BNUMBER: B-262008
DATE: October 23, 1996
TITLE: [Letter]
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B-262008
October 23, 1996
Mr. John F. Best
Chief, Finance and Accounting Division
Directorate of Resource Management
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dear Mr. Best:
In your letter of July 7, 1995, you forwarded a request from L. C.
Williamsen, Finance and Accounting Officer, Corps of Engineers, Omaha
District, for an advance decision on the propriety of paying a
corporate entry fee for the American Lung Association of Nebraska's
"Omaha Corporate Cup Run." For the reasons indicated below, the fee
should not be paid.
The "Omaha Corporate Cup Run" is an annual fund-raising event run by
the American Lung Association of Nebraska. Local companies may
participate in the event's Corporate Division by sponsoring teams of
runners. Individuals, whose employers are not participating, may
enter the event's Open Division. Participating companies pay an entry
fee based on their total number of employees plus $2 for each
participating runner. Individuals entering the Open Division pay an
entry fee of $15. Prizes are awarded to teams and individuals in the
event's Corporate Division, and to individuals in the Open Division.
Further, everybody finishing the race receives a "Omaha Corporate Cup
Run" mug.
The "Wellness Coordinator" for the Corps of Engineers Omaha District
submitted a request to the Finance and Accounting Branch for payment
of $595.00, representing the Corps' entry fee for the 1995 Omaha
Corporate Cup Run. In support of the request the coordinator stated:
"The entry fee is requested for support of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers health promotion program, 'Fit To Win', and support of
employee participation in the Corporate Cup Run."
In his request for an advance decision, the finance and accounting
officer stated:
"In our situation, the payment has been made in the name of the
government, awards are presented to the winning corporation or
government agency, and the district has determined that the event
does contribute to the support of our health and fitness program
under 5 U.S.C. 7901. Conversely, the run may or may not be
considered an individual competitive event which could possibly
make it a personal expense."
In 73 Comp. Gen. 169 (1994), the Comptroller General considered a
similar request involving the use of appropriated funds to pay
registration fees for employees participating in competitive athletic
events, including a "Corporate Challenge" event. In that decision, the
Comptroller General determined that appropriated funds could not be
used to pay for such registration fees. Specifically, the opinion
stated:
"The competitive events described in the Director's letter are
not an essential part of a 'physical fitness program' as that
term is commonly used to justify the expenditure of taxpayer
funds under 5 U.S.C. sec. 7901. Although the external competitive
opportunities may well promote physical fitness and well-being,
so would any number of other competitive recreational activities.
In our opinion, these activities are generally personal, rather
than official, and their costs should be borne by the
participating employees, not by the taxpayers."
73 Comp. Gen. at 170.
In our view, the facts in your submission do not differ significantly
from the facts in 73 Comp. Gen. 169. We do not view participation in
the Omaha Corporate Cup Run to be an essential part of a physical
fitness program authorized by 5 U.S.C. sec. 7901. The fact that
employees will participate in the event as members of a team, rather
than as individuals, does not change our opinion that competitive
athletic events are essentially personal, not official, activities.
The finance and accounting officer suggests that because entry in the
run is in the name of the government and because prizes will be
awarded to corporate sponsors of the winning teams the entry fee can
be justified as agency participation in a contest in support of its
mission. In B-172556, December 29, 1971, the Comptroller General
determined that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) was authorized to pay entry fees for agency publications in an
annual government publications contest. In that case, NOAA had
justified the expense as in furtherance of its statutory authority to
publish materials relating to weather and related matters.
Specifically, the NOAA Administrator argued:
"Fulfillment of NOAA's publication responsibilities requires
continuous review and evaluation of the quality and effectiveness
of the writings through which public dissemination of information
is effected. Participation in comparative evaluation sponsored
by a national organization from which no personal awards or
tangible benefit to government employees are obtained, has the
effect of inspiring authors and government publication
specialists to write more effectively and publish materials of
higher quality. . . . "
In approving the use of appropriated funds to pay the contest entry
fees the Comptroller General said:
"In the instant case, in view of the fact that prizes are, in
fact, awarded to the agency involved and in view of the
administrative determination, and the justification therefor,
that entry into the contest is in the best interest of the agency
and, therefore, an expenditure which can be considered as
necessary to carry out the agency's appropriations, we will not
object to the payment of the cost of entering NOAA's publication
in the government publications contest of the Federal Editor's
Association. Whether appropriated funds may be used to enter
other contests will, of course, depend on the nature of the
contest, the nature of the prizes and to whom they are awarded,
and on the administrative justification for determining that the
expenses of entering the contest are necessarily incurred in
order to carry out the specific and general functions of the
agency."
(Emphasis added.)
Clearly, the Omaha Corporate Cup Run is not the type of "contest" that
B-172556 dealt with. Further, although the corporate sponsor of a
winning team receives an award, the members of the team also receive
awards. Therefore, the benefit is not principally to the agency.
Most significant, however, is the absence of any justification to show
that participation of employees in the run--a competitive athletic
event--in any way supports the mission of the Corps.
We conclude that the corporate entry fee in the Omaha Corporate Cup
Run is not a proper use of appropriated funds and should not be paid.
Sincerely yours,
Gary L. Kepplinger
Associate General Counsel
B-262008
October 23, 1996
DIGEST
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may not use appropriated funds to pay
a corporate entrance fee for its employees to compete in the Omaha
Corporate Cup Run, sponsored by the American Lung Association of
Nebraska. Participation by employees in a competitive athletic event
is not an essential part of an authorized physical fitness program; it
is rather a personal activity on the part of the employee. Further,
it may not be justified as agency enrollment in a contest because an
athletic event is not related to the mission of the agency.