[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 119 (Friday, July 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018

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                               speech of

                     HON. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 13, 2017

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2810) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     such fiscal year, and for other purposes:

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose the Perry 
amendment, that would strike section 336 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act bill under consideration by the House.
  Section 336 is a commonsense and essential provision that simply 
acknowledges the fact that climate change is an urgent and direct 
threat not only to our national security, but also to our armed forces 
and our military installations around the world. This amendment would 
weaken our national security by preventing our military from planning 
and preparing to best meet these threats.
  Despite the consensus view of the world's climate scientists that 
human actions are accelerating climate changes through our excessive 
carbon emissions, there continue to be some Members of this body that 
hope if we don't assess the threat too closely, it will go away.
  As Members of this body, we have sworn to protect the public welfare 
from all threats, foreign and domestic. And make no mistake, our 
changing climate--fueled by humanity's enormous carbon emissions--is 
exactly such a threat.
  But don't take my word for it. The words of Defense Secretary James 
Mattis that are included in the text of this bill are instructive, and 
deleting them through this amendment will make them no less true. He 
said, ``I agree that the effects of a changing climate--such as 
increased maritime access to the Arctic, rising sea levels, 
desertification, among others--impact our security situation . . . 
[and] it is appropriate . . . to incorporate drivers of instability 
that impact the security environment . . . into [our] planning.''
  And as former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Gordon Sullivan has 
stated: ``Climate change is a national security issue. We found that 
climate instability will lead to instability in geopolitics and impact 
American military operations around the world.''
  The bipartisan language of section 336 goes on to state that, ``a 
three-foot rise in sea levels will threaten the operations of more than 
128 United States military sites, and it is possible that many of these 
at-risk bases could be submerged in the coming years.''
  For my district in South Florida, we don't have to look to the future 
to see the threat posed by rising temperatures. Climate change is a 
threat today. Sea levels have already risen nine inches in the last 
several decades and, according to FIU's Sea Level Solutions Center, we 
could see up to another six inches of sea level rise in just over a 
dozen years.
  Today ``king tides'' cause flooding in low-lying communities several 
times a year. We cannot afford another six inches, let alone another 
three feet of ocean water. And our marine ecosystems and corals are 
also under attack from increased acidification caused by carbon dioxide 
absorption in ocean waters.
  As Members of Congress, we have a duty to the taxpayers of this 
country not only to protect our communities from the worst effects of 
climate change, but also to ensure that we spend wisely on national 
defense and international assistance for humanitarian and disaster 
response.
  It is therefore imperative that our military leaders be allowed to 
assess the vulnerabilities to our military installations and ensure we 
build in resiliency so that our military is ready to meet the 
challenges ahead. Simply put, we should give our military leaders the 
tools they need to protect the American public.
  Section 336 does exactly that and this amendment must be rejected.
  Whether out of concern for our national defense, our public health, 
our environment, the economic well-being of our communities, or for all 
of these reasons, I urge my colleagues to oppose this ill-advised 
amendment.

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