Government Accountability Office

The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 established NFIP as an alternative to providing direct disaster relief after floods.9 9Pub. L. No. 90-448, Title XIII, 1302, 82 Stat. 476, 572 (Aug. 1, 1968). NFIP, which makes federally backed flood insurance available to residential property owners and businesses, was intended to reduce the federal government's escalating costs for repairing flood damage after disasters. Floods are the most common and destructive natural disaster in the United States. However, flooding is generally excluded from homeowners' insurance policies that typically cover damages from other losses, such as wind, fire, and theft.

In the early 1960s, the Secretary of Defense, at the President's direction, developed and implemented a base closure program, with minimal consultation with Congress. This program resulted in hundreds of base closures and realignments, including closure of more than 60 major bases. Subsequently, in 1977, Congress enacted 10 U. S. C. 2687 to establish procedures that DOD must generally follow when closing or realigning a military installation, in the United States or its territories, where 500 or more civilian personnel were authorized to be employed.6 In 1978, Congress amended the law by lowering the threshold to 300 or more civilian personnel.