USACE 101 Module 1 Quiz LATEST UPDATE

MODULE 2 QUE ST ION 1 1. It is appropriate for the Army to acquire lawn cutting services through the Project Order Statute. True False 20 points 20 points 20 points 20 points QUE ST ION 4 1. The proper amount of money to obligate at the award of a firm fixed-price contract is: The full amount of the contract. 20 points QUE ST ION 1 1. On 1 September 2011 the command at New Sands Missile Range purchases an x-ray machine for the installation hospital, which arrives and is accepted on 15 September 2011. The x-ray machine is not needed until August of 2012, when an increased number of Soldiers arrive due to BRAC. Assuming there is no applicable delivery or production lead time exception (as this is a commercial item and readily available off the shelf), has an ADA violation been committed and is it correctable? No ADA violation has been committed. As the bona fide need is in 2012, an ADA violation has been committed but it is correctable. As the bona fide need is in 2012, an ADA violation has been committed, and is not correctable since proper funds, FY 2012 O&M (or procurement, depending on the value) were not available at the time of obligation. Although the bona fide need is in 2012, there is no ADA violation because the command was engaged in advanced planning, and was smartly purchasing an item ahead of the expected need and perhaps even getting a better price. 20 points QUE ST ION 2 1. It is appropriate for the Army to acquire lawn cutting services through the Project Order Statute. True False 20 points QUE ST ION 4 1. The Director of Research and Development (DRD) at the Orange Sands Missile Range comes to your office late on a Friday afternoon. He just learned that his office used an RDT&E appropriation to fund the purchase of a Lifterrator, a hydraulic lift system capable of lifting extremely heavy objects. Since the Lifterrator is a capital item costing more than the investment/expense threshold, however, its purchase should have been funded with a Procurement appropriation. The DRD wants to know what is necessary to avoid an Antideficiency Act violation for violating 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a) (the Purpose Statute). Please select the best answer. Proper funds must have been available at the time of the erroneous obligation. Proper funds must have been available when the agency discovered, and corrected the erroneous obligation. Proper funds must have been available continuously between the time of the erroneous obligation and correction of the purpose violation. The agency must show that (A) & (B). None of the above. You can never correct a purpose violation. 20 points QUE ST ION 5 1. All Economy Act orders to obtain supplies or services by interagency acquisition require a determination and finding. True False E ST ION 2 1. Assume a contracting officer (KO) at Ft. Bragg, NC awards a contract on 20 September 2010 for $10 million inadvertently committing an ADA violation by causing the Army to exceed the amount available in its FY 2010 O&M appropriation. Which of the following is correct: The KO is subject to administrative discipline because good faith or mistake of fact does not relieve him from liability under the ADA. There is no ADA violation if DoD has sufficient funds to cover the overage. The KO is not subject to criminal or adverse administrative action because Ft. Bragg's allotment is an informal subdivision of funds. The KO will surely go to jail for an ADA violation, serving a mandatory minimum QUE ST ION 4 1. How long does the Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation give an individual discovering a possible Antideficiency Act violation to report it to his/her chain of command and the Financial Management Comptroller? 5 working days. 2 weeks. 90 calendar days. 45 days. QUE ST ION 1 1. As part of your installation's "Quality of Life" initiative, the Chief, Directorate of Engineering has proposed tearing down the building that now houses the Child Development Center (CDC), moving the CDC to the gymnasium (so kids will have lots of room to run around and play on the weight-lifting equipment), and constructing a new barracks complex on the site where the CDC was located. Construction of the new barracks will cost about $4.8 million dollars. If approved, which type of funds should be used to fund the construction of the barracks? Operation and Maintenance Funds (O&M). Military Construction Funds (MILCON). Unspecified Minor Military Construction Funds (UMMC). Unspecified Quality of Life Enhancement Funds. 20 points QUE ST ION 2 1. Under an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement (ACSA), a country can "pay" for goods or services this way: Payment in Kind (PIK) (cash). Equal Value Exchange (EVE). Replacement in Kind (RIK). All of the above are available. 20 points QUE ST ION 3 1. Which U.S. Government agency is primarily responsible for funding foreign humanitarian or security assistance provided to our allies? DoD- Department of Defense USDA- U.S. Department of Agriculture DoS- Department of State The U.S. Treasury Department 20 points QUE ST ION 4 1. True or False. DoD Commanders tasked to provide disaster assistance in Haiti following an earthquake can fund humanitarian assistance projects for the local civilian population with the Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP). True False 20 points QUE ST ION 5 1. Which is the most likely example of a project that would be appropriate under the Commanders' Emergency Response Program (CERP)? Payment of a reward to a local Iraqi for information about a possible mortar attack at Life Support Area (LSA) Anaconda ("Mortaritaville") in Balad, Iraq. Construction of tent platforms and field latrines on the recently de-mined and undeveloped grounds at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, for the exclusive use of visiting British Army Aviators. Rebuilding of a small health clinic in Gahzni, Afghanistan which was damaged during combat operations, and which is the only health clinic in the area. Provision of office supplies (paper, pencils, and paper clips) to Afghan local police officers stationed at a police station near Kandahar, Afghanistan. QUE ST ION 2 1. While supporting operations in Afghanistan, the Task Force Commander comes to you with a plan to re-fit the Task Force headquarters building. The plan includes renovating the inside of the current headquarters (which suffered significant water damage recently when a water pipe burst) at a cost of approximately $300,000, and building an extension between the current cafeteria and headquarters building at a cost of about $600,000. The commander wants to know if he can use his O&M funds to pay for these projects. You correctly tell him that: Based on the facts given, it is clear that the correct source of funding for this project would be “unspecified” MILCON. He can approve the project and execute it as soon as he wishes, but must use “unspecified” MILCON funds to pay for it. We are in a deployment setting so Operations and Maintenance funds are used for all construction projects not exceeding $100 million. In order to answer this question, I would need to talk to the Engineers to determine how they are scoping and classifying this work. If these projects can be done separately, we may be able to fund them separately with O&M as a repair project (the HQ renovation) and a construction project (the extension). However, if the work is so integrated that we can’t separate the construction project from the repair project, we will have to fund them together as a single project, which could potentially push the total funded project cost us over the O&M funding threshold. While unspecified MILCON funding would be the proper funding source, before obligating such funds on this contract, we must first get approval from the Secretary of Defense who would notify Congress. We must then wait 21 days before obligating the money. 20 points QUE ST ION 3 1. A unit is conducting a month-long Combined Airborne Parachute Exercise with the country of Romania. The Romanian troops are all already airborne qualified, have successfully completed multiple jumps, but have never jumped from a U.S. C-130 before. The Brigade S3 (operations officer) wants to conduct a two-hour block of instruction for the Romanians on C-130 exit safety procedures. Can the unit provide the training? The unit must contact DoS via DSCA to access their funds, since this is Security Assistance training (Big "T" Training). The unit may fund it with Afghanistan Security Forces Funds. The unit may fund it with O&M, because it is for Interoperability, Familiarization, and Safety training (little "t" training). It depends on whether Congress has given DoD an authorization or appropriation to fund this type of Foreign Assistance. 20 points QUE ST ION 4 1. Under the Military Construction Codification Act (10 U.S.C. §2801), a “Military Construction Project” is defined as: Any construction, maintenance and repair carried out on a military installation regardless of the source of funding. All military construction work necessary to produce a complete and usable facility or a complete and usable improvement to an existing facility. All specified military construction carried out on a military installation with a funded cost of $1.5 million or greater. Any specified or unspecified construction carried out by the Corps of Engineers using Operations and Maintenance funds. 20 points QUE ST ION 5 1. Which is the most likely example of a project that would be proper using humanitarian and civic assistance (HCA) authority (10 U.S.C. § 401)? Building of a state-of-the-art two story health clinic in Kandahar, Afghanistan, by an infantry platoon. An Army doctor training local civilian doctors to stitch and bandage a local boy's injured leg in Lagos, Nigeria, while on a COCOM approved combined training exercise with the Nigerian Army. Grading and paving of a 5-mile road from Ba'quabah and Al Khalis, Iraq, by an engineering company. Purchase of 1,000 math, science, and history books, 300 student desks, a year's supply of paper and pencils for a school in Herat, Afghanistan. QUE ST ION 4 1. True or False. In accordance with Army Regulations, construction projects which have a common support purpose but are not mutually dependent are funded as separate projects. True False 20 points QUE ST ION 5 1. Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A) has the mission to train and equip the Security Forces of Afghanistan. The CSTC-A Commander wants to train an Afghan Battalion on Airborne Operations. The training will take three months. It will include a two-month long airborne school and one month of training on the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP). It will also cost approximately $15 million to conduct the 3-month training event. By the way, you have to build the school house and training facilities for approximately $12 million. Can CSTC-A pay for all of this? CSTC-A can fund the training with appropriations that Congress has provided DoD, but we cannot build the school or training facilities because this cost exceeds the contingency construction authority. Yes sir, but only if we can get the DoS funds to pay for it, since this is clearly "Big T" Security Assistance Training. We can legally fund all the planned training and construction with the ISFF appropriation. We can legally fund all the planned training and construction with the ASFF appropriation. QUE ST ION 1 1. Under an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement (ACSA), a country can "pay" for goods or services this way: Payment in Kind (PIK) (cash). Equal Value Exchange (EVE). Replacement in Kind (RIK). All of the above are available QUE ST ION 1 1. Accountable officers can be held pecuniarily liable: only if they had physical custody of funds at some point. for improper payment discovered within three years after the accounts are substantially complete. for three additional years after a loss due to fraud, embezzlement, or other criminal activity is discovered. Both b and c. 20 points QUE ST ION 2 1. A continuing resolution is: an authorization act an appropriation, in the form of a joint resolution, that provides budget authority for federal agencies, specific activities, or both to continue operation when Congress and the President have not completed action on the regular appropriations acts by the beginning of the fiscal year The Department of Defense Appropriations Act Save and Submit none of the above 20 points QUE ST ION 3 1. Mr. Sanders is a Government Commercial Purchase Card (GCPC) holder at Fort Coop. His boss, COL Perdue, is the G-4 (Logistics Officer). One of her collateral duties as the G-4 includes serving as the certifying official for the ten GCPC holders in her office. Mr. Sanders used his GCPC to pay for BG Rooster’s (Ft. Coop’s Commander) annual Labor Day BBQ for the 25 military and civilian employees and 12 contractors that work in Fort Coop’s headquarters building. It is now 1 November and someone is questioning the purchase. Which statement is true? Commanders have complete authority and are certainly entitled to treat their employees to a BBQ once a year. Since the expenditure obviously was made with last year’s funds, and the period of availability of those funds has ended, it’s really too late to do anything. Since food is generally considered a personal expense, the only issue raised by these facts is a potential ADA violation. COL Perdue could be held pecuniarily liable if the purchase is found to be improper. 20 points 20 points QUE ST ION 5 1. The Department of Justice Trial Attorneys spoke to your contracting officer because the contractor was successful on a claim that was filed by the contractor on a 2005 construction project. The Court of Federal Claims ruled that the contractor's claim was based on an in-scope modification and the agency is responsible for paying the claimed amount. Fortunately, the funds which funded the original contract are not yet closed. Unfortunately, the expired funds which funded the original contract are exhausted. How should the agency handle this judgment? The contracting officer should seek payment from the Judgment Fund and reimbursement using current funds. 20 points QUE ST ION 2 1. An accountable officer is not liable for an improper payment: if there was a lack of fault or negligence; if the certification was based upon official records and the accountable officer using reasonable diligence could not have discovered the correct information; or if the obligation was incurred in good faith, no law specifically prohibits the payment, and the government received some benefit. in some parallel universe. In our world, an accountable officer of the U.S. Government is always strictly liable for improper payments. if the accountable officer obtained an advance decision from the proper authority and the improper payment was made in reliance on that advanced decision, or if he's a DoD Departmental Accountable Official and there was no fault or negligence. if he was completely without fault or negligence, and he sought and reasonably relied upon the advice of his Judge Advocate before certifying the voucher for payment. 20 points 20 points 20 points QUE ST ION 1 1. When an agency “reprograms” funds, there is no change in the total amount available in the appropriations account. True False 20 points 20 points QUE ST ION 3 1. The Department of Justice Trial Attorneys spoke to your contracting officer because the contractor was successful on a claim that was filed by the contractor on a 2005 construction project. The Court of Federal Claims ruled that the contractor's claim was based on an in-scope modification and the agency is responsible for paying the claimed amount. Fortunately, the funds which funded the original contract are not yet closed. Unfortunately, the expired funds which funded the original contract are exhausted. How should the agency handle this judgment? The contracting officer should seek payment from the Judgment Fund and reimbursement using current funds. The contracting officer should seek payment from the Judgment Fund and disregard any reimbursement since the funds are exhausted. The contracting officer should reallocate the FY 2005 funds to create funding to pay the judgment. The contracting officer cannot pay the claim without creating an Antideficiency Act Violation. 20 points QUE ST ION 4 1. When operating under Continuing Resolution Authority, government agencies: (Choose the best answer). Are not authorized to obligate funds Are authorized to obligate funds, but only to pay for contracts awarded during the previous fiscal year. May obligate funds for new contracts, but only if the new contract is not a “new start.” May continue on as normal, because CRA has no effect on the authority to obligate funds. 20 points QUE ST ION 5 1. The Army wants to procure some ammunition. It is August and the Department of Army (DA) has run out of funding in its Procurement of Ammunition, Army appropriation. It intends to move $10 million from its Other Procurement, Army (OPA) appropriation into the Procurement of Ammunition appropriation. Can it do this? No. This would constitute an Antideficiency Act violation in all circumstances. Maybe. Congress typically provides general and specific transfer authorities in the annual appropriation act up to a certain dollar level. If the current appropriation includes a transfer authority that would cover this transaction, and it has not already been used, then the Army may transfer $10 million from the OPA account. Maybe. Congress typically provides reprogramming authority in the annual appropriations act up to a certain dollar level. If the current appropriation includes this reprogramming authority and it has not already been used, then the Army may transfer $10 million from the OPA account. No. Moving funds from one appropriation into another appropriation is an unauthorized augmentation of funds and a violation of the Purpose Statute, 31 USC § 1301(a). QUE ST ION 1 1. When working with the reprogramming of military construction appropriations, some of the permissible reasons for reprogramming of military construction and family housing funds are that reprogramming is necessary in response to: Emergencies. Accommodation of unexpected price increases. A need to restore or replace damaged or destroyed facilities. All of the above. QUE ST ION 3 1. The Department of Justice Trial Attorneys spoke to your contracting officer because the contractor was successful on a claim that was filed by the contractor on a 2005 construction project. The Court of Federal Claims ruled that the contractor's claim was based on an in-scope modification and the agency is responsible for paying the claimed amount. Fortunately, the funds which funded the original contract are not yet closed. Unfortunately, the expired funds which funded the original contract are exhausted. How should the agency handle this judgment? QUE ST ION 4 1. Can the Judgment Fund be utilized to pay the prevailing appellant's attorney fees if the Government's actions were not substantially justified? No, the government may never pay the prevailing appellant’s attorney fees, regardless of the source of the funds. Yes, the Equal Access to Justice Act allows a prevailing party to recover legal fees from the Government. These fees can be paid from the Judgment Fund. QUE ST ION 1 1. When operating under Continuing Resolution Authority, government agencies: (Choose the best answer). Are not authorized to obligate funds Are authorized to obligate funds, but only to pay for contracts awarded during the previous fiscal year. May obligate funds for new contracts, but only if the new contract is not a “new start.” May continue on as normal, because CRA has no effect on the authority to obligate funds. 20 points QUE ST ION 2 1. Can the Judgment Fund be utilized to pay the prevailing appellant's attorney fees if the Government's actions were not substantially justified? No, the government may never pay the prevailing appellant’s attorney fees, regardless of the source of the funds. Yes, the Equal Access to Justice Act allows a prevailing party to recover legal fees from the Government. These fees can be paid from the Judgment Fund. No, the Equal Access to Justice Act allows a prevailing party to recover legal fees from the Government. These fees cannot be paid from the Judgment Fund, however. No, the unit's prior year funds which funded the original contract should be used to pay any current attorney fees awarded by the court.