TITLE: B-307316, Department of the Army--Availability of Funds for Security Clearance Expenses, September 7, 2006
BNUMBER: B-307316
DATE: September 7, 2006
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B-307316, Department of the Army--Availability of Funds for Security Clearance Expenses, September 7, 2006

   Decision

   Matter of: Department of the Army--Availability of Funds for Security
   Clearance Expenses

   File: B-307316

   Date:  September 7, 2006

   DIGEST

   An Army captain's costs of renouncing his Turkish citizenship in order to
   obtain a security clearance necessary for his assignment to the United
   States Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine can be
   considered an official, not a personal, expense since they are incurred
   incident to the Army requirement that he obtain a security clearance for
   his new assignment. Because the costs were incurred primarily for the
   benefit of the government, GAO has no objection to reimbursing the captain
   for such expenses.

   DECISION

   The United States Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine
   (USACHPPM or Center) has requested a decision under 31 U.S.C. sect. 3529
   on whether its appropriated funds are available to reimburse an Army
   captain costs he incurred in renouncing his Turkish citizenship. The
   captain held dual citizenship with the United States and with Turkey. He
   renounced his Turkish citizenship in order to obtain a security clearance
   necessary for his position. A security clearance is required for the
   captain's new assignment at the Center. As explained below, the costs of
   the captain's renouncing his Turkish citizenship can be considered an
   official, not a personal, expense since they were incurred incident to the
   Army requirement that he obtain a security clearance for his new
   assignment. Accordingly, we view the costs of the renunciation as
   primarily benefiting the government. GAO has no objection to reimbursing
   the captain for such expenses.

   BACKGROUND

   By orders dated May 3, 2005, the Army transferred Captain Nizamettin Gul
   from the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (Research
   Institute) to the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive
   Medicine (USACHPPM) located at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
   Memorandum from Thomas R. Bender, Deputy Chief of Staff for Resource
   Management, to the Comptroller General, Jan. 26, 2006 (Bender Memorandum).
   He was assigned to serve as the Chief of the Department of Defense
   Cholinesterase Reference Laboratory.

   As chief, Captain Gul's duties consist of ensuring the health and safety
   of all personnel working with chemical warfare nerve agents at stockpile
   and chemical demilitarization sites, chemical schools, and research sites.
   He is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the laboratory's medical
   surveillance program and for conducting tests for the Defense Threat
   Reduction Agency. He also serves as a subject matter expert for the
   detection of nerve agent exposure.[1] A secret security clearance is a
   requirement for holding the Laboratory Chief position. USACHPPM Military
   Personnel Office Table of Distribution and Allowances; Bender Memorandum,
   para. 5. Accordingly, while Captain Gul was still working at the Research
   Institute, the Army conducted its investigation to determine if he
   qualified for a security clearance. Bender Memorandum, para. 2.

   The federal personnel security program under which military personnel are
   considered for security clearances is governed by Executive Order No.
   12968, Access to Classified Information, 60 Fed. Reg. 40,245 (Aug. 7,
   1995). The order requires that members must have a security clearance to
   have access to classified material. Id.  at sect. 1.2a. Eligibility
   determinations for security clearances are based on information concerning
   a member that is acquired through the investigation conducted pursuant to
   the order. Id.  at sect. 3.2a. To get a security clearance, a member must
   be determined to be eligible for one based upon a favorable adjudication
   of an investigation of his background. With exceptions not relevant here,
   security clearances may be granted only to U.S. citizens whose personal
   and professional history "affirmatively indicates loyalty to the United
   States . . . as well as freedom from conflicting alliances." Id.  at sect.
   3.1b.

   Captain Gul held dual citizenship with the United States and with Turkey.
   Shortly after his arrival at the Center, a security assistant in the
   office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations informed Captain Gul
   that because of his dual citizenship his clearance could not be finalized,
   and that the Center required him to renounce his Turkish citizenship.
   Bender Memorandum at para. 3.

   Consistent with our regular practice in developing a case, we asked the
   Center to provide us a copy of the Army policy that would require Captain
   Gul to renounce his Turkish citizenship. Letter from Thomas H. Armstrong,
   Assistant General Counsel, GAO, to Thomas R. Bender, Deputy Chief of
   Staff, USACHPPM, Feb. 23, 2006. The Center referred us to Army Regulation
   380-67. Memorandum from Thomas R. Bender, Deputy Chief of Staff for
   Resource Management, to Thomas H. Armstrong, Assistant General Counsel for
   Appropriations Law, Mar. 10, 2006.

   Under Army Regulation 380-67, ch. 2 (Sept. 9, 1988), the section entitled
   Standards for Access to Classified Information or Assignment to Sensitive
   Duties provides that "Only U.S. citizens shall be granted a personnel
   security clearance . . . ." Id.  at para. 2-100(a). The regulation states
   that "[t]he ultimate decision in applying . . . security standards . . .
   must be an overall common sense determination based upon all available
   facts," and sets out a number of criteria for consideration in determining
   an individual's eligibility for a clearance or assignment to a sensitive
   position. Id.  at para. 2-200. These criteria include--

   "acceptance and active maintenance of dual citizenship, or other acts
   conducted in a manner which serves or which could be expected to serve the
   interests of another government in preference to the interests of the
   United States."

   Id.  at para. 2-200 (f). In applying these criteria, the security officer
   determined that Captain Gul would need to renounce his Turkish citizenship
   to obtain the security clearance.

   The Turkish renunciation process has fees and costs associated with it.
   The Center states that "[a]pparently Turkey has a very long and expensive
   process," and it lists $286 in fees and expenses that the captain
   incurred. Bender Memorandum paras. 4, 5. The USACHPPM's budget office
   considered whether the government could reimburse Captain Gul for the
   expenses he incurred renouncing his Turkish citizenship. The office
   initially took the view that the renunciation fees were personal expenses
   and therefore nonreimbursable. However, upon learning that we have never
   addressed the question of whether appropriated funds are available to pay
   expenses incurred to renounce foreign citizenship in order to qualify for
   a security clearance, the USACHPPM decided to request our decision on the
   matter.

   ANALYSIS

   Appropriations are available only for the objects for which they were made
   except as otherwise provided by law. 31 U.S.C. sect. 1301(a); see also
   B-304228, Sept. 30, 2005. Generally, appropriations are not available for
   government employees' personal expenses. 73 Comp. Gen. 171 (1994). For
   purposes of this prohibition, personal expenses are those that employees
   incur for their individual convenience, comfort, or protection, or those
   expenses considered to be reasonably required as part of the usual and
   necessary expenditures employees themselves make for the work on which
   they are engaged or for which they are employed. 3 Comp. Gen. 433 (1924).
   As a general rule, the expenses that enable or assist a government
   employee to qualify to do the job to which he or she is assigned are
   considered personal expenses and are not chargeable to appropriated funds.
   [2] 1 Comp. Gen. 298 (1921); B-257895, Oct. 28, 1994; B-249061, May 17,
   1993; B-235727, Feb. 28, 1990; B-210522, Dec. 15, 1983; B-193862, Apr. 30,
   1979.

   Thus, we have held that personal qualification expenses are not to be
   payable from appropriations. [3] See B-248955, July 24, 1992 (engineer
   certification); B-204215, Dec. 28, 1981 (bar membership). In such cases,
   we based our holdings on the recognition that the employees were fully
   aware of the licensing requirements of their professions from the time
   they began their professional education, and on the fact that society
   expects them to fully qualify themselves for the performance of their
   chosen professions. In that sense, the licensing requirements were
   considered to be more for the personal benefit of the individuals than for
   their employers. 73 Comp. Gen. 171 (1994).

   However, we have not objected to the use of appropriated funds for
   expenditures otherwise considered to be personal in nature when the
   expenditures primarily benefit the government. See 68 Comp. Gen. 502, 505
   (1989). For example, in B-256092, July 6, 1994, a case that presented a
   situation analogous to this one, we considered whether National
   Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) appropriations were available to pay
   for physical examinations for its Office of Aviation Safety investigators
   for the purpose of obtaining current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
   medical certificates. The NTSB required applicants for the investigator
   positions to have FAA medical certificates. A current certificate was also
   required in order for investigators to participate in altitude chamber
   training, which NTSB encouraged. The investigators performed their work
   under physically demanding conditions. Our decision noted that the medical
   certificates provided the agency with some assurance that the
   investigators would be physically able to safely withstand the rigors of
   their employment and training, and that the training that NTSB encouraged
   enabled the investigators "to meet aviation industry standards thereby
   enhancing the credibility of the agency." Id. For these reasons, we
   concluded that "maintenance by investigators of current FAA medical
   certificates can reasonably be viewed as for the primary benefit of the
   government." Id. Accordingly, we held that NTSB appropriations were
   available to pay for investigators' physical examinations that were needed
   to obtain FAA medical certificates. Id.

   Similarly, in 73 Comp. Gen. 171 (1994), the issue was whether the Air
   Force could use its operation and maintenance appropriation to pay the
   cost of obtaining licenses or certificates needed by its members to
   perform state regulated activities, such as asbestos removal, in cases
   where federal law required Air Force members to comply with state and
   local regulations. We determined that the Air Force members' state
   licensing and certificate fees in question were reimbursable from Air
   Force appropriations funds because the government was the primary
   beneficiary of the expenditure.

   We stated our rationale for our conclusion as follows:

   "While the license or permit is often obtained in the name of the member,
   the primary interest in obtaining the license lies with the Air Force,
   which designated the task as a new assignment of the member, not with the
   member. Any personal benefit that Air Force members receive from the
   acquisition of the licenses is nominal and incidental to the performance
   of their official duties."

   Id. at 173 (footnote omitted).

   Here, expenses incurred for renunciation of Turkish citizenship in order
   to obtain security clearance are, in these circumstances, primarily for
   the benefit of the government. In its request the Center states that "CPT
   Gul is being required by USAHPPM-HQ and the Army to go through this
   procedure in order to fully take on his responsibilities here and for the
   greater good of the Army." Bender Memorandum at para. 5. The captain
   cannot assume his full responsibilities at the Center without a security
   clearance. A security clearance provides assurance to the government that
   sensitive information will be safe. The renunciation facilitates the
   granting of the clearance, which is necessary for the work of the Center.
   Any personal benefit the captain would receive from this renunciation is
   incidental to the performance of his duties.

   CONCLUSION

   Captain Gul's costs of renouncing his Turkish citizenship in order to
   obtain a security clearance can be considered an official, not a personal,
   expense since they were incurred primarily to benefit the government.
   Accordingly, GAO has no objection to reimbursing the captain for such
   expenses.

   Gary L. Kepplinger
   General Counsel

   ------------------------

   [1] The source of the description in this paragraph of the Laboratory
   Chief's duties and responsibilities is Captain Gul's Officer Evaluation
   Report Support Form.

   [2] The Comptroller of the Treasury stated the rationale underlying this
   rule as follows:

   "[A]n employee of the Government has upon his own shoulders the duty of
   presenting himself as competent in every way for the duties of his
   employment . . . he should fit himself for the discharge of those duties
   at his own expense."

   23 Comp. Dec. 386 (1917) quoting from 66 MS. Comp. Dec. 247, July 22,
   1913.

   [3] Congress has since passed legislation to permit agencies to pay
   employees' expenses of obtaining professional credentials, should the
   agencies choose to do so. Pub. L. No. 107-107, sect. 1112(a), 115 Stat.
   1012, 1238-39 (Dec. 28, 2001), codified at 5 U.S.C. sect. 5757.