[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 108 (Thursday, June 11, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE NET ZERO REVIEW ACT OF 2020

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 11, 2020

  Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the National 
Defense Net Zero Review Act of 2020, legislation that will refocus the 
Defense Department's (DoD's) efforts on Net Zero initiatives and 
require the Secretary to establish the first integrated master plan for 
achieving Net Zero energy benchmarks.
  The DoD consumes more energy than any other federal agency, spending 
nearly $12 billion on energy in FY2017, approximately two percent of 
the Department's total budget. Since the early 2000s, the DoD has made 
commendable progress in implementing Net Zero projects. These 
initiatives have generally focused on efforts to produce more energy 
from renewable sources on installations, limit consumption of water in 
order to not deplete the local watershed, and reduce, reuse, and 
recover waste to prevent unnecessary additions to landfills.
  Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, while progress has been made, it simply 
isn't enough. In fact, many of the energy benchmarks established by 
previous acts of Congress have never been achieved by the DoD, and many 
of the goals announced by senior DoD leaders over the past decade are 
no longer being pursued. To quote from the findings from a 2016 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) study--the most systemic review 
of Net Zero with the DoD--the Department has ``not established an 
integrated net zero strategy or policy for achieving Net Zero,'' and 
``none of the military departments have established Net Zero as a 
funded program''. Further, the DoD has not fully identified the 
potential costs of implementing net zero initiatives, due at least in 
part to insufficiently defined statutory goals.
  On the operational side of energy usage, DoD emissions for all 
military operations between 2001 and 2017 are estimated to be 766 
million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The FY2017 Operational Energy 
Annual Report found that the Department used roughly 87 million barrels 
of fuel per year, which comes out to some 240,000 barrels per day. 
These findings paint a clear picture, that absent Congressional 
interest and oversight, pursuing and achieving Net Zero will not be 
prioritized in the way that it should be.
  The legislation that I am introducing today will get us back on track 
with a wholesale review of Net Zero initiatives under the DoD. First, 
my bill commissions two studies from the Comptroller General of the 
United States--a follow-up to the 2016 study and a second examining 
options for increasing efficiency and resilience on the operational 
side of the DoD's energy usage--that will analyze the extent to which 
these types of initiatives have been implemented, and the associated 
costs, benefits, challenges, and opportunities that exist for moving 
forward. These studies also solicit new information from the DoD, 
including anticipated funding and infrastructure needs to get serious 
about achieving Net Zero, and options for achieving specific 
benchmarks. Once this information is at hand, my legislation requires 
the Secretary of the DoD to present Congress with a master plan 
outlining an integrated strategy for achieving these initiatives in a 
manner that continues to prioritize military readiness.
  Importantly, Madam Speaker, my bill does not impose any arbitrary 
deadlines or requirements of the DoD. Rather, this legislation focuses 
on gathering the data we need to know what is feasible, what we'll need 
to get it done, and how much time it will take, so that Congress can 
make informed decisions in the future. This is the right way to move 
forward, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

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