CLG 001_ Fiscal Law Exam version 2_ updated and answered.

QUESTION 1 1. Which of the following is a correct statement of Fiscal Law Philosophy: If the law is silent as to whether a purchase can be made, it is probably safe to spend appropriated funds. Expenditure of appropr ...

QUESTION 1 1. Which of the following is a correct statement of Fiscal Law Philosophy: If the law is silent as to whether a purchase can be made, it is probably safe to spend appropriated funds. Expenditure of appropriated funds is proper only when authorized by Congress. If the commander says buy it, don’t worry about Fiscal Law Regulations. Absent a specific prohibition, expending appropriated funds is permitted. 20 points QUESTION 2 1. It is July 2010. The contracting officer at Fort Mason is about to award a contract for a computer system that the Post Engineer will use to track work orders and inventory. This $15,000 computer system is readily available within a few days from any of several local vendors. The Post Engineer intends to place the system in a warehouse for which construction will begin in December 2010. The contract cites FY 2010, Operations and Maintenance, Army (OMA) funds. What should you advise the contracting officer? The contracting officer may award the contract citing FY 2010 OMA funds. Obligating funds in July 2010 will not violate the Antideficiency Act. The Post Engineer, however, may not pay for the system until the warehouse is completed. Because the Post Engineer will use the system to perform installation operations, and because the "lead time" exception clearly permits use of FY 2010 funds for the system, the contract award is proper. The contracting officer should not award this contract. To do so would violate the bona fide needs rule. Award now is proper if the installation later obtains Procurement funds to replace the funds obligated for the computer system. None of the above. 20 points QUESTION 3 1. If a particular expenditure is not provided for by Congress, in order to meet the requirements of the Purpose Statute, 31 U.S.C. § 1301, the expenditure must be necessary and incident to the proper execution of the general purpose of the appropriation. The GAO has created a threepart test to determine whether an expenditure is a “necessaryexpense” of an appropriation. Which of the following IS NOT part of the three-part purpose test? The expenditure must be necessary and incident to the purposes of the appropriation. The expenditure must not be prohibited by law. The comptroller must certify the funds. The expenditure must not be otherwise provided for. 20 points QUESTION 4 1. It is 14 September 2010 and Fort TJAGLCS still has $4000 in FY 2010 Operations and Maintenance, Army appropriations that it "needs" to spend. MAJ I.M. Themann, the Supply Officer at TJAGLCS, has a brilliant idea. At a recent union meeting, several employees complained about the taste of the cold brown water coming out of several water fountains. The cold brown water, however, is not unhealthy, unsafe, unpotable, or unwholesome. MAJ Themann decides Fort TJAGLCS should get water coolers to use as substitutes for the water fountains. By calling local vendors, he determines $3600 is enough money to pay for one year of water delivery service (five water coolers and ten 5- gallon containers of water for each of those water coolers each month). MAJ Themann has stopped by your office to determine how to execute this brilliant idea and whether he has the right money to use. He wants the bottled water delivery services to commence tomorrow, 15 September 2010, and to last through 14 September 2011. What do you tell him? Use of FY 2010 Operations and Maintenance, Army appropriations is proper, under 10 U.S.C. §2410a, to buy this bottled water delivery service. Use of the FY 2010 Operations and Maintenance, Army appropriations is only proper to cover the time period running 15 September 2010 to 30 September 2010. Fort TJAGLCS must fund the period running from 1 October 2010 to 14 September 2011 with FY 2011 Operations and Maintenance, Army Appropriations. Since most of the contract period is FY 2011, this is clearly a bona fide need of FY 2011, so Fort TJAGLCS must use FY 2011 Operations and Maintenance, Army Appropriations to fund the entire contractual period. Fort TJAGLCS may not use appropriated funds of any kind to fund the purchase of the water or the coolers, under these facts. 20 points QUESTION 51. The fiscal year for the U.S. Government is a 12-month period from: 1 July through 30 June. 1 October through 30 September. 1 September through 30 August. 1 January through 31 December QUESTION 1 1. The Director of Research and Development (DRD) at the Orange Sands Missile Range comes to your office late on a Friday afternoon. He just learned that his office used an RDT&E appropriation to fund the purchase of a Lifterrator, a hydraulic lift system capable of lifting extremely heavy objects. Since the Lifterrator is a capital item costing more than the investment/expense threshold, however, its purchase should have been funded with a Procurement appropriation. The DRD wants to know what is necessary to avoid an Antideficiency Act violation for violating 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a) (the Purpose Statute). Please select the best answer. Proper funds must have been available at the time of the erroneous obligation. Proper funds must have been available when the agency discovered, and corrected the erroneous obligation. Proper funds must have been available continuously between the time of the erroneous obligation and correction of the purpose violation. The agency must show that (A) & (B). None of the above. You can never correct a purpose violation. 20 points QUESTION 2 1. Assume that on 15 September 2010, there is a national emergency requiring the assistance of DOD. As a result, the Secretary of Defense deems it necessary to obligate FY 2010 funds in excess of their availability. Under these circumstances, which of the following is true? If Congress passes the FY 2011 Authorization Act in FY 2010, the Army could obligate and expend FY 2010 Operation and Maintenance, Army funds for ammunition and other operationalneeds. The Antideficiency Act only prohibits the Army from incurring obligations "in excess of" an appropriation. For certain subsistence items in emergency circumstances, the Feed and Forage Act (41 U.S.C. § 11) provides a limited exception to the prohibition against obligating "in excess of" the amount available in an appropriation. The Army could accept any/all voluntary services before the FY 2011 appropriation was enacted because the government doesn't pay for such services. 20 points QUESTION 3 1. On 30 September 2012 the maintenance service contract with Keepin' It Clean at Fort Meade Garrison is scheduled to expire with no more options to extend. The contracting officer at Fort Meade would like to award a new contract on the day the current contract ends, but is not sure if he will have the FY 2013 appropriations in time. Can the contracting officer award Keepin' It Clean a new contract on 1 October 2012? No, the contracting officer may not award a contract in excess of an appropriation and there is no money available in the current appropriation. Yes, the contracting officer may seek an exception under the Feed and Forage Act to contract in excess of an appropriation. Yes, the contracting officer may seek an exception under Multiple Award Contracting because multi-year contract authority permits an agency to award contracts for terms in excess of one year obligating one-year funds. Yes, the contracting officer may award the contract "subject to the availability of funds," but the government may not accept supplies or services until the contracting officer has given written notice to the contractor that funds are available. 20 points QUESTION 41. On 30 September 2010, $275,000 remains in the Operations and Maintenance, Army (OMA) allowance at the XVIII Airborne Corps. On that day, the contracting officer is about to award a supply contract, obligating $300,000 OMA. Award of the supply contract: Will cause an Antideficiency Act (ADA) violation because the contract price exceeds the amount of OMA available at the XVIII Airborne Corps. Will cause an ADA violation unless the contracting officer shows that she neither knew nor should have known that the XVIII Airborne Corps had only $275,000 in the OMA account. Will cause an ADA violation if the XVIII Airborne Corps’s major command, FORSCOM, lacks sufficient OMA funds in its formal subdivision to cover the overobligation. Will not cause an ADA violation if Congress enacts either a Continuing Resolution Authority (CRA) or a permanent appropriation before the vendor seeks payment for the supplies. Will not cause an ADA violation because the OMA account at the XVIII Airborne Corps was a target/allowance and an obligation in excess of a target/allowance can never result in an ADA violation. 20 points QUESTION 5 1. It is appropriate for the Army to acquire lawn cutting services through the Project Order Statute. True False 1. On 1 September 2011 the command at New Sands Missile Range purchases an x-ray machine for the installation hospital, which arrives and is accepted on 15 September 2011. The x-ray machine is not needed until August of 2012, when an increased number of Soldiers arrive due to BRAC. Assuming there is no applicable delivery or production lead time exception (as this is a commercial item and readily available off the shelf), has an ADA violation been committed and is it correctable?No ADA violation has been committed. As the bona fide need is in 2012, an ADA violation has been committed but it is correctable. As the bona fide need is in 2012, an ADA violation has been committed, and is not correctable since proper funds, FY 2012 O&M (or procurement, depending on the value) were not available at the time of obligation. Although the bona fide need is in 2012, there is no ADA violation because the command was engaged in advanced planning, and was smartly purchasing an item ahead of the expected need and perhaps even getting a better price. 20 points 20 points QUESTION 3 1. Which is the most likely example of a project that would be proper using humanitarian and civic assistance (HCA) authority (10 U.S.C. § 401)? Building of a state-of-the-art two story health clinic in Kandahar, Afghanistan, by an infantry platoon. An Army doctor training local civilian doctors to stitch and bandage a local boy's injured leg in Lagos, Nigeria, while on a COCOM approved combined training exercise with the Nigerian Army. Grading and paving of a 5-mile road from Ba'quabah and Al Khalis, Iraq, by an engineering company. Purchase of 1,000 math, science, and history books, 300 student desks, a year's supply of paper and pencils for a school in Herat, Afghanistan. 20 points QUESTION 5 1. Under an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement (ACSA), a country can "pay" for goods or services this way: Payment in Kind (PIK) (cash). Equal Value Exchange (EVE). Replacement in Kind (RIK). All of the above areavailable. QUESTION 1 1. While supporting operations in Afghanistan, the Task Force Commander comes to you with a plan to re-fit the Task Force headquarters building. The plan includes renovating the inside of the current headquarters (which suffered significant water damage recently when a water pipe burst) at a cost of approximately $300,000, and building an extension between the current cafeteria and headquarters building at a cost of about $600,000. The commander wants to know if he can use his O&M funds to pay for these projects. You correctly tell him that: Based on the facts given, it is clear that the correct source of funding for this project would be “unspecified” MILCON. He can approve the project and execute it as soon as he wishes, but must use “unspecified” MILCON funds to pay for it. We are in a deployment setting so Operations and Maintenance funds are used for all construction projects not exceeding $100 million. In order to answer this question, I would need to talk to the Engineers to determine how they are scoping and classifying this work. If these projects can be done separately, we may be able to fund them separately with O&M as a repair project (the HQ renovation) and a construction project (the extension). However, if the work is so integrated that we can’t separate the construction project from the repair project, we will have to fund them together as a single project, which could potentially push the total funded project cost us over the O&M funding threshold. While unspecified MILCON funding would be the proper funding source, before obligating such funds on this contract, we must first get approval from the Secretary of Defense who would notify Congress. We must then wait 21 days before obligating the money QUESTION 3 1. True or False. DoD Commanders tasked to provide disaster assistance in Haiti following an earthquake can fund humanitarian assistance projects for the local civilian population with the Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP).True False QUESTION 4 1. Dividing a project into seemingly complete and usable pieces, but the requirement is not met until all pieces are completed is called ____________________. (fill in the blank) Project scoping Creative planning Incrementation Accomplishing the mission QUESTION 3 1. Which is the most likely example of a project that would be appropriate under the Commanders' Emergency Response Program (CERP)? Payment of a reward to a local Iraqi for information about a possible mortar attack at Life Support Area (LSA) Anaconda ("Mortaritaville") in Balad, Iraq. Construction of tent platforms and field latrines on the recently de-mined and undeveloped grounds at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, for the exclusive use of visiting British Army Aviators. Rebuilding of a small health clinic in Gahzni, Afghanistan which was damaged during combat operations, and which is the only health clinic in the area. Provision of office supplies (paper, pencils, and paper clips) to Afghan local police officers stationed at a police station near Kandahar, Afghanistan.QUESTION 1 1. Accountable officers can be held pecuniarily liable: only if they had physical custody of funds at some point. for improper payment discovered within three years after the accounts are substantially complete. for three additional years after a loss due to fraud, embezzlement, or other criminal activity is discovered. Both b and c. 20 points QUESTION 2 1. When operating under Continuing Resolution Authority, government agencies: (Choose the best answer). Are not authorized to obligate funds Are authorized to obligate funds, but only to pay for contracts awarded during the previous fiscal year. May obligate funds for new contracts, but only if the new contract is not a “new start.” May continue on as normal, because CRA has no effect on the authority to obligate funds. 20 points QUESTION 3 1. An accountable officer is not liable for an improper payment: if there was a lack of fault or negligence; if the certification was based upon official records and the accountable officer using reasonable diligence could not have discovered the correct information; or if the obligation was incurred in good faith, no law specifically prohibits the payment, and the government received some benefit. in some parallel universe. In our world, an accountable officer of the U.S. Government is always strictly liable for improperpayments. if the accountable officer obtained an advance decision from the proper authority and the improper payment was made in reliance on that advanced decision, or if he's a DoD Departmental Accountable Official and there was no fault or negligence. if he was completely without fault or negligence, and he sought and reasonably relied upon the advice of his Judge Advocate before certifying the voucher for payment. 20 points QUESTION 4 1. Mr. Sanders is a Government Commercial Purchase Card (GCPC) holder at Fort Coop. His boss, COL Perdue, is the G-4 (Logistics Officer). One of her collateral duties as the G-4 includes serving as the certifying official for the ten GCPC holders in her office. Mr. Sanders used his GCPC to pay for BG Rooster’s (Ft. Coop’s Commander) annual Labor Day BBQ for the 25 military and civilian employees and 12 contractors that work in Fort Coop’s headquarters building. It is now 1 November and someone is questioning the purchase. Which statement is true? Commanders have complete authority and are certainly entitled to treat their employees to a BBQ once a year. Since the expenditure obviously was made with last year’s funds, and the period of availability of those funds has ended, it’s really too late to do anything. Since food is generally considered a personal expense, the only issue raised by these facts is a potential ADA violation. COL Perdue could be held pecuniarily liable if the purchase is found to be improper. 20 points QUESTION 5 1. A continuing resolution is: an authorization act an appropriation, in the form of a joint resolution, that provides budget authority for federal agencies, specific activities, or both to continue operation when Congress and the President have not completed action on the regular appropriations acts by the beginning of the fiscal yearThe Department of Defense Appropriations Act none of the above QUESTION 2 1. When working with the reprogramming of military construction appropriations, some of the permissible reasons for reprogramming of military construction and family housing funds are that reprogramming is necessary in response to: Emergencies. Accommodation of unexpected price increases. A need to restore or replace damaged or destroyed facilities. All of the above. 1. Can the Judgment Fund be utilized to pay the prevailing appellant's attorney fees if the Government's actions were not substantially justified? No, the government may never pay the prevailing appellant’s attorney fees, regardless of the source of the funds. Yes, the Equal Access to Justice Act allows a prevailing party to recover legal fees from the Government. These fees can be paid from the Judgment Fund. No, the Equal Access to Justice Act allows a prevailing party to recover legal fees from the Government. These fees cannot be paid from the Judgment Fund, however. No, the unit's prior year funds which funded the original contract should be used to pay any current attorney fees awarded by the court 1. The Department of Justice Trial Attorneys spoke to your contracting officer because the contractor was successful on a claim that was filed by the contractor on a 2005 construction project. The Court of Federal Claims ruled that the contractor's claim was based on an in-scope modification and the agency is responsible for paying the claimedamount. Fortunately, the funds which funded the original contract are not yet closed. Unfortunately, the expired funds which funded the original contract are exhausted. How should the agency handle this judgment? The contracting officer should seek payment from the Judgment Fund and reimbursement using current funds. The contracting officer should seek payment from the Judgment Fund and disregard any reimbursement since the funds are exhausted. The contracting officer should reallocate the FY 2005 funds to create funding to pay the judgment. The contracting officer cannot pay the claim without creating an Antideficiency Act Violation. When an agency “reprograms” funds, there is no change in the total amount available in the appropriations account. o true