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![handle is hein.gao/gaobaduya0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
COMPTROLLER GkNERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
5-204033 December 1 1981
The Honorable Benjamin J. Guthrie
Jergeant at Arms
House of Representatives
Dear r. Guthrie:
You incuired as to the legal authority to allow for life insurance
institutions to be paid automatic recurring payments from Mers' sal-
arties to cover premiums on their lif2 insurance policies. You state
that in reliance upon our letter of April 18, 1975 (-123424), regardinq
the legal authority to create a joint account for a Member a-d his spouse
in the House Bank, you have denied Members this service. For the reasons
indicated below, we agree with your action.
In our 1975 letter we cited v. United States, 167 F.2d 521
(D.C. Cir.), c rt. denied, 334 U.S. 847 (194d), in wnich the United
States Court of Appeals decided that cash 1A by the Sergeant at Arms
to pa salaries is public money ar] ceases to be pulic money only when
dishr- by thie Sergeant at Arms to indivPdual congressen. he also
explained, relying on 39l Comp. Gen. 372 (1959), that public rneys
availanle for payment of salary may be disrsed only to the person
legally entitled to the alary.
in our opinion, these decisions apply to your present incuiry.
Secto 492(a) of title 31 United States Cde, upon which our decision
in 3 Comp. Gen. 372 (l ) was preised, requires th at a cha be
drawn by a disbursing orfier only in favor of the person to whom pa-
ment 's made. Subsection (b) of Section 42 is an exception to sub-
section (a), wich allw Governent emplos to have all or a portion
of thir paych-cr sent to Iualified financal organizations. Specif-
icaly, subsection (b) bate s-
(b) (l!) Notwithstand ino subsecti in (a) of
this section or .rr other proiision of law,
der reoiations he presribed by the Secre-
tary of the Treasur, the head of an -Vency shall,
upon the written r est of an c:npioe of the
aqency to whom a ur'ent for wages or salary is to
be made, authorize disbursing offioer to make the
payment J * * by -n2ng to each financial oraniza-
tion designated bt auch emplOyee a ch=-Uc that is
drawn in favor Of the organization n is for credit
so the checking ascount of such emplye or is for
the dernrit of saver s or purchase o shares for such
employce * *or](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaobaduya0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)