CDFM Module 3 Fiscal Law Exam Questions and Answers Graded A

You work at the Orange Sands Missile Range (OSMR) Legal Office. The SJA wants your advice on two pieces of equipment that he personally would like to see purchased for use in the common break area of the legal office. He wants to use appropriated funds to buy a refrigerator and a microwave. His rationale is that employees (both military and civilian) need a place to store and prepare food they bring in from home. You respond by telling him: - ANSWER Absent any local or service-level policies to the contrary, the refrigerator and microwave may be purchased with Operations and Maintenance, Army appropriations. The Comptroller General has determined that such equipment reasonably relates to the efficient performance of agency activities and provides other benefits to the agency, including assurance of a safe workplace. Operations and Maintenance appropriations are typically available for obligation for: - ANSWER 1 year You are the chief of administrative law at Ft. Cholk, Louisiana. The SJA and your installation's contract law attorney are out of the office, attending a fiscal law seminar in Las Vegas. The Chief of Staff (your senior rater) has called you into his office and asks you the following: "Hey judge, do you remember that field latrine construction project the Commanding General is all excited about - you know, the one with all the bells and whistles - the one the SJA says we cannot use Operation & Maintenance (O&M) money on since the cost exceeds $750,000? The old man had a great idea. Why don't we do the foundation work this year with current (FY 2012) O&M funds, then next year finish up the project with 2013 O&M funds? Each contract will be less than $750,000." Knowing that the Chief of Staff is a zero tolerance type of guy, you thoroughly research the matter and give the following correct advice. - ANSWER "Splitting a project between fiscal years for the sole purpose of avoiding the statutory limits on use of O&M funds is clearly illegal. This project cannot be funded by splitting the requirement into two contracts if the total cost exceeds $750,000 and O&M funds are used." Which of the following is a correct statement of Fiscal Law Philosophy: - ANSWER Expenditure of appropriated funds is proper only when authorized by Congress. A valid Bona Fide Need exists when: - ANSWER The unit uses the supplies, or for service contracts, when the unit requires the services to be performed. A severable services contract: - ANSWER May be funded for up to 12 months according to 10 U.S.C. § 2410a, with funds available for obligation at the time of contract award even if the contract crosses fiscal years. 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? - ANSWER 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. 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). - ANSWER "The agency must show that (A) & (B). Proper funds must have been available at the time of the erroneous obligation and Proper funds must have been available when the agency discovered, and corrected the erroneous obligation." On 30 September 2010, $275,000 remains in the Operations and Maintenance, Army (OMA) allowance at the XVIII Airborne Corps. On that day, the contracting officer is about to award a supply contract, obligating $300,000 OMA. Award of the supply contract: - ANSWER Will cause an ADA violation if the XVIII Airborne Corps's major command, FORSCOM, lacks sufficient OMA funds in its formal subdivision to cover the overobligation. The proper amount of money to obligate at the award of a firm fixed-price contract is: - ANSWER The full amount of the contract. Assume that on 15 September 2010, there is a national emergency requiring the assistance of DOD. As a result, the Secretary of Defense deems it necessary to obligate FY 2010 funds in excess of their availability. Under these circumstances, which of the following is true? - ANSWER For certain subsistence items in emergency circumstances, the Feed and Forage Act (41 U.S.C. § 11) provides a limited exception to the prohibition against obligating "in excess of" the amount available in an appropriation. True or False: It is appropriate for the Army to acquire lawn cutting services through the Project Order Statute. - ANSWER FALSE Accountable officers can be held pecuniarily liable: - ANSWER "Both b and c. for improper payment discovered within three years after the accounts are substantially complete and for three additional years after a loss due to fraud, embezzlement, or other criminal activity is discovered." A continuing resolution is: - ANSWER "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" An accountable officer is not liable for an improper payment: - ANSWER 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. Can the Judgment Fund be utilized to pay the prevailing appellant's attorney fees if the Government's actions were not substantially justified? - ANSWER 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. When operating under Continuing Resolution Authority, government agencies: - ANSWER May obligate funds for new contracts, but only if the new contract is not a "new start." "True or False: When an agency "reprograms" funds, there is no change in the total amount available in the appropriations account. - ANSWER TRUE Which U.S. Government agency is primarily responsible for funding foreign humanitarian or security assistance provided to our allies? - ANSWER DoS- Department of State 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? - ANSWER COL Perdue could be held pecuniarily liable if the purchase is found to be improper. 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)? - ANSWER 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. Which is the most likely example of a project that would be appropriate under the Commanders' Emergency Response Program (CERP)? - ANSWER 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. 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? - ANSWER Military Construction Funds (MILCON). 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: - ANSWER 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. 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 - ANSWER TRUE On 30 September 2012 the maintenance service contract with Keepin' It Clean at Fort Meade Garrison is scheduled to expire with no more options to extend. The contracting officer at Fort Meade would like to award a new contract on the day the current contract ends, but is not sure if he will have the FY 2013 appropriations in time. Can the contracting officer award Keepin' It Clean a new contract on 1 October 2012? - ANSWER Yes, the contracting officer may award the contract "subject to the availability of funds," but the government may not accept supplies or services until the contracting officer has given written notice to the contractor that funds are available. 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: - ANSWER The KO is subject to administrative discipline because good faith or mistake of fact does not relieve him from liability under the ADA. 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? - ANSWER 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. 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? - ANSWER 2 weeks 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). - ANSWER FALSE "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?" - ANSWER It depends on whether Congress has given DoD an authorization or appropriation to fund this type of Foreign Assistance. 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? - ANSWER We can legally fund all the planned training and construction with the ASFF appropriation. 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? - ANSWER The contracting officer should seek payment from the Judgment Fund and reimbursement using current funds. 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? - ANSWER 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. 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: - ANSWER All of the Above: Emergencies, Accommodation of unexpected price increases, and a need to restore or replace damaged or destroyed faciliites. Funds available for obligation in FY1 can be used to purchase items not needed until FY2 if: - ANSWER There is a necessary non-excessive delivery lead-time that forces the command to order the items in FY1 so they can be delivered when the unit needs to use them. "You are the chief of administrative law at Fort Drum. It is November 2010 and the Director of Resource Management (DRM) comes to your office seeking some specific guidance. She wants to purchase the Kern Ingenious Computer Knowledge System (KICKS) for use in her office. The system contains workstations, printers, a server, and all of the related ""bells and whistles."" The beauty of KICKS, and the primary reason Fort Drum bought KICKS instead of other computers, is that each of the workstations comes from the factory with their hardware settings pre-configured to interact with one another. Each workstation also comes pre-loaded with Macrosoft® interoperability software which was designed ""just for KICKS."" Together, the hardware and software ensure the integrated system will work together without a hitch, thereby virtually eliminating the need for any system administrators once the computers are up and running. The DRM only has Operations and Maintenance, Army (OMA) funds to purchase the system. The DRM must spend less than what amount to use Operations and Maintenance, Army?" - ANSWER $250,000 "Any obligation of appropriated funds must comply with which of the following fiscal constraints:" - ANSWER The Bona Fide Needs Rule It is July 2010. The contracting officer at Fort Mason is about to award a contract for a computer system that the Post Engineer will use to track work orders and inventory. This $15,000 computer system is readily available within a few days from any of several local vendors. The Post Engineer intends to place the system in a warehouse for which construction will begin in December 2010. The contract cites FY 2010, Operations and Maintenance, Army (OMA) funds. What should you advise the contracting officer? - ANSWER The contracting officer should not award this contract. To do so would violate the bona fide needs rule. Under the Military Construction Codification Act (10 USC 2801), a Military Contruction Project is defined as: - ANSWER All military construction work necessary to produce a complete and usable facility or a complete and usable improvement to an existing facility. True or False: DoD Commanders tasked to provide disaster assistance