[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1961 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1961

  To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
             establish a Climate Change Education Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 22, 2015

Mr. Honda (for himself, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cartwright, Ms. 
Clark of Massachusetts, and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
             establish a Climate Change Education Program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Climate Change Education Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the evidence for human-induced climate change is 
        overwhelming and undeniable;
            (2) the United States is the second highest emitter of 
        carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the world;
            (3) atmospheric carbon can be significantly reduced through 
        conservation, by shifting to renewable energy sources such as 
        solar, wind, tidal, and geothermal, and by increasing the 
        efficiency of buildings, including domiciles, and 
        transportation;
            (4) providing clear information about climate change, in a 
        variety of forms, can remove the fear and the sense of 
        helplessness, and encourage individuals and communities to take 
        action;
            (5) implementation of measures that promote energy 
        efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy will greatly 
        reduce human impact on the environment; and
            (6) informing people of new technologies and programs as 
        they become available will ensure maximum understanding and 
        maximum impact of those measures.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``climate change education'' means informal 
and formal interdisciplinary learning at all age levels about climate 
change and its effects on environmental, energy, social, and economic 
systems.

SEC. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION PROGRAM.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall establish 
a Climate Change Education Program to--
            (1) broaden the understanding of human induced climate 
        change, possible long-term and short-term consequences, and 
        potential solutions;
            (2) apply the latest scientific and technological 
        discoveries to provide formal and informal learning 
        opportunities to people of all ages, including those of diverse 
        cultural and linguistic backgrounds;
            (3) emphasize actionable information to help people 
        understand and to promote implementation of new technologies, 
        programs, and incentives related to energy conservation, 
        renewable energy, and greenhouse gas reduction; and
            (4) inform the public of impacts to human health and safety 
        as a result of climate change.

SEC. 5. PROGRAM ELEMENTS.

    The Climate Change Education Program shall include--
            (1) a national information campaign to disseminate 
        information on and promote implementation of the new 
        technologies, programs, and incentives described in section 
        4(3); and
            (2) the grant program described in section 6.

SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall establish 
a program to make grants--
            (1) to support national public education, outreach, and 
        communication programs to engage substantial numbers of the 
        public in understanding climate change while developing 
        educated and empowered consumers, investors, and citizens;
            (2) to encourage and support statewide plans and programs 
        for climate change education, including relevant teacher 
        training and professional development, STEM (science, 
        technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, and 
        multidisciplinary studies to ensure that students graduate from 
        high school climate literate, with a particular focus on 
        programs that advance widespread State and local educational 
        agency adoption of climate change education, including funding 
        for State education agencies to--
                    (A) integrate key principles of climate change 
                education into existing K-12 State academic content 
                standards, student academic achievement standards, or 
                State curriculum frameworks;
                    (B) create model State climate change curricula; or
                    (C) create State green school building standards or 
                policies;
            (3) to improve the quality of and access to higher 
        education in green collar industries and green economy-related 
        fields such as green business, technology, engineering, policy 
        studies, and sustainability science, with a particular focus on 
        programs that address restructuring institutional incentives 
        and reducing institutional barriers to widespread faculty 
        adoption of interdisciplinary teaching of climate change 
        education;
            (4) for institutions of higher education to engage teams of 
        faculty and students to develop applied climate research and 
        deliver to local communities direct services on climate 
        mitigation and adaptation issues impacting such communities, 
        with a priority on distressed communities; and
            (5) for projects that build capacity for climate adaptation 
        at the State and national level including--
                    (A) career education;
                    (B) expanding green collar workforce training;
                    (C) secondary school preparation or work-based 
                experiences in green collar fields; and
                    (D) continuing education needed for practicing 
                professionals for green economy-related fields.

SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration shall transmit to Congress a report that evaluates the 
scientific merits, educational effectiveness, and broader impacts of 
activities under this Act.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 
through 2020 for carrying out this Act.
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