to USDA. She explained the arrangements she made to move to Hessian Hills Apartments, and she explained why that move did not occur. She also sent USDA her short-term leases with Hunters Creek Apartments. She said that she intended to pay to move her household goods to Hessian Hills Apartments, and she explained why she changed her address in the agency's records. In its May 14, 1996 decision denying Ms. Carrigan's claim, USDA did not mention the factors listed in the regulation, the plan to move to Hessian Hills Apartments, or the short-term leases. USDA denied the claim because, it said, there was no evidence that Ms. Carrigan made any definite, substantial efforts to secure new quarters. In fact, Ms. Carrigan did supply information to show that she intended to stay at Hunters Creek Apartments temporarily. Most important, she established that she entered into a series of very short-term leases. Only on January 1, 1996 did she convert her lease to a month-to-month term and pay Hunters Creek Apartments a security deposit. In October 1995, she wrote checks for a security deposit to Hessian Hills Apartments and for draperies in an apartment there. In addition, two of Ms. Carrigan's receipts from Hunters Creek Apartments contain the notation "Temporary Quarters." It makes sense that Ms. Carrigan did not make any efforts to secure new quarters before mid-December 1995, because until then she thought that she was going to move to Hessian Hills Apartments on January 1, 1996. Ms. Carrigan's inability to move to Hessian Hills Apartments was due to the health problems of the tenants who occupied the apartment Ms. Carrigan intended to lease, and not due to any actions of Ms. Carrigan. Contrary to the statement contained in USDA's May 14, 1996 decision, Ms. Carrigan did supply information to establish that she intended to secure quarters other than those at Hunters Creek Apartments. The information she supplied, which was not addressed by USDA in its decision, outweighs the fact that Ms. Carrigan moved her household goods to Hunters Creek Apartments, which is the only factor that USDA identifies as weighing against Ms. Carrigan's position. USDA has not explained why it exercised its discretion by disregarding the evidence supplied by Ms. Carrigan on April 30, 1996. On balance, the evidence supplied by Ms. Carrigan establishes that she intended to stay at Hunters Creek Apartments temporarily and then move to Hessian Hills Apartments. Ms. Carrigan is entitled to be reimbursed for TQSE. We agree with USDA that it is unclear what Ms. Carrigan is claiming for TQSE. She submitted three vouchers for different periods of time and different amounts, and she sent USDA receipts for some expenses. Ms. Carrigan and USDA should work together to calculate the amount of TQSE due. _______________________________ MARTHA H. DeGRAFF Board Judge