[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 127 (Monday, July 20, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4293]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2456. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 2301 proposed by Mr. Inhofe to the bill S. 4049, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 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 B of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 320. DESIGNATION OF SENIOR CLIMATE ADVISOR FOR 
                   DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 4 of title 10, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``Sec. 146. Senior Climate Advisor

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall designate 
     an official on the staff of the Office of the Secretary to 
     serve as the Senior Climate Advisor for the Department of 
     Defense.
       ``(b) Responsibilities.--The Senior Climate Advisor 
     designated under subsection (a) shall be responsible for the 
     following:
       ``(1) Coordinating guidance of the Secretary of Defense 
     related to climate security across the Department of Defense.
       ``(2) Monitoring the integration of climate security into 
     budget processes of the Department.
       ``(3) Coordinating the integration of climate security into 
     the National Defense Strategy, the National Military 
     Strategy, the Defense Planning Guidance, and other strategic 
     documents of the Department.
       ``(4) Facilitating the integration of key scientific inputs 
     related to climate security across the Department.
       ``(5) Tracking progress of the Department toward climate 
     security goals and monitoring compliance of the Department 
     with climate security guidance.
       ``(6) Serving as a key point of contact on climate security 
     for other Federal agencies.
       ``(c) Seniority.--The Senior Climate Advisor designated 
     under subsection (a) shall be a member of the Senior 
     Executive Service.
       ``(d) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the 
     Senior Climate Advisor designated under subsection (a) shall 
     provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing 
     summarizing the activities carried out under this section.
       ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) The term `climate security' means the effects of 
     climate change on--
       ``(A) infrastructure;
       ``(B) training;
       ``(C) operations;
       ``(D) planning;
       ``(E) posture;
       ``(F) strategy;
       ``(G) support to civil authorities;
       ``(H) humanitarian assistance and disaster response;
       ``(I) ally and partner readiness and resiliency;
       ``(J) national, subnational, and regional political 
     stability; and
       ``(K) intrastate and interstate conflict.
       ``(2) The term `the effects of climate change' means--
       ``(A) the intensification and frequency of droughts, 
     floods, wildfires, tropical storms, and other extreme weather 
     events;
       ``(B) changes in historical severe weather, drought, and 
     wildfire patterns;
       ``(C) the expansion of geographical ranges of droughts, 
     floods, and wildfires into regions that had not regularly 
     experienced such phenomena;
       ``(D) global sea level rise patterns and the expansion of 
     geographical ranges affected by drought; and
       ``(E) changes in marine environments that affect critical 
     geostrategic waterways, such as the Arctic Ocean, the South 
     China Sea, the South Pacific Ocean, the Barents Sea, and the 
     Beaufort Sea.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 4 of such title is amended by adding at 
     the end the following new item:

``146. Senior Climate Advisor.''.
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