The Homeland Security Act of 2002 combined 22 federal agencies specializing in various missions under DHS.7 Numerous departmental offices and seven key operating components are headquartered in the NCR. When the department was formed, the headquarters functions of its various components were not physically consolidated, but instead were dispersed across the NCR in accordance with their history. For example, in 2007, DHS employees in the NCR were located in 85 buildings and 53 locations, accounting for approximately 7 million gross square feet of government-owned and -leased office space.