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United States.— If the confinement is by civil
authorities in the United States, no travel and
transportation entitlement is authorized.
TRAVEL EXPENSES NOT PAYABLE BY
THE GOVERNMENT
We have been discussing many different types of
travel allowances based on special circumstances. As
a DK, you must also recognize the situations in which
travel expenses are not paid by the government.
Some of the more common cases in which travel
expenses are not paid by the government are as follows:
Permissive travel orders (An order permitting a
member to travel as distinguished from an order
directing a member to travel.)
Travel on orders but not on public business, such
as nonofficial recreational programs
Attendance at public ceremonies or
demonstrations for which the sponsoring agency
bears the expenses
Return from ordinary leave to overseas duty
stations when no-cost transportation is not
available to the member
Members are not entitled to government-paid travel
in many other situations. Whenever you are dealing
with travel claims, always consult the most recent
edition of the JFTR and NTI for official guidelines.
CONTROL OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND
ABUSE IN TRAVEL CLAIMS
The DO is responsible for the correct payment of
all vouchers presented for payment. In dealing with any
travel claim, the DO may request the claimant to furnish
explanations or further evidence. The disbursing
officer may make such requests whenever the voucher
and its substantiating documents appear not to
constitute a legal obligation of the government under
the appropriation chargeable or when the facts stated
appear to be inaccurate. Depending on whether the
claim contains excessive expenses that can be supported
by valid documentation or evidence of deliberate fraud,
the DO must know and follow the correct procedures.
CLAIMS INVOLVING EXCESSIVE
EXPENSES
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has
consistently ruled that travel expense reimbursement
will be limited to actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the conduct of official business.
Additionally, GAO has held that the employing agency
is responsible for determining the necessary and
reasonable expenses to be reimbursed.
But in the context of an individual travel claim, who
is the employing agency? According to DON policy,
the employing agency is the claimant’s CO. This means
a DO who receives a travel claim containing items that
appear to be excessive can refer the claim to the
claimant’s CO for review, determination, and
certification. After receipt of the CO’s certification, the
DO will make payment subject to JFTR limitations.
The CO’s certification will be attached to the original
voucher, and a copy will be attached to the DO’s
retained copy.
NOTE: In cases where claims cover periods of
ACDUTRA, the DO will request that the CO of the
command delivering the orders make the
determination.
FRAUDULENT CLAIMS
Ultimately, the DO is accountable for the payment
of any fraudulent claim, even though he or she was not
a direct participant in the fraud. In fact, the DODFMR,
Volume 5, assigns primary responsibility for
determination of fraud to the DO. It also prescribes
general guidelines concerning the factors on which
fraud determinations should be based, how fraudulent
claims should be referred, and the administrative
procedures for processing these claims. DOs are
expected to exercise sound judgment and make sure
these guidelines are consistently applied.
In any questionable claim, a DO may request
additional amplifying information from the claimant.
This may be in the form of a written explanatory
statement signed by the claimant, a command
endorsement, receipts, a vehicle registration, or proof
of base registration of a vehicle at the claimant’s current
duty station. The DO may use any other type of
evidence to reduce doubt. Under no circumstances
should the disbursing office return a suspected
fraudulent claim to the claimant since this action would
allow the claimant the opportunity to destroy evidence
that might be relevant to a criminal investigation by the
Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
When, in the opinion of the DO, the evidence
provided by the claimant fails to remove the suspicion
of fraud, the DO’s CO should refer the claim to the
NCIS for action. At the appropriate time during the
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