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.