Military Family Housing Opportunities Exist to Reduce Costs and MitigateInequities

摘要

The Department of Defense (DOD) spends about $8 billion annually to providehousing for military members and their families either by paying a cash allowance for members to live in private-sector housing or by assigning families to government-owned or -leased quarters. DOD policy states that private housing in the communities near military installations will be relied on as the primary source of housing and that government quarters may be programmed when the communities cannot meet the military's need for acceptable and affordable family housing. Also, government housing is provided for a small number of personnel that reside on an installation for reasons of military necessity. At the request of the former Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Subcommittee on Personnel, Senate Committee on Armed Services, GAO reviewed DOD's military family housing program in the United States to determine whether (1) DOD'S policy of relying primarily on private housing to meet military family housing requirements is cost-effective, (2) the military services are complying with this policy, and (3) DOD's family housing policies result in equitable treatment for all military families.