These procedures govern the Board's issuance of decisions, upon the request of an agency disbursing or certifying official, or agency head, on questions involving payment of travel or relocation expenses that were formerly issued by the Comptroller General under 31 U.S.C. 3529. Section 204 of the General Accounting Office Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-316, transfers the authority to issue these decisions to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and authorizes the Director to delegate the authority to perform that function to another agency or agencies. The Director has delegated the authority to issue these decisions to the Administrator of General Services, who has redelegated that function to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.

(a) Request for decision. (1) A disbursing or certifying official of an agency, or the head of an agency, may request from the Board a decision (referred to as a “Section 3529 decision”) on a question involving a payment the disbursing official or head of agency will make, or a voucher presented to a certifying official for certification, which concerns the following type of claim made against the United States by a federal civilian employee:

(i) A claim for reimbursement of expenses incurred while on official temporary duty travel; and

(ii) A claim for reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with relocation to a new duty station.

(2) A request for a Section 3529 decision shall be in writing; no particular form is required. The request must refer to a specific payment or voucher; it may not seek general legal advice. The request should—

(i) Explain why the official is seeking a Section 3529 decision, rather than taking action on his or her own regarding the matter;

(ii) State the question presented and include citations to applicable statutes, regulations, and cases;

(iii) Include—

(A) The name, address, telephone number, facsimile machine number, and e-mail address, if available, of the official making the request;

(B) The name, address, telephone number, facsimile machine number, and e-mail address, if available, of the employee affected by the specific payment or

(C) Any other information which the official believes the Board should consider; and

(iv) Be delivered to the Office of the Clerk of the Board. The Board will accept hand-delivered and mailed filings during business hours at 1800 M Street NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036. The Clerk's telephone number is: (202) 606-8800. The Clerk's e-mail address for receipt of filings is: [email protected]. The Clerk's facsimile machine number is: (202) 606-0019. The Board's working hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time, on each day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday.

(b) Notice of docketing. A request for a Section 3529 decision will be docketed by the Office of the Clerk of the Board. A written notice of docketing will be sent promptly to the official and the affected employee. The notice of docketing will identify the judge to whom the request has been assigned.

(c) Service of copy. The official submitting a request for a Section 3529 decision shall send to the affected employee copies of all material provided to the Board. All submissions to the Board shall indicate that a copy has been provided to the affected employee.

If the affected employee wishes to submit any additional information to the Board, he or she must submit such information within 30 calendar days after receiving the copy of the request for decision and supporting material (or within 60 calendar days after receiving the copy, if the affected employee is located outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia). To expedite proceedings, if the employee does not wish to make an additional submission, the employee should so notify the Board and the agency.

(a) Requests for additional time. The agency or the affected employee may request additional time to make any filing.

(b) Conferences. The judge will not engage in ex parte communications involving the underlying facts or merits of the request. The judge may hold a conference with the agency and the affected employee, at any time, for any purpose. The judge may provide the participants a memorandum reflecting the results of a conference.

(c) Additional submissions. The judge may require the submission of additional information at any time.

The judge will issue a written decision based upon the record, which includes submissions by the agency and the affected employee, and information provided during conferences. The agency and the affected employee will each be furnished a copy of the decision by the Office of the Clerk of the Board. In addition, all Board decisions are posted weekly on the Internet. The Board's Internet address is: http://www.cbca.gov.

A request for reconsideration may be made by the agency or the affected employee. Such requests must be received by the Board within 30 calendar days after the date the decision was issued (or within 60 calendar days after the date the decision was issued, if the agency or the affected employee making the request is located outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia). The request for reconsideration should state the reasons why the Board should consider the request. Mere disagreement with a decision or re-argument of points already made is not a sufficient ground for seeking reconsideration.