Food and Drug

B-257488 Nov 06, 1995 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Food and Drug Administration appropriations are available for the purchase of coffee mugs and pens for federal employees if these items are intended to be presented as honorary or informal recognition awards. FDA appropriations are available for these purchases. OMS intends the buttons to serve as visible reminders to staff and customers that OMS' mission is not to say "no" but to find ways to work together to satisfy its customers' needs. FDA states that these buttons are not personal gifts but. Are a management tool that would provide a cost-effective way of displaying the OMS mission statement. Are very important in encouraging a sense of teamwork and identity with the organization. Which is provided for the necessary expenses of the agency. View Decision Matter of: Food and Drug Administration - Use of Appropriations for "No Red Tape" Buttons and Mementoes File: B-257488 Date: November 6, 1995 Food and Drug Administration may use its appropriations to purchase "No Red Tape" buttons to promote the effectiveness and efficiency of employees, thereby furthering an authorized agency purpose. Under the Government Employees' Incentive Awards Act, 5 U.S.C. Secs. 4501-4506, Food and Drug Administration appropriations are available for the purchase of coffee mugs and pens for federal employees if these items are intended to be presented as honorary or informal recognition awards. DECISION The Director, Division of Accounting, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health and Human Services, asks whether FDA appropriations may be used to purchase "No Red Tape" buttons to remind employees to carry out their functions efficiently, and for awards, such as coffee mugs and pens, which would be presented to speakers and federal employees at FDA District Conferences. For reasons discussed below, FDA appropriations are available for these purchases. BACKGROUND The Office of Management Systems (OMS), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, would like to purchase buttons inscribed with the logo, "No Red Tape." As part of an office campaign to promote team building, efficiency, and effectiveness, OMS would distribute these buttons to its staff of 130 to voluntarily wear while at work. OMS intends the buttons to serve as visible reminders to staff and customers that OMS' mission is not to say "no" but to find ways to work together to satisfy its customers' needs. FDA states that these buttons are not personal gifts but, rather, are a management tool that would provide a cost-effective way of displaying the OMS mission statement. The buttons would cost less than $150. In addition, FDA would like to purchase items, such as coffee mugs, pens or other inexpensive mementoes, to award to participants and to present to guest speakers at District Conferences. The mementoes, emblazoned with the theme adopted for the conference, would serve as a remembrance of a particular task, occasion, or a job well done. FDA believes that these tokens, while inexpensive ($2 to $3 each), are very important in encouraging a sense of teamwork and identity with the organization, and in building employee morale. FDA would charge the expenses in question to its Salaries and Expenses appropriation, which is provided for the necessary expenses of the agency. Pub. L. No. 104-31 (Sept. 30, 1995). The Senate report on the fiscal year 1995 FDA appropriation stated that FDA's mission is to ensure that (1) food is safe, pure, and wholesome; (2) cosmetics are safe; (3) human and animal drugs, biological products, and therapeutic devices are safe and effective; and (4) radiological products and use procedures do not result in unnecessary exposure to radiation. S. Rep. No. 290, 103d Cong., 2d. Sess. 132 (1994). DISCUSSION "No Red Tape" Buttons We have been frequently asked about the purchase of relatively inexpensive items for distribution to agency employees as incentives to boost morale or increase support for a particular program. The question, of course, is whether the agency is authorized to use its appropriation for the particular expenditure. 31 U.S.C Sec. 1301(a). If the item in question is not specifically authorized by any appropriation act or other statute, the standard for measuring the propriety of the expenditure is the "necessary expense" rule. 66 Comp.Gen. 356, 359 (1987). Under this rule, an expenditure is permissible if it is reasonably necessary to carry out an authorized function or will contribute materially to the effective accomplishment of that function, and is not otherwise prohibited by law. Id. The application of the "necessary expense" rule is, in the first instance, a matter of agency discretion. However that discretion is not unfettered. For example, we rejected the use of appropriated funds to pay for plastic ice scrapers imprinted with the inscription "U.S.