Board of Contract Appeals
                 General Services Administration
                      Washington, D.C. 20405




                     _______________________

                        February 12, 2003
                     _______________________


                         GSBCA 15892-RELO


                In the Matter of KELLY W. KIETZKE 


     Kelly W. Kietzke, Sewanee, TN, Claimant.

     J. Patrick O'Toole, Director, Division of Travel Management, Social Security
Administration, Baltimore, MD, appearing for Social Security Administration.

WILLIAMS, Board Judge.

     A transferred employee is entitled to transportation and storage of household goods
(HHG) not to exceed 18,000 pounds.  Claimant here seeks $556.38 representing charges for
temporary storage of 3080 pounds of HHG, over and above the 18,000 pounds the
Government shipped for him.  The applicable statute and regulations do not permit
reimbursement for transportation and storage of HHG in excess of 18,000 pounds in a given
move.

                            Background

     Claimant, Kelly W. Kietzke, an employee of the Social Security Administration
(SSA), was transferred from Tallahassee, Florida, to Tullahoma, Tennessee, in February
2000.  Claimant was authorized shipment of his HHG not to exceed 18,000 pounds and
temporary storage of HHG not to exceed ninety days.

     Mr. Kietzke had HHG with a total weight of 21,520 pounds transported from his old
residence in Tallahassee to  his new official duty station in Tullahoma.  At claimant's request,
18,440 pounds of HHG were delivered to his new residence and the remaining 3080 pounds
of HHG delivered into storage.  The agency paid for the transportation and delivery charges
based on the 18,000-pound maximum weight limitation.  The 3080 pounds of undelivered
HHG remained in storage for a period of approximately three months.  Mr. Kietzke asserts
that this portion of his goods could not be delivered until ongoing construction at the new
residence was complete.  Mr. Kietzke was billed directly for the storage charges in the
amount of $556.38, and seeks reimbursement from SSA.

                            Discussion

     Claimant recognizes that his HHG weighed over 18,000 pounds, but contends that
only 3080 pounds were placed in temporary storage and that the weight of the HHG placed
into storage should be considered separately from the weight of the HHG transported.  In
essence, claimant is arguing that he is entitled to be reimbursed for shipping one component
of his HHG weighing up to 18,000 pounds and storing another component of his HHG
weighing up to 18,000 pounds.

     The problem with claimant's argument is that the applicable statute and regulations
clearly make 18,000 pounds the maximum for both transportation of HHG and storage of
HHG in a given move.  Statute limits the Government's payment of an employee's moving
expenses to 18,000 pounds net weight, and expressly provides:

          Under regulations prescribed under section 5738 of this title and when
     the head of the agency concerned or his designee authorizes or approves, the
     agency shall pay from Government funds--

               (1)  the travel expenses of an employee transferred in the interest
          of the Government from one official station or agency to another for
          permanent duty, and . . .

               (2)  the expenses of transporting, packing, crating, temporarily
          storing, draying and unpacking his household goods and personal
          effects not in excess of 18,000 pounds net weight.[.]

5 U.S.C.   5724(a) (2000).

     The applicable regulation is to the same effect.  Federal Travel Regulation (FTR)
302-8.2 states:  

     (a)  Maximum weight allowance.  The maximum weight of household
     goods that may be transported or stored at Government expense is limited to
     18,000 pounds net weight for all employees.  The total weight of household
     goods stored under section 302-9.2 plus the weight of household goods
     transported under this part shall not exceed the maximum weight allowance
     prescribed in this paragraph [18,000 pounds].

41 CFR 302-8.2 (2000) (emphasis added).

     Thus, because claimant has already been reimbursed for the transportation of 18,000
pounds of HHG in conjunction with this authorized shipment, he is not entitled to
reimbursement of storage charges for additional HHG shipped in the same move in excess
of 18,000 pounds.  In other words, claimant could have been reimbursed for both
transportation and storage of up to 18,000 pounds of HHG, but he cannot be reimbursed for
either service for any of his HHG over and above 18,000 pounds.  The Government paid for
the transportation of 18,000 pounds of HHG to claimant's new residence, and has no
obligation to fund storage charges for additional HHG in excess of that weight.  Claimant's
election to store excess HHG over and above the 18,000-pound limitation resulted in an
expense which cannot be reimbursed under statute and regulation.

     The regulations authorize transportation and storage of HHG "in connection with an
authorized shipment."  41 CFR 302-8.2(d).  An authorized shipment is defined to be limited
to 18,000 pounds, so neither the transportation nor the storage entitlement can, for a given
authorized shipment, be extended to additional HHG in excess of the 18,000-pound
limitation.  This Board has recognized that employees are responsible for both transportation
and storage charges for any HHG in excess of 18,000 pounds in a given shipment.  E.g.,
Marion T. Silva, GSBCA 15673-RELO, 02-1 BCA   31,815, at 157,238; Ira A. C. Peets,
GSBCA 15294-RELO, 00-2 BCA   31,058, at 153,353.  Consistent with this, claimant is
responsible for the transportation and storage charges of his HHG weighing in excess of
18,000 pounds in this shipment.

                             Decision

     The claim is denied.



                                   ________________________________
                                   MARY ELLEN COSTER WILLIAMS
                                   Board Judge