S.Amdt. 4574

SA 4574. Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. Markey, Mr. Schatz, Mr.
Coons, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Franken, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Blumenthal,
Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Booker) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2017 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 I of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1097. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED TO ADDRESS
THE NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE
CHANGE.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review concluded that--
(A) ``[t]he impacts of climate change may increase the
frequency, scale, and complexity of future missions,
including defense support to civil authorities, while at the
same time undermining the capacity of our domestic
installations to support training activities''; and
(B) the effects of climate change on severe weather, sea
levels, and availability of fresh water represent ``threat
multipliers that will aggravate stressors abroad such as
poverty, environmental degradation, political instability,
and social tensions - conditions that can enable terrorist
activity and other forms of violence'';
(2) in the foreword to the 2014 Department of Defense
Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, former Secretary of
Defense Chuck Hagel wrote that climate change ``has the
potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing
with today - from infectious disease to terrorism. . . .
Rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns,
climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will
intensify the challenges of global instability, hunger,
poverty, and conflict'';
(3) the 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap--
(A) found that the effects of climate change could cause
instability around the world ``by impairing access to food
and water, damaging infrastructure, spreading disease,
uprooting and displacing large numbers of people, compelling
mass migration, interrupting commercial activity, or
restricting electricity availability''; and
(B) judged that ``these developments could undermine
already-fragile governments that are unable to respond
effectively or challenge currently-stable governments, as
well as increasing competition and tension between countries
vying for limited resources'';
(4) the 2015 National Security Strategy states that
``climate change is an urgent and growing threat to our
national security, contributing to increased natural
disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources
like food and water'';
(5) the 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review
asserts that ``climate change exacerbates our greatest
vulnerabilities'';
(6) the 2013 Department of Homeland Security Climate Action
Plan notes that--
(A) some weather effects related to climate change, such as
warmer temperatures and increasingly severe storms, ``may
cause damage or disruptions to telecommunications and power
systems, creating challenges for telecommunications
infrastructure, emergency communications, and
cybersecurity'';
(B) ``more extreme weather conditions in parts of the world
with limited ability to provide state aid create
opportunities for militant groups to become active in their
communities''; and
(C) ``[c]limate change acts as a `threat multiplier,'
aggravating stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental
degradation, and social tensions, resulting in conditions
that could enable terrorist activity and violence'';
(7) in February 2016, the Director of National
Intelligence, James Clapper, testified before the Committee
on Armed Services of the Senate that--
(A) ``[e]xtreme weather, climate change, environmental
degradation, related rising demand for food and water, poor
policy responses, and inadequate critical infrastructure will
probably exacerbate--and potentially spark--political
instability, adverse health conditions, and humanitarian
crises in 2016''; and
(B) ``[s]everal of these developments, especially those in
the Middle East, suggest that environmental degradation might
become a more common source for interstate tensions'';
(8) Department of Defense Directive 4715.21 entitled
``Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience'' and promulgated
in January 2016 states that--
(A) as a matter of policy, the Department of Defense ``must
be able to adapt current and future operations to address the
impacts of climate change in order to maintain an effective
and efficient U.S. military''; and
(B) all Department of Defense mission planning and
execution must--
(i) include ``identification and assessment of the effects
of climate change on the DoD mission'';
(ii) take ``those effects into consideration when
developing plans and implementing procedures''; and
(iii) anticipate and manage ``any risks that develop as a
result of climate change to build resilience'';
(9) in the 2015 report to Congress entitled ``National
Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing
Climate'', the Secretary of Defense--
(A) acknowledged ``the reality of climate change and the
significant risk it poses to U.S. interests globally''; and
(B) recognized that--
(i) ``[a] changing climate increases the risk of
instability and conflict overseas, and has implications for
DoD on operations, personnel, installations, and the
stability, development, and human security of other
nations''; and
(ii) ``[g]lobal climate change will have wide-ranging
implications for U.S. national security interests over the
foreseeable future because it will aggravate existing
problems--such as poverty, social tensions, environmental
degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political
institutions--that threaten domestic stability in a number of
countries''; and
(10) leading United States national security experts from
both major political parties, including 12 former Senators
and Representatives, 10 retired generals and admirals, the
Chair and the Vice Chair of the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (commonly referred
to as the ``9/11 Commission''), and Cabinet and Cabinet-level
officials from the Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush,
Clinton, George

[[Page S3656]]

W. Bush, and Obama Administrations, signed an open letter in
October 2015, stating that climate change ``is critically
important to the world's most experienced security planners.
The impacts are real, and the costs of inaction are
unacceptable. America's elected leaders and private sector
must think past tomorrow to focus on this growing problem,
and take action at home and abroad.''.
(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.
______