Payment of Membership Dues

A certifying officer of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service asked whether the agency should spend appropriated funds for the membership dues of the deputy director in the Association of Labor Agencies. Statutory provisions prohibit the expenditure of appropriated funds to pay the membership dues of Federal employees in a society or association. The certifying officer contended that, although this prohibition is very specific and clear, an exception should be justified and warranted under the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947. GAO understood the benefit which the agency derived from the director's membership in the association. Nevertheless, GAO concluded that the agency should not pay the director's membership dues based on the prohibition. However, if the Service purchased a membership in the Association in its own name and justified the expenditure as of direct benefit to the agency and necessary to carry out its functions, GAO would not object.