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DECISION
FILE: B-223319
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OP THE UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON. 0. C. 20548
DATE: July 21, 1986
MATTER OF: Refreshments at Awards Ceremony
DIGEST:
If an agency determines that a reception with
refreshments, as provided in the Federal Personnel
Manual, would materially enhance the effectiveness
of an awards ceremony conducted under authority of
the Government Employees' Incentive Awards Act,
the cost of those refreshments may be considered a
necessary expense for purposes of 5 U.S.C.
S 4503. As such, the cost may be charged to
operating appropriations without regard to recep-
tion and representation limits. B-114827,
Oct. 2, 1974, modified.
The Director, Division of Finance, Social Security
Administration (SSA), Department of Health and Human Services,
has asked whether the cost of refreshments at SSA's annual
awards ceremony may be paid from operating appropriations, or
whether it is subject to the statutory ceiling on SSA's
official reception and representation account. Restated,
the question is whether there is any legal objection to the
Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) statement in the
Federal Personnel Manual that light refreshments may be pro-
vided under the authority of the Government Employees' Incen-
tive Awards Act.1/ We hold that OPM is correct and that the
expense may be charged to operating appropriations without
regard to the reception and representation ceiling. In so
holding, we welcome the opportunity to clarify an apparent
inconsistency in our decisions.
It is explained that each October, SSA holds an awards
ceremony at its headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland, at which
various awards are presented to SSA employees from around the
nation. The ceremony includes refreshments in the form of a
buffet luncheon. SSA receives its operating appropriations
in the form of an annual lump-sum Limitation on Administra-
tive Expenses (LAE), SSA's equivalent of a Salaries and
1/ Federal Personnel Manual, chapter 451, subchapter 2,
para. 2-2c (Inst. 265, Aug. 14, 1981). ([I]t would be
appropriate to provide light refreshments at nominal cost
under authority of [the Incentive Awards Act].)
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