[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 63 (Thursday, April 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE SECURITY OVERSIGHT ACT

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                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 19, 2007

  Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Global 
Climate Change Security Oversight Act.
  The nexus between global warming and the national security of the 
United States is a crucial, yet long-ignored, issue. The adverse 
consequences of rising global temperatures present not only a potential 
environmental catastrophe but a national security emergency.
  The security-related consequences of global warming will range from 
hampering U.S. military operations to worsening the scarcity of 
essential resources in already unstable regions--which can lead to the 
failed states that are a central breeding ground for terrorism, But 
because the U.S. intelligence community has never analyzed the 
potential for global warming to harm our national security, we lack a 
thorough understanding of what these threats are. This means that the 
Department of Defense and other security agencies cannot 
comprehensively plan for the security consequences of global warming 
the way that they plan for countless other serious contingencies.
  Today, I am introducing the ``Global Climate Change Security 
Oversight Act.'' This bill is cosponsored by the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Bartlett) the gentleman from Connecticut, Mr. Larson, the 
gentlelady from California, Ms. Eshoo, the gentlelady from California, 
Ms. Solis, the gentlelady from New York, Mr. Hall, the gentleman from 
Washington, Mr. McDermott, and the gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. 
Olver. This legislation will jump-start U.S. defense planning for the 
security consequences of global warming by authorizing a National 
Intelligence Estimate (NIB) to assess the implications of global 
warming to United States security and military operations. Our bill, 
the House companion to legislation already introduced by Senator Durbin 
and Senator Hagel, will provide a crucial planning and risk-assessment 
tool as the Congress seeks innovative solutions to global warming. 
Developed to assess the most serious threats to the United States, NIBs 
are the most authoritative intelligence judgments on national security 
issues. This legislation will also fund research by the Defense 
Department into the consequences for U.S. military operations posed by 
global warming.
  It seems clear that our geopolitical and national security posture 
will only grow worse if we do not act forcefully to curb our dangerous 
dependence on imported oil and reduce our emissions of global warming 
pollution. At the beginning of February, the world's top scientists, as 
part of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
(IPCC), provided a scientific smoking gun that human activities were 
unequivocally responsible for global warming. Two weeks ago, their 
second report told us what happens when the climatic bullet hits. The 
developing world will bear the brunt of the collateral damage from our 
historic global warming emissions, but the United States will 
experience its own self-inflicted wounds, including threats to our 
national security and military readiness.
  The United States must act now to understand the security 
implications of global warming. The Global Climate Change Security 
Oversight Act will allow us to do so.

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