Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 ________________ August 20, 1998 ________________ GSBCA 14495-RELO In the Matter of ARMINDO A. DA SILVA Armindo A. Da Silva, West Warwick, RI, Claimant. Joseph D. O'Leska, Jr., Assistant Commissioner, Office of Financial Management, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, DC, appearing for Department of Justice. PARKER, Board Judge. In February 1997, Armindo A. Da Silva, an employee of the Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), received orders to relocate from New York, New York, to Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Da Silva's travel orders stated that he was eligible for a temporary quarters allowance and a real estate expense allowance. Mr. Da Silva, who owned a cooperative apartment in New York, promptly applied for inclusion in the agency's Relocation Services program. Under INS's Relocation Services program, which is provided through a Government-wide contract for relocation services administered by the General Services Administration (GSA), various services are provided to transferring employees. Mr. Da Silva was told by an INS official that, although he could take advantage of the relocation services company's home finding assistance and mortgage counseling services, he was ineligible for the company's home sales service. Under the home sales service program, the relocation services company agrees to purchase the employee's residence in the event it cannot be sold independently. The GSA contract, however, specifically provides that the home sales service is not available for cooperatives. Mr. Da Silva has been unable to sell his cooperative apartment at what he considers a fair price and has asked the Board to order INS to arrange for its purchase at his original asking price. He also requests that the Board order INS to pay him temporary quarters subsistence expenses (TQSE) beyond the 120 day period for which he has already received it. Discussion Statute requires the Government to reimburse an employee who is transferred in the interest of the Government for certain expenses incurred in connection with the sale of the employee's residence at the old duty station and the purchase of a residence at the new duty station. 5 U.S.C.A. 5724a(d) (West Supp. 1998). With regard to the provision of relocation services, however, the law provides as follows: Under regulations prescribed under section 5738 of this title, each agency may enter into contracts to provide relocation services to agencies and employees for the purpose of carrying out this subchapter. An agency may pay a fee for such services. Such services include arranging for the purchase of a transferred employee's residence. 5 U.S.C.A. 5724c. The statute permits, but does not require, agencies to arrange for the purchase of a transferred employee's residence. Charles T. Loverdi, GSBCA 14232-RELO (May 27, 1997). The regulations in effect at the time of Mr. Da Silva's transfer recognized the agency's discretion to decide whether to participate in a relocation services program, 41 CFR 302-12.1 (1997), and, if so, to decide which relocation services will be offered, 41 CFR 302-12.6(a)(2). Mr. Da Silva has not shown that INS abused its discretion when it obtained relocation services through GSA's Government- wide contract, which did not include home sales services for cooperatives. INS was not legally obligated to provide any relocation services. Although we sympathize with Mr. Da Silva's situation, he has not demonstrated any violation of law or regulation by the agency in connection with the program. His request is, therefore, denied. Mr. Da Silva's claim for TQSE beyond the 120 days already provided also must be denied. An agency's authority to pay TQSE is limited by statute to a maximum of 120 days. 5 U.S.C.A. 5724a(c). __________________________ ROBERT W. PARKER Board Judge