[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 91 (Tuesday, June 9, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S3964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  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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