It depends on whether the Congress has authorized such payments or has made appropriations in terms to render them available for such direct payments. Article I, Section 9, Clause 7, of the Constitution ordains that:

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.

Section 3678, Revised Statutes, provides:

All sums appropriated for the various branches of expenditure in the public service shall be applied solely to the objects for which they are respectively made, and for no others.

The appropriation cited in your letter, under which request was made for the direct payment of $5,000,000 to the Tennessee Valley Authority, to wit, the "Tennessee Valley Authority Fund, 1941," was made by the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1941, Public, 459, approved April 18, 1940, 54 Stat. 138, in terms as follows:

That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Executive Office and sundry independent executive bureaus, boards, commissions, and offices, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941, namely:

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the act entitled "The Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933," approved May 18, 1933, as amended by the act approved August 31, 1935, and by the act approved July 26, 1939 (16 U. S. C., ch. 12a), including the continued construction of Chickamauga Dam; Hiwassee Dam; Kentucky Dam at Gilbertsville, Kentucky; Watts Bar Dam; and for construction of a dam near Lenoir City, Tennessee, and the acquisition of necessary land, the clearing of such land, relocation of highways, and the construction or purchase of transmission lines and other facilities, and all other necessary works authorized by such Acts, and for printing and binding, lawbooks, books of reference, newspapers, periodicals, purchase, maintenance, and operation of passenger-carrying vehicles, rents in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, and all necessary salaries and expenses connected with the organization, operation, and investigations of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and for examination of estimates of appropriations and activities in the field, $40,000,000: Provided, That this appropriation and any unexpended balance on June 30, 1940, in the "Tennessee Valley Authority fund, 1940," and the receipts of the Tennessee Valley Authority from all sources during the fiscal year 1941 (subject to the provisions of section 26 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, as amended), shall be covered into and accounted for as one fund to be known as the "Tennessee Valley Authority fund, 1941," to remain available until June 30, 1941, and to be available for the payment of obligations chargeable against the "Tennessee Valley Authority fund, 1940." [Italics supplied.] There is nothing in the terms of this appropriation directing, authorizing, or indicating that the sum appropriated or any part thereof should be paid over directly to the Tennessee Valley Authority. On the contrary, it is made in the usual form of annual appropriations to pay the expenses and obligations of Government establishments. It is made "for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941" and is expressly "to remain available until June 30, 1941" and is not "available" beyond that date. The Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1942, Public Law 28, approved April 5, 1941; 55 Stat. 118, making a similar

appropriation in the amount of $79,800,000 for the Tennessee Valley Authority for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1942, expressly directs that "any unexpended balance on June 30, 1941" in the said appropriation "Tennessee Valley Authority Fund, 1941" shall be covered into the "Tennessee Valley Authority Fund, 1942" to remain available until June 30, 1942. To pay the balance of the 1941 fund over to the Authority in the closing days of the fiscal year would violate this express direction that such balance be covered into the 1942 fund. It is no answer to say that the 1942 fund is made available for 1941 fund obligations or that the request may be renewed under the 1942 fund, because the statute expressly directs that the unexpended balance be covered into the 1942 fund, which is expressly made available only until June 30, 1942. If the $5,000,000 legally could be paid over directly to the Tennessee Valley Authority as requested, then the whole appropriation of $79,800,000 made by the said act of April 5, 1941, likewise could be paid over directly and irrevocably to the Tennessee Valley Authority after June 30, 1941, to be used by the Authority at any time thereafter without regard to the express limitation on availability to June 30, 1942. That is to say, the fiscal year limitations expressly put on the appropriations by the Congress would be meaningless if the amounts appropriated could be paid over directly to the Authority for expenditure at any time thereafter. The titles "Tennessee Valley Authority fund, 1941" and "Tennessee Valley Authority fund, 1942," expressly provided in the appropriation acts, are appropriation titles set up on the books of the Treasury Department and of this office, and Treasury Department action is required to cover the unexpended balance on June 30, 1941, of the first such appropriation into the second as directed by statute. Such directed action could not be taken if the unexpended balance were withdrawn and paid over to the Tennessee Valley Authority. If the matter were otherwise doubtful, these fiscal year limitations and requirements put on the appropriations by Congress clearly show that the Congress did not intend that such appropriations should be paid over directly to the Authority, irrevocably and in its own right, as, in effect, was requested in the letter of June 16, 1941.

Nor do I find elsewhere in the statutes any apparent authority for the proposed action. Section 3648, Revised Statutes, provides:

It

No advance of public money shall be made in any case whatever shall, however, be lawful, under the special direction of the President, to make such advances to the disbursing officers of the Government as may be necessary to the faithful and prompt discharge of their respective duties, and to the fulfillment of the public engagements.

If the requested payment be regarded as an "advance" of public money to the Authority, it is expressly prohibited by this statute because not to be made to a disbursinger. However, if such a

payment could be regarded as anything other than an advance of public money, prohibited by this statute, it could be regarded only as the payment of a claim or debt due from the United States to the Authority. I assume it would not seriously be contended that an appropriation by the Congress of public money to pay the expenses and obligations incurred by a Government agency creates a debt in favor of such agency or gives such agency a legal claim against the United States for the amount so appropriated. I see no other basis for viewing a payment such as was requested as the payment of a debt or claim, as distinguished from an advance of public money, prohibited by section 3648, Revised Statutes, supra; and it would be anomalous, to say the least, and, so far as I know, unprecedented to treat the Government as indebted to one of its own administrative establishments, or to recognize such an establishment, an integral part of the Government, as a legal claimant against the Government generally. The situation would be different, of course, if the statute or appropriation expressly directed that certain sums be paid over to the agency or certain officers thereof, but that is not the case here.

What is the statutory authority to withdraw money from the Federal Treasury and what is the authority of this office to issue certificates as the basis for such withdrawals? Section 305, Revised Statutes (taken from the act of September 2, 1789) as amended by sections 4 and 11 of the Dockery Act of July 31, 1894, 28 Stat. 205, 209, and by section 304 of the Budget and Accounting Act of June 10, 1921, 42 Stat. 24, Title 31, section 147, United States Code, provides:

The Treasurer shall receive and keep the moneys of the United States, and disburse the same upon warrants drawn by the Secretary of the Treasury, countersigned in the General Accounting Office, and not otherwise.

[Italics supplied.]

Thus, since the foundation of the Government, it has been unlawful to pay out money from the Federal Treasury except upon warrants drawn by the Secretary of the Treasury and countersigned by the accounting officers.

Section 11 of the Dockery Act, 28 Stat. 209, provides:

Every requisition for an advance of money [to a disbursing officer pursuant to section 3648, Revised Statute, supra], before being acted upon by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be sent to the proper Auditor for action thereon as required by section twelve of this act.

All warrants, when authorized by law and signed by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be countersigned by the Comptroller of the Treasury, and all warrants for the payment of money shall be accompanied either by the Auditor's certificate, mentioned in section seven of this act, or by the requisition for advance of money, [Italics supplied.]

*

This provision is absolute, and thus no warrant for payment of money from the Treasury lawfully may be honored unless it is countersigned in this office (which succeeded to the duties of the Comp

troller of the Treasury and the Auditors) and unless it is accompanied either by an approved requisition in the case of advances to disbursing officers or by the certificate of this office mentioned in said section 7 of the Dockery Act. The request for a payment of $5,000,000 to the Tennessee Valley Authority is not a requisition for an advance of funds to a disbursing officer, and it necessarily follows, therefore, that before such a payment lawfully could be effected the warrant therefor would have to be supported by a certificate of this office authorized by section 7 of the Dockery Act. What certificates has this office legal authority to issue under section 7 of the Dockery Act? That section, 28 Stat. 206, 207, insofar as it is here particularly material, is as follows:

Sec. 7. Accounts shall be examined by the Auditors as follows:

Fifth. The Auditor for the State and other Departments shall receive and examine all accounts of salaries and incidental expenses of the offices of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Agriculture, and of all bureaus and offices under their direction; all accounts relating to all other business within the jurisdiction of the Departments of State, Justice, and Agriculture; all accounts relating to the diplomatic and consular service, the judiciary, United States courts, judgments of United States courts, Executive Office, Civil Service Commission, Interstate Commerce Commission, Department of Labor, District of Columbia, Fish Commission, Court of Claims and its judgments, Smithsonian Institution, Territorial governments, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Public Printer, Library of Congress, Botanic Garden, and accounts of all boards, commissions, and establishments of the Government not within the jurisdiction of any of the Executive Departments. He shall certify the balances arising thereon to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, and send forthwith a copy of each certificate, according to the character of the account, to the Secretary of the Senate, Clerk of the House of Representatives, Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, or the chief officer of the Executive Department, commission, board, or establishment concerned. [Italics supplied.]

Under this section this office is required, inter alia, to receive and examine "the accounts" of all boards, commissions, and establishments of the Government not within the jurisdiction of any of the Executive Departments, and to "certify the balances arising thereon" to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, Treasury Department, and to send a copy of each such certificate to the chief officer of the commission, board, or establishment concerned. This is the limit of the authority conferred and there is no other authority given to this office to issue a certificate in the case of independent boards, commissions, and establishments of the Government on which the Secretary of the Treasury lawfully may draw a warrant to pay money out of the Treasury. The only authority is to examine "the accounts" of such commissions, boards, and establishments and to certify "the balances arising thereon." But the very basis for the request for direct payment is that this office has no authority to receive, examine, and settle the accounts of the Tennessee Valley Authority. If this office has no authority to settle the accounts of

the Tennessee Valley Authority, then, obviously, it has no power to "certify the balances arising thereon" under said section 7 of the Dockery Act. If this office does have authority to settle the accounts of the Tennessee Valley Authority, then there can be no basis for a request that any part of the amount appropriated be paid directly to the Authority instead of being advanced to the Authority's disbursing officer on requisition and accountable warrant as has been done since the beginning of the activities of the Tennessee Valley Authority 8

years ago.

Nor is the situation helped in this respect by regarding the request as a claim against the United States. While section 236, Revised Statutes, as amended by section 305 of the Budget and Accounting Act, 42 Stat. 24, provides that "All claims and demands whatever by the Government of the United States or against it, and all accounts whatever in which the Government of the United States is concerned, either as debtor or creditor, shall be settled and adjusted in the General Accounting Office," the only authority for this office to issue certificates of settlement on which claims may be paid by Treasury warrants is that contained in said section 7 of the Dockery Act. The word "accounts" as used in that section includes claims. The accounts arise in the transaction of official business by, and the performance of the official duties of, the different departments and establishments, and-for accounting and settlement purposes are accounts of such departments and establishments in the sense that they so arise and not in the sense of any creditordebtor relationship between such departments or establishments and the Government generally. Amounts due creditors of the United States on such accounts may be paid either by disbursing officersfrom advances of appropriations-on their personal and bonded responsibility prior to examination and settlement of the accounts by this office, or may be paid as claims upon the certificate of this office under section 7 of the Dockery Act, as amended, following examination of the accounts by this office. This is shown by the various provisions of section 8 of the Dockery Act, 28 Stat. 207, 208, which show, also, that the accounting officers are required to construe the statutes and to render decisions thereon in settling the accounts and, therefore, that the duties of the accounting officers in settling such accounts, including claims, are quasi-judicial and not ministerial. Said section 8 provides:

The balances which may from time to time be certified by the Auditors to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, or to the Postmaster-General, upon the settlements of public accounts, shall be final and conclusive upon the Executive Branch of the Government, except that any person whose accounts may have been settled, the head of the Executive Department, or of the board, commission, or establishment not under the jurisdiction of an Executive Department, to which the account pertains, or the Comptroller of the Treasury, may, within a year, obtain a revision of the said account by the Comptroller