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59 FLRA No. 51
AFGE, Local 1647 and U. S. Dept. of the Army, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania Case No. 0-NG-2697 (Decided September 30, 2003)
This case concerned the negotiability of a single proposal. The Authority found that the proposal was outside the duty to bargain and dismissed the petition for review. The Authority found that the proposal was inconsistent with law.
The Authority noted that it is a well-established principle of constitutional law that any disbursement of appropriated funds must be authorized by statute. Under 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a), appropriated funds may only be disbursed for the purposes for which the appropriations were made, unless otherwise provided by law. Stated differently, appropriated funds cannot be expended for a particular program or activity unless they have been appropriated for that purpose.
In this case, the Authority found that the Union failed to demonstrate that the TYAD AWCF did not constitute an appropriated fund. The Authority concluded that the proposal was contrary to law and outside the duty to bargain under § 7117(a)(1) of the Statute.