Board of Contract Appeals
                    General Services Administration
                         Washington, D.C. 20405
 
                           _________________
 
                              May 6, 1999
                           __________________
 
 
                            GSBCA 14907-RELO
 
 
                  In the Matter of STEVEN W. FRANCOEUR
 
 
        Steven W. Francoeur, Edwardsville, IL, Claimant.
 
        Robert  H. Garfield,  Chief,  General  Law Division,  United
   States Army Aviation and Missile Command, Department of the Army,
   Redstone Arsenal, AL, appearing for Department of the Army.
 
   PARKER, Board Judge.
 
        In  March 1997,  Steven  W.  Francoeur,  a  former  civilian
   employee of the Department of the Army, transferred from the U.S.
   Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM),  St. Louis, Missouri, to
   Scott Air  Force Base (AFB),  Illinois.  Because  Mr. Francoeur s
   transfer was in connection with  the closing of ATCOM pursuant to
   the Base Realignment and Closure Act  of 1995, he was entitled to
   certain  permanent change of station (PCS) benefits.  Among other
   benefits, Mr.  Francoeur s original orders  authorized sixty days
   of  temporary  quarters  subsistence   expenses  (TQSE).    After
   receiving  his orders,  Mr. Francoeur  was told  that he  was not
   entitled to TQSE.   Later, he  was told that  he was entitled  to
   TQSE and,  finally, the agency determined  that he was not.   Mr.
   Francoeur rented temporary quarters  while waiting for possession
   of a home that  he purchased nearer to his new  duty station, and
   he has asked the Board to review the Army s determination that he
   is not eligible for reimbursement of these expenses.
 
        The  Army s initial  confusion stemmed  from  the fact  that
   Scott  AFB  is located  within  a  few  miles of  ATCOM s  former
   location.  The distance from Mr. Francoeur s old residence to his
   old duty  station at ATCOM was  twelve miles.   The distance from
   his old residence to his new duty station at Scott AFB was forty-
   five miles, or  thirty-three miles  farther than  his commute  to
   ATCOM.   The Army  contends that applicable  regulations prohibit
   payment  of TQSE in these circumstances.  Mr. Francoeur disagrees
   and  further  maintains  that, in  any  event,  misleading advice
   provided by Army officials should entitle him to reimbursement.
 
                               Discussion
 
        At the  time of Mr.  Francoeur's transfer, the  Joint Travel
   Regulations (JTR) provided as follows:
 
        TQSE ALLOWANCE FOR SHORT DISTANCE TRANSFERS
 
        A.   General.   Except  as provided  in  subpar. B,  an
             employee and/or  dependents won t be  eligible for
             TQSEs when the one-way commuting distance from the
             employee s  old residence to  the new duty station
             exceeds  the one-way  commuting distance  from the
             old residence to the old duty  station by 40 miles
             or less.   All measurements are made  according to
             map  distances along  a  usually traveled  surface
             route.
 
        B.   Entitlement  While  Waiting   for  HHG  [household
             goods].  In the circumstances described in subpar.
             A, an employee and dependents are eligible for the
             expenses  of temporary  quarters occupied  for the
             period during which  the employee is  awaiting the
             arrival of HHG  shipped from the old  residence to
             the new residence provided use of such quarters is
             begun   not  later  than   the  maximum  time  for
             beginning  allowable  travel  and  transportation,
             which  is 2  years  from  the  date  the  employee
             reports for duty at the new duty station.
 
   JTR C13006 (Nov. 1, 1996).
 
        Stated another way,  a transferred employee is  not eligible
   for TQSE (except  while awaiting the arrival of  household goods)
   unless  the one-way commuting distance  from his old residence to
   the new duty station  is more than  forty miles farther than  the
   one-way commuting distance from his old residence to the old duty
   station.  Mr. Francoeur  is not entitled to TQSE here because the
   difference between the relevant  distances was only  thirty-three
   miles,  not forty  miles, and  because  he was  not awaiting  the
   arrival of household goods at his new residence.  Mr. Francoeur s
   comments indicate that he has misread the applicable regulation.
 
        As to  Mr. Francoeur s  argument that  the Army s  allegedly
   misleading advice should entitle him to receive TQSE, it is well-
   settled that  erroneous advice  provided by Government  officials
   cannot provide  a basis  for reimbursement  where no  independent
   authority  for such  reimbursement exists.   Masood  Badizadegan,
   GSBCA  14393-RELO,  98-2  BCA      29,789.    Regardless  of  Mr.
   Francoeur s  expectations, the Army was bound to apply applicable
   rules  and regulations which,  as discussed above,  prohibited it
   from paying TQSE in these circumstances.
 
                                Decision
 
        The claim is denied.
 
                                      _________________________
                                      ROBERT W. PARKER
                                      Board Judge