FISCAL LAW GUIDE BOOK OVERVIEW| 2022 LATEST UPDATE

FISCAL LAW OVERVIEW I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 3 A. U.S. CONSTITUTION............................................................................................................ 3 B. THE MAJOR FISCAL LIMITATIONS......................................................................................... 3 C. PHILOSOPHY OF FISCAL LAW ............................................................................................. 3 II. KEY TERMINOLOGY...................................................................................................... 4 III. AVAILABILITY AS TO PURPOSE. ............................................................................... 6 A. THE “PURPOSE STATUTE”. ................................................................................................. 6 B. THREE-PART TEST FOR A PROPER PURPOSE. ...................................................................... 7 C. DETERMINING THE PURPOSE OF A SPECIFIC APPROPRIATION. ............................................ 8 D. NECESSARY EXPENSES. .................................................................................................... 14 E. TYPICAL QUESTIONABLE EXPENSES................................................................................. 15 F. IS THE EXPENDITURE PROHIBITED? .................................................................................. 34 G. IS THE EXPENDITURE OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR IN A SEPARATE APPROPRIATION? ....... 34 H. AUGMENTATION OF APPROPRIATIONS & MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. ............................. 40 I. EMERGENCY AND EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSE FUNDS. ..................................................... 46 J. MILITARY CONSTRUCTION................................................................................................ 51 IV. AVAILABILITY AS TO TIME. ..................................................................................... 63 A. THE TIME RULE. . ............................................................................................................. 63 B. THE “BONA FIDE NEEDS” RULE.. ..................................................................................... 63 C. PARKING FUNDS.............................................................................................................. 65 2 V. AVAILABILITY AS TO AMOUNT............................................................................... 67 A. ADMINISTRATIVE SUBDIVISION OF FUNDS. ...................................................................... 67 B. REGULATIONS TO CONTROL THE RATE OF OBLIGATIONS ................................................. 67 VI. THE ANTIDEFICIENCY ACT. ..................................................................................... 67 A. PROHIBITIONS. ................................................................................................................. 67 B. ANTIDEFICIENCY ISSUES WITH P-T-A............................................................................... 68 C. LIMITATION ON VOLUNTARY SERVICES. .......................................................................... 70 D. INVESTIGATING AND REPORTING ADA VIOLATIONS........................................................ 72 VII. CONCLUSION. ................................................................................................................ 72 Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 3 FISCAL LAW OVERVIEW I. INTRODUCTION. A. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the authority to raise revenue, borrow funds, and appropriate the proceeds for federal agencies. See U.S. Constitution, Art. I, §§ 8 and 9. In implementing these express constitutional powers, Congress limits strictly the obligation and expenditure of public funds by the Executive Branch. Congress regulates virtually all Executive Branch programs and activities through the appropriations process. 1. Congress has enacted fiscal controls, which, if violated, subject the offender to serious adverse personnel actions and possible criminal penalties. 2. Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) have agreed informally to additional restrictions. The DoD refrains from taking certain actions without first giving prior notice to, and receiving consent from, Congress. These restraints are embodied in regulation or instituted through historical practice. B. What are the major fiscal limitations? 1. An agency may obligate and expend appropriations only for a proper purpose; 2. An agency may obligate only within the time limits applicable to the appropriation (e.g., O&M funds are available for obligation for one fiscal year); and 3. An agency may not obligate more than the amount appropriated by the Congress. C. Philosophy of Fiscal Law. “The established rule is that the expenditure of public funds is proper only when authorized by Congress, not that public funds may be expended unless prohibited by Congress.” United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317, 321 (1976). Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 4 II. KEY TERMINOLOGY. A. Fiscal Year. The Federal Government’s fiscal year begins on 1 October and ends on 30 September. B. Period of Availability. The period of time in which budget authority is available for original obligation. Most appropriations are available for obligation for a limited period of time. If activities do not obligate the funds during the period of availability, the funds expire and are generally unavailable for obligation thereafter. GAO Red Book, Vol. I, p 5-3, GAO-04-261SP (Jan. 2004). C. Obligations. A definite commitment that creates a legal liability of the government for the payment of goods and services ordered or received, or a legal duty on the part of the United States that could mature into a legal liability by virtue of actions on the part of the other party beyond the control of the United States. Payment may be made immediately or in the future. An agency incurs an obligation, for example, when it places an order, signs a contract, awards a grant, purchases a service, or takes other actions that require the government to make payments to the public or from one government account to another. The standards for the proper reporting of obligations are found in section 1501(a) of title 31 of the United States Code. GAO, A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, p.70, GAO-05-734SP (Sept. 2005) (“GAO Glossary”). D. Budget Authority. 1. Congress finances federal programs and activities by granting budget authority. Budget authority is also called obligational authority. 2. Budget authority means “the authority provided by Federal law to incur financial obligations . . .” 2 U.S.C. § 622(2). 3. “Contract Authority,” is a limited form of “budget authority.” Contract authority is specific statutory authority to contractually obligate the United States to future payments even though no appropriations are available to pay the obligations at the time the contract is made. Hon. Alan Cranston, 1990 WL , at *3, Comp. Gen. No. B- (Aug. 24, 1990). An example of such statutory authority is the Feed and Forage Act, 41 U.S.C. § 11. Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 5 E. Comptroller General and Government Accountability Office (GAO). 1. The Comptroller General of the United States heads the GAO, an investigative arm of Congress charged with examining all matters relating to the receipt, disbursement, and use of public funds. Established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (31 U.S.C. §§ 701, et seq.) the GAO audits government agencies. 2. The Comptroller General has the authority to issue advance decisions regarding the propriety of payments that a disbursing official or head of an agency will make or a voucher presented to a certifying official for certification, except in those instances described in paragraph 3 below (see 31 U.S.C. § 3529), BUT DoD policy is to resolve legal issues internally. DoD agencies are the military departments are prohibited from requesting advance decisions from the Comptroller General without prior approval of the agency’s General Counsel and the DoD General Counsel. Finance officers should direct their questions through channels to the appropriate General Counsel’s office for an advance decision. It is DoD policy not to seek to recover a payment from an accountable official if that individual has obtained from the General Counsel concerned an opinion advising that the payment could legally be made. DOD FMR, Vol. 5, Ch. 25, ¶ 2503 (December 2010); 31 U.S.C. § 3527(b). 3. Agency Advance Decisions. See DOD FMR, Vol. 5, Ch. 25, ¶ 2503 and Vol. 5, (December 2010 ); Transfer of Claims Settlement and Related Advance, Comp. Gen. No. B- (Mar. 17, 1997). Per the General Accounting Office Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-316, § 204, 110 Stat. 3826 (1996) (codified at 31 U.S.C. § 3529)) and, as delegated by the Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the following issue advance decisions for designated categories: a. DoD: uniformed service member pay, allowances, travel, transportation, and survivor benefits. b. Office of Personnel Management (OPM): civilian pay and leave. Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 6 4. GAO Treatises. The GAO has published a five-volume treatise entitled Principles of Federal Appropriations Law (commonly referred to as the “GAO Red Book”) available at F. Accounting Classifications. See DFAS-IN Reg. 37-100-XX, The Army Management Structure. 1. These are codes used to manage appropriations. They implement the administrative fund control system and help to ensure correct use. 2. An accounting classification is commonly referred to as a fund cite. DFAS-IN Reg. 37-100-XX, The Army Management Structure, provides a detailed breakdown of Army accounting classifications and is available at G. Understanding an Accounting Classification. The following is a sample fund cite: P 2610 S18001 AGENCY FISCAL YEAR TYPE OF APPROPRIATION OPERATING AGENCY CODE ALLOTMENT NUMBER PROGRAM ELEMENT ELEMENT OF EXPENSE FISCAL STATION NUMBER The first two digits represent the military department. The “21” in the example shown denotes the Department of the Army. III. AVAILABILITY AS TO PURPOSE. A. The “Purpose Statute” provides that agencies shall apply appropriations only to the objects for which the appropriations were made, except as otherwise provided by law. 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a). Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 7 B. Three-Part Test for a Proper Purpose. The Comptroller General has determined the following three conditions must be met in order to expend appropriated funds: 1. The expenditure of an appropriation must be for a particular statutory purpose, or necessary and incident to the proper execution of the general purpose of the appropriation. 2. The expenditure must not be prohibited by law. 3. The expenditure must not be otherwise provided for; it must not fall within the scope of some other appropriation. See e.g., Mr. Stephen M. Bodolay, 1996 WL , at 1, Comp. Gen. No. B.2 (March 14, 1996); Hon. Bill Alexander, 63 Comp. Gen. 422, 427-428 (1984); Secretary of Interior, 34 Comp. Gen. 195, 196 (1954). Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 8 C. Determining the Purpose of a Specific Appropriation. 1. Appropriations Acts. a. An appropriation is a statutory authorization “to incur obligations and make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes.” See GAO Glossary, p.13, GAO-05-734SP (Sept. 2005). b. At the present time there are thirteen (13) regular annual appropriations acts. Some of these acts provide appropriations to a single agency, while others provide appropriations to multiple agencies. See, generally, GAO Red Book, Vol. I, pp. 1-26 to 1-27, GAO-04-261SP (Jan. 2004). c. In each of the two annual appropriations acts devoted to DoD, Congress grants multiple appropriations. See, e.g., Department of Defense Appropriations, 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-74, Division A and Division H. d. Earmarks. An earmark occurs when Congress designates a portion of an appropriation for a particular purpose by way of legislative language within the appropriation. See GAO Glossary, p.46, GAO05-734SP (Sept. 2005). e. Researching Appropriation Acts. In addition to LEXISTM- and Westlaw TM -based research, one can utilize the Thomas website ( research on legislation enacted since 1973. This website also has a consolidated listing of appropriations legislation enacted since 1998 and a list of pending appropriations bills for the current or upcoming fiscal year. 2. Organic Legislation. Organic legislation is legislation that creates a new agency or establishes a program or function within an existing agency that a subsequent appropriation act will fund. GAO Red Book, Vol. I, p. 2-40, GAO-04-261SP (Jan. 2004). This organic legislation provides the agency with authority to conduct the program, function, or mission and to utilize appropriated funds to do so. Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 9 a. Example: 10 U.S.C. § 111 establishes the Department of Defense as an executive department. Various statutes scattered mainly throughout Title 10 of the United States Code establish programs or functions that the department is to carry out. See, e.g., 10 U.S.C. § 1090 (giving the Secretary of Defense the mission to “identify, treat, and rehabilitate members of the armed forces who are dependent on drugs or alcohol”). b. Organic legislation may be found in appropriation acts, authorization acts, or “stand-alone” legislation. It may also be codified or uncodified. c. Organic legislation rarely provides any money for the agency, program, or activity it establishes. 3. Authorization Act. a. An authorization act is a statute, passed annually by Congress that authorizes the appropriation of funds for programs and activities. See GAO Glossary, p.15, GAO-05-734SP (Sept. 2005) b. An authorization of appropriations is, under congressional rules, a prerequisite for such an appropriation. Thus, for example, a point of order may be raised in either house objecting to an appropriation in an appropriation act that is not previously authorized by law. This rule is seldom enforced in practice and generally there is no other requirement to have an authorization in order for an appropriation to occur. There are, however, certain statutorily-created situations in which Congress must authorize an appropriation. For example 10 U.S.C. § 114(a) states that “No funds may be appropriated for any fiscal year” for certain purposes, including procurement, military construction, and/or research, development, test and evaluation “unless funds therefore have been specifically authorized by law” (emphasis added). c. An authorization act does not provide budget authority. That authority most commonly stems from the appropriations act. (1) Congress may choose to place limits in the authorization act on the amount of appropriations it may subsequently provide, however. Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 10 (2) In the alternative, Congress may also authorize the appropriation of “such sums as may be necessary” for a particular program or function. d. Resolving Conflicts between an Appropriation Act and an Authorization Act. See, generally, GAO Red Book, Vol. I, pp. 2-42 to 2-70, GAO-04-261SP (Jan. 2004). (1) The general rule regarding statutory construction is “that statutes should be construed harmoniously so as to give maximum effect to both whenever possible.” Posadas v. National City Bank, 296 U.S. 497, 503 (1936). (2) If there is an irreconcilable conflict between two statutes or if the latter of the two statutes is clearly intended to substitute for the prior statute, the more recent statute governs. The “intention of the legislature to repeal must be clear and manifest” in either case. Id. (3) Differences in Amount. In general, Congress enacts authorization acts before it enacts appropriation acts. Application of the above rules will therefore usually result in the agency being able to use the amount specified in the appropriation act, regardless of whether it is more or less than what is in the authorization act. (4) Differences in Purpose. Congress can expressly expand or limit authorized purposes in an appropriations act but must otherwise appropriate funds in accordance with the authorization act in terms of purpose. However, Congress cannot expand the purposes of a specific appropriation through authorizing acts. See, generally, GAO Red Book, Vol. I, pp. 2-51 to 2-52, GAO-04-261SP (Jan. 2004). 4. Miscellaneous Statutory Provisions. a. Congress often enacts statutes that expressly prohibit or authorize the use of appropriated funds. (1) Express Prohibition: 10 U.S.C. § 2491a prohibits DoD from using its appropriated funds to operate or maintain a golf course except in foreign countries or isolated installations within the United States. Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 11 (2) Express Authorization: 10 U.S.C. § 520b permits DoD to use its appropriated funds “for the issue of authorized articles to applicants for enlistment.” b. Express Prohibitions and Authorizations may also be either temporary or permanent. For example, if the restriction arises out of a provision in an appropriation act that does not expressly state the duration of the restriction, an agency may presume the restriction is effective only for the fiscal year covered by the act. This presumption may be overcome if the restriction uses language indicating futurity, or if the legislation clearly indicates its permanent character. Compare Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives-Words of Futurity in Fiscal Year 2006 Appropriations Act, 2007 WL , Comp. Gen. No. B- (Aug. 28, 2007) (prohibiting use of “funds appropriated under this or any other Act with respect to any fiscal year” permanently precluded use of appropriations to disclose contents of Firearms Trace System database), to Permanency of Weapon Testing Moratorium Contained in Fiscal Year 1986 Appropriations Act, 65 Comp. Gen. 588, 589 (1986) (prohibiting use of appropriations in “this Act or any other Act” in effect only for that fiscal year). 5. Legislative History. a. Legislative history is any Congressionally-generated document related to a bill from the time the bill is introduced to the time it is passed. In addition to the text of the bill itself, it includes conference and committee reports, floor debates, and hearings. b. Legislative history can be very useful for resolving ambiguities or confirming the intent of Congress. c. If the underlying statute clearly conveys Congress’ intent, however, agencies will not be further restricted by what is included in legislative history. Intertribal Bison Cooperative, 2001 WL , at *5, Comp. Gen. No. B-, (Nov. 30, 2001) (legislative history may be used to analyze Congressional intent “with the recognition that only the most extraordinary showing of contrary intentions from such analysis will justify a limitation on the ‘plain meaning’ of the statutory language”); ANGUS Chem. Co., 1987 WL , at *2, Comp. Gen. No. B- (Aug. 4, 1987) (“there is a distinction to be made between utilizing Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 12 legislative history for the purpose of illuminating the intent underlying language used in a statute and resorting to that history for the purpose of writing into law that which is not there”); SeaBeam Instruments, Inc., 1992 WL , at *3, Comp. Gen. No. B- (Jul. 20, 1992) (where Congress provides a lump sum appropriation without statutorily restricting what can be done with the funds, the clear inference is that Congress did not intend to impose legally binding restrictions, and restrictive language in committee reports and other legislative history do not impose any legal requirement on the agency); LTV Aerospace Corp., 55 Comp. Gen. 307 (1975) (Navy was not bound by a provision within the conference report accompanying the 1975 Defense Appropriations Act stipulating that adaptation of the Air Force’s F-14 to enable it to be capable of carrier operations was the prerequisite for the Navy’s use of $20 million in funds provided for a Navy fighter). d. Legislative history may also not be utilized to justify an otherwise improper expenditure. Alberto Mora, Gen. Counsel, United States Info. Agy., 1992 WL , Comp. Gen. No. B-.2 (Sept. 1, 1992) (agency violated the purpose statute when it utilized construction funds to host an overseas exhibit that should have been funded with salaries and expenses funds where the agency had only received informal written approval from the Chairmen of the House and Senate Subcommittees to reprogram the construction funds into salaries and expenses funds). 6. Other Documents Impacting the Usage of an Appropriation. a. Budget Request Documentation. Agencies are required to justify their budget requests. OMB Cir. A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget ( 2011), § 51. (1) Within DoD, Volumes 2A and 2B of the DOD FMR provide guidance on the documentation that must be generated to support defense budget requests. These documents are typically referred to as Congressional Budget Justification Books, with a book generated for each appropriation. (a) The document is prepared by the actual end user of the funds and is filtered through agency command channels until it is ultimately reviewed by the Chief Financial Officer and sent to Office of Management Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 13 and Budget and then submitted by the President as part of the federal government’s overall budget request. (b) These justification documents contain a description of the proposed purpose for the requested appropriations. An agency may reasonably assume that appropriations are available for the specific purpose requested, unless otherwise prohibited. If the agency did not have the requested program in the Congressional Budget Justification, then that program is considered a New Start. b. Agency Regulations. See, generally, GAO Red Book, Vol. I, Ch. 3, GAO-04-261SP (Jan. 2004). (1) Background. When Congress enacts organic legislation establishing a new agency or giving an existing agency a new function or program, it rarely prescribes exact details about how the agency will carry out that new mission. Instead, Congress leaves it up to the agency to implement the statutorily-delegated authority in agency-level regulations. (2) Where Congress charges an agency with the responsibility for administering a statute, by regulation or otherwise, the agency’s interpretation of the statute is entitled to considerable weight and deference. When the agency’s interpretation is in the form of a regulation which has the force and effect of law, then it receives the greatest deference. An agency’s statutory interpretation that takes the form of an interpretive regulation, manual or handbook is given somewhat less deference. See, e.g., Intertribal Bison Cooperative, supra., at *2-3 (deference not accorded to Department of Agriculture’s informal interpretation, as opposed to interpretation derived from rulemaking or adjudication, where agency interpretation was inconsistent with the plain meaning of the statutory language). (3) Agency-level regulations may also place restrictions on the use of appropriated funds. c. Additional Research Resources: (1) DoD Financial Management Regulation, available at: Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 14 (2) DFAS-IN Manual 37-100-, The Army Management Structure (July XXXX). The manual is reissued every fiscal year . This annual publication as well as other DFASIN regulations can be found at: ceCode=1200. (3) Army Regulations: (4) GAO: D. Necessary Expenses. 1. The Purpose Statute does not require Congress to specify every item of expenditure in an appropriations act. Agencies have reasonable discretion to determine how to accomplish the purposes of appropriations. See HUD Gun Buyback Initiative, 2000 WL , at *3, Comp. Gen. No. B (May 19, 2000) (“where expenditures are not specifically authorized in an appropriation act, an agency may show that the expenditure is reasonably necessary to carry out an authorized function”); see also United States Dept. of Labor-Interagency Agreement. between Employment. and Trng. Admin. and Bureau of Intl. Affairs, 71 Comp. Gen. 402, 405 (1992) (“when we consider whether an expense is necessary, we determine only whether it falls within the agency’s legitimate range of discretion, or whether its relationship to an authorized purpose is so attenuated as to take it beyond that range”). 2. An appropriation for a specific purpose is available to pay expenses necessarily incident to accomplishing that purpose. Customs and Border Protection Relocation Expenses, 2006 WL , at *2, Comp. Gen. B (Jul. 6, 2006) (“the necessary expense rule recognizes that when Congress makes an appropriation for a particular purpose, by implication it authorizes the agency involved to incur expenses which are necessary or incident to the accomplishment of that purpose”); Hon. Bill Alexander, 63 Comp. Gen. 422, 427 (1984) (“first and foremost, the expenditure must be reasonably related to the purposes for which the appropriation was made”); Secretary of State, 42 Comp. Gen. 226, 228 (1962) (same); Major General Anton Stephan, 6 Comp. Gen. 619 (1927) (same). 3. In some instances, Congress has specifically authorized expenditures as “necessary expenses” of an existing appropriation. See e.g., 10 U.S.C. § 1124 (authorizing the Secretary of Defense to “incur necessary expense for the honorary recognition of a member of the armed forces” who increases their agency’s efficiency or improves its operations); 5 U.S.C. §§ (authorizing the same for civilian employees). Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 15 4. Necessary Expense Defined. a. “[A]n expenditure is permissible if it is reasonably necessary in carrying out an authorized function or will contribute materially to the effective accomplishment of that function . . . .” Internal Revenue Serv. Fed. Credit Union-Provision of Automatic Teller Machine, 66 Comp. Gen. 356, 359 (1987) (emphasis added). b. The fact that an expense may be desirable or beneficial does not mean that it is a necessary expense. Utility Costs under Work-atHome Programs, 68 Comp. Gen. 502 (1989) (payment for incremental utility costs at residential workplaces not a necessary expense); Secretary of the Interior, 34 Comp. Gen. 599 (1955) (construction of sewage system in excess of capacity required by government for joint use with reclamation camp and general public not a necessary expense even if the cost of the larger system would be about the same). 5. Determinations are fact/agency/purpose/appropriation specific. See Federal Executive Bd.-Appropriations-Employee Tax Returns-Electronic Filing, 96-1 CPD ¶ 129, Comp. Gen. No. B- (Nov. 28, 1995) (New Orleans Federal Executive Board appropriations may not be used to provide its employees with means to electronically file income tax returns because there was no showing that such expenditures were reasonably related to the purpose of the appropriation); compare to Use of Appropriated Funds for an Employee Electronic Tax Return Program, 71 Comp. Gen. 28 (1991) (IRS appropriations may be used to provide its employees with means to electronically file income tax returns to facilitate tax collection efforts by improving IRS’s efficiency in processing returns, resulting in cost savings to the government). E. Typical Questionable Expenses. 1. Agencies may have specific guidance about “questionable” expenditures. See, e.g., AFI 65-601, Budget Guidance and Procedures, Vol. 1, Ch. 4, §§ 4K-4O (3 March 2005). Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 16 2. Food: Buying food for individual employees (who are not away from their official duty station on travel status) generally does not materially contribute to an agency’s mission performance. As a result, food is generally considered a personal expense, and appropriated funds are legally unavailable for such expenses. See Department of the ArmyClaim of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1989 WL , Comp. Gen. No. B- (Dec. 22, 1989) (charges for coffee breaks, bar costs, and buffet costs not payable as unauthorized entertainment expenses). It may be permissible to use appropriated funds for food, at some types of events, for some types of personnel, under the following very limited circumstances. See Memorandum for Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Use of Appropriated Funds to Purchase Food at Conferences, Meetings, and Events, September 1, 2005. a. Basic Allowance for Subsistence. Under 37 U.S.C. § 402, DoD is authorized to pay service members a basic allowance for subsistence. b. GAO-sanctioned exception where food is included as part of a facility rental cost. GAO has indicated that it is acceptable for agencies to pay a facility rental fee that includes the cost of food if the fee is all inclusive, non-negotiable, and comparably priced to the fees of other facilities that do not include food as part of their rental fee. See Nuclear Regulatory Agy.-Payment of a NonNegotiable, Non-Separable Facility Rental Fee that Covered the Cost of Food Serv. at NRC Workshops, 1999 WL , Comp. Gen. No. B- (Dec. 1, 1999). Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 17 c. Regulatory-based “light refreshments” exception has been eliminated. Through 27 January 2003, federal agencies commonly paid for “light refreshments” at government-sponsored conferences under a regulatory exception found in the travel regulations where a majority of the attendees were from a different permanent duty station than the sponsoring activity. That exception was overturned, at least with respect to paying for the refreshments given to any personnel not on travel status. See Use of Appropriated Funds to Purch. Light Refreshments at Conferences, 2003 WL , Comp. Gen. No. B- (Jan. 27, 2003) (holding that there is no authority for payment, under General Services Administration’s travel regulation on conference planning, for light refreshments at official government-sponsored conferences where a majority of attendees are in travel status except as part of an employee’s travel subsistence allowance and such expenditures should not be authorized for employees in nontravel status). d. Award Ceremonies: (1) The award recipients are either federal employees or military members (2) The award recipients are publicly recognized, and (3) The authorized agency official has determined that food materially advances the recognition of the recipient. (4) Sources: 5 U.S.C. §§ 4501, (civilian incentive awards) and 10 U.S.C. § 1124 (military cash awards only); Defense Reutilization and Mktg. Serv. Award Ceremonies, 1997 U.S. Comp. Gen. LEXIS 104, Comp. Gen. No. B (Mar. 12, 1997) (agency authorized to pay for refreshments as a necessary expense to honor awardees where the agency determines that a reception with refreshments would materially enhance the effectiveness of its awards ceremony); Refreshments at Awards Ceremony, 65 Comp. Gen. 738 (1986) (under 5 U.S.C. § 4503, cost of refreshments are a necessary expense where agency determines that a reception with refreshments materially enhances the effectiveness of the ceremony). Fiscal Law Overview Ethics Counselor's Deskbook November 2013 18 e. Cultural Awareness Ceremonies: (1) The food is part of a formal program intended to make the audience aware of the cultural or ethnic history being celebrated, (2) The food is a sample of the food of the culture and is being offered as part of the larger program to serve an educational function, and (3) The portions and selection of dishes do not constitute a meal, for which appropriated funds are not available under this exception. (4) Be careful with this exception; ensure it is not misused. (5) Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2004 WL , Comp. Gen. No. B- (Jan. 15, 2004) (officers may not certify appropriations to reimburse EEO director for cost of food served at Black History Month program, despite determination that serving food would advance agency’s EEO objectives, where the food served amounted to a meal and not a sampling). f. Training: (1) When food constitutes a non-severable portion of the registration or attendance fee for the training program. (2) Food costs are non-severable if billed as part of the overall costs of the conference, and the conference costs cannot be reduced by foregoing the food or by breaking out the food costs as a separate optional item. (3) The cost of food provided at a training program conducted by the Government is presumed to be severable because the Government is responsible for arranging the progr