S.Amdt. 1948

SA 1948. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Franken, and Mr. Markey)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1463
proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1085. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NATIONAL SECURITY
IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The 2015 National Security Strategy states that climate
change is ``an urgent and growing threat to our national
security''.
(2) The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review describes long-term
strategies and initiatives for the Department of Defense and
states that--
(A) ``the pressures caused by climate change will influence
resource competition while placing additional burdens on
economies, societies, and governance institutions around the
world''; and
(B) the effects of climate change are ``threat
multipliers'' that aggravate stressors abroad that can
``enable terrorist activity and other violence''.
(3) The 2014 Department of Defense Climate Change
Adaptation Roadmap asserts that climate change will ``be felt
across the full range of Department activities, including
plans, operations, training, infrastructure, and
acquisition'' and that among the potential effects of climate
change are--
(A) ``instability within and among other nations'';
(B) ``decreased training/testing land-carrying capacity to
support current testing and training rotation types or
levels'';
(C) ``increased inundation, erosion, and flooding damage''
to Department of Defense infrastructure; and
(D) ``reduced availability of or access to the materials,
resources, and industrial infrastructure needed to
manufacture the Department's weapon systems and supplies''.
(4) The 2014 United States Government Accountability Office
report entitled ``Climate Change Adaptation: DOD Can Improve
Infrastructure Planning and Processes to Better Account for
Potential Impacts'' assessed 15 sites at defense
installations in the United States for vulnerability to the
effects of climate change. The report found that climate
change could affect Department of Defense readiness and
fiscal exposure in the following ways:
(A) ``According to DOD officials, the combination of
thawing permafrost, decreasing sea ice, and rising sea levels
on the Alaskan coast has increased coastal erosion at several
Air Force radar early warning and communication
installations''.
(B) ``Impacts on DOD's infrastructure from this erosion
have included damaged roads, seawalls, and runways''.
(C) ``Officials on a Navy installation told GAO that sea
level rise and resulting storm surge are the two largest
threats to their waterfront infrastructure''.
(D) ``Officials provided examples of impacts from reduced
precipitation--such as drought and wildfire risk--and
identified potential mission vulnerabilities--such as reduced
live-fire training''.
(5) The 2014 CNA Corporation released a report entitled
``National Security Risks and the Accelerating Risks of
Climate Change''. The report by the Corporation, the Military
Advisory Board of which was comprised of 15 generals and
admirals retired from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and
the Marine Corps, found that--
(A) ``climate change impacts are already accelerating
instability in vulnerable areas of the world and are serving
as catalysts for conflict''; and
(B) ``actions by the United States and the international
community have been insufficient to adapt to the challenges
associated with projected climate change''.
(6) The Military Advisory Board also wrote that ``[w]e are
dismayed that discussions of climate change have become so
polarizing and have receded from the arena of informed public
discourse and debate. Political posturing and budgetary woes
cannot be allowed to inhibit discussion and debate over what
so many believe to be a salient national security concern for
our Nation''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that it
is in the national security interests of the United States to
assess, plan for, and mitigate the security and strategic
implications of climate change.
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