Climate Change National Security Strategy Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1201 To direct Federal departments and agencies to perform certain functions to ensure that climate change-related impacts are fully considered in the development of national security doctrine, policies, and plans, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 13, 2019 Mr. LYNCH (for himself, Mr. TONKO, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GALLEGO, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. COHEN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. HAS- TINGS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. HIMES, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. WELCH, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. CARBAJAL, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Commit- tees on Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Science, Space, and Technology, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct Federal departments and agencies to perform cer- tain functions to ensure that climate change-related im- pacts are fully considered in the development of national security doctrine, policies, and plans, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1201 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Na- 2 tional Security Strategy Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. POLICY. 4 It is the policy of the Federal Government to ensure 5 that the current impacts of climate change, and those an- 6 ticipated in the coming decades, be identified and consid- 7 ered in the development and implementation of relevant 8 national security doctrine, policies, and plans. 9 SEC. 3. COORDINATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND NA- 10 TIONAL SECURITY. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Security Advi- 12 sor and the Director of the Office of Science and Tech- 13 nology Policy, acting jointly, shall establish an interagency 14 working group, to be known as the Climate and National 15 Security Working Group, to coordinate the development 16 of a strategic approach to identify, assess, and share infor- 17 mation on current and projected climate-related impacts 18 on national security interests and to inform the develop- 19 ment of national security doctrine, policies, and plans. 20 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Working Group, in close col- 21 laboration with the United States Global Change Research 22 Program, shall— 23 (1) identify the U.S. national security priorities 24 that are within the scope of the mission of the 25 Working Group; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1201 IH (2) develop recommendations for requirements 1 for climate and social science data and intelligence 2 analyses, as appropriate, that support national secu- 3 rity interests; 4 (3) catalog climate science data, intelligence 5 analyses, and other products and programs that sup- 6 port or should be considered in the development of 7 national security doctrine, policy, and plans, includ- 8 ing— 9 (A) climate and social science data reposi- 10 tories and analytical platforms; 11 (B) climate modeling, simulation, and pro- 12 jection capabilities; and 13 (C) information-sharing tools and re- 14 sources supporting climate risk analyses and as- 15 sessments, such as the Climate Data Initiative, 16 the Climate Resilience Toolkit, the Global 17 Change Information System, and the National 18 Climate Assessment; 19 (4) identify information and program gaps that 20 limit consideration of climate change-related impacts 21 in developing national security doctrine, policies, and 22 plans and provide descriptions of these gaps to Fed- 23 eral science agencies and the United States intel- 24 ligence community to inform future research require- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1201 IH ments and priorities, including collection priorities 1 on climate data, models, simulations, and projec- 2 tions; 3 (5) facilitate the production and exchange of 4 climate data and information with relevant stake- 5 holders, including the United States intelligence 6 community, and private sector partners, as appro- 7 priate; 8 (6) produce, as appropriate, and make available 9 science-informed intelligence assessments to agencies 10 having responsibilities in the development of national 11 security doctrine, policies, and plans in order to 12 identify climate change-related impacts and 13 prioritize actions related thereto; 14 (7) establish, by consensus, guidance for Work- 15 ing Group members on coordinating, sharing, and 16 exchanging climate science data among the mem- 17 bers, and with the National Science and Technology 18 Council; 19 (8) provide a venue for enhancing the under- 20 standing of the links between climate change-related 21 impacts and national security interests and dis- 22 cussing the opportunities for climate mitigation and 23 adaptation activities to address national security 24 issues; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1201 IH (9) work to improve the Federal Government’s 1 capability and capacity to characterize greenhouse 2 gas sources and sinks accurately at sub-continental 3 scales; 4 (10) recommend research guidelines, in coordi- 5 nation with the National Science and Technology 6 Council, concerning the Federal Government’s abil- 7 ity to detect climate intervention activities; 8 (11) develop, by consensus, guidance for Work- 9 ing Group members on building climate resilience in 10 countries vulnerable to climate change-related im- 11 pacts; 12 (12) take into account defined requirements 13 and current capabilities described in paragraphs (2) 14 and (3) of this subsection to facilitate the consider- 15 ation of climate change-related impacts into national 16 security doctrine, policies, and plans; 17 (13) have classified and unclassified capabili- 18 ties, as required and appropriate, to consolidate and 19 make available climate change-related impact infor- 20 mation, intelligence analyses, and assessments for 21 access and use by Working Group member agencies; 22 (14) identify the most current information on 23 regional, country, and geographic areas most vulner- 24 able to current and projected impacts of climate var- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1201 IH iability in the near-, mid-, and long-term (as defined 1 in section 5), in order to support assessments of na- 2 tional security implications of climate change, and 3 identify areas most vulnerable to these impacts dur- 4 ing these timeframes; 5 (15) develop recommendations for the Secretary 6 of State to help ensure that the work of United 7 States embassies, including their planning processes, 8 are informed by relevant climate change-related 9 analyses; and 10 (16) coordinate on the development of quan- 11 titative models, predictive mapping products, and 12 forecasts to anticipate the various pathways through 13 which climate change may affect public health as an 14 issue of national security. 15 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Work- 17 ing Group shall include the following officials and 18 representatives (or their designees)— 19 (A) the National Security Advisor; 20 (B) the Director of the Office of Science 21 and Technology Policy; and 22 (C) the representatives, appointed by the 23 National Security Advisor and the Director of 24 the Office of Science and Technology Policy 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1201 IH (acting jointly), at the Assistant Secretary or 1 equivalent level, of— 2 (i) the Department of State; 3 (ii) the Department of the Treasury; 4 (iii) the Department of Defense; 5 (iv) the Department of Justice; 6 (v) the Department of the Interior; 7 (vi) the Department of Agriculture; 8 (vii) the Department of Commerce; 9 (viii) the Department of Health and 10 Human Services; 11 (ix) the Department of Transpor- 12 tation; 13 (x) the Department of Energy; 14 (xi) the Department of Homeland Se- 15 curity; 16 (xii) the United States Agency for 17 International Development; 18 (xiii) the Environmental Protection 19 Agency; 20 (xiv) the National Aeronautics and 21 Space Administration; 22 (xv) the Office of the Director of Na- 23 tional Intelligence; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1201 IH (xvi) the U.S. Mission to the United 1 Nations; 2 (xvii) the Office of Management and 3 Budget; 4 (xviii) the Council on Environmental 5 Quality; 6 (xix) the Millennium Challenge Cor- 7 poration; and 8 (xx) any other agency or office as des- 9 ignated by the Co-Chairs. 10 (2) CO-CHAIRS.—The National Security Advisor 11 and the Director of the Office of Science and Tech- 12 nology Policy, or their designees, shall co-chair the 13 Working Group. 14 (d) ACTION PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the 15 date of enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall, 16 by consensus, develop an action plan, that— 17 (1) identifies specific steps that are required to 18 perform its functions; 19 (2) includes specific objectives, milestones, 20 timelines, and identification of agencies responsible 21 for completion of all actions described therein; 22 (3) includes recommendations to inform the de- 23 velopment of agency implementation plans, as de- 24 scribed in section 4; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1201 IH (4) be submitted to the co-chairs and the ap- 1 propriate congressional committees, including— 2 (A) the House Committee on Oversight 3 and Reform; 4 (B) the Senate Committee on Homeland 5 Security and Governmental Affairs; 6 (C) the Senate Committee on Armed Serv- 7 ices; 8 (D) the House Committee on Armed Serv- 9 ices; 10 (E) the House Committee on Natural Re- 11 sources; and 12 (F) the Senate Committee on Environment 13 and Public Works. 14 SEC. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 150 days after the 16 date of enactment of this Act, the departments and agen- 17 cies listed in subsection 3(c) shall each develop an appro- 18 priate implementation plan supporting the policy described 19 in section 2. Such implementation plans may be classified, 20 as required, to meet specific agency requirements. 21 (b) CONTENTS OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.—Im- 22 plementation plans shall consider for inclusion a descrip- 23 tion of how the respective departments and agencies will 24 accomplish the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1201 IH (1) Identifying, sustaining, and strengthening 1 climate-related data repositories, tools, and modeling 2 products that inform climate change-related impacts 3 on national security. 4 (2) Identifying climate change-related risks to 5 departments and agency missions, and risks that 6 may be caused by departments and agency policies, 7 programs, and actions concerning international de- 8 velopment objectives, fragility, and regional stability. 9 (3) Pursuing departments and agency adapta- 10 tion strategies and methods that address climate 11 change-related impacts on national security and 12 homeland defense. 13 (4) Identifying and implementing climate 14 change-related information-sharing opportunities 15 and arrangements through international develop- 16 ment activities, military-to-military engagements, 17 and government-to-government climate-related data 18 exchanges. 19 (5) Identifying economic considerations arising 20 from the impacts of climate change globally and the 21 resulting specific impacts on national security, in- 22 cluding macroeconomic analyses and data-sharing 23 mechanisms. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1201 IH (6) Identifying the potential impact of climate 1 change on human mobility, including migration and 2 displacement, and the resulting impacts on national 3 security. 4 (7) Identifying climate change-related impacts 5 on global water, food security, and nutrition and the 6 resulting impacts on national security, and recom- 7 mending actions to mitigate these impacts. 8 (8) Identifying climate change-related global 9 health security concerns affecting humans, animals, 10 and plants, and developing options to address them. 11 (9) Developing a department or agency-specific 12 approach to address climate-related hazards and 13 threats to national security. 14 (10) Determining and acting on climate change- 15 related threats to infrastructure at the asset, sys- 16 tem, and regional level and acting to strengthen the 17 safety, security, and resilience of infrastructure crit- 18 ical to national security. 19 (11) Incorporating climate change-related im- 20 pact information and considerations into department 21 and agency technical and executive education and 22 training programs. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1201 IH (c) REPORTS.—Federal agencies shall update their 1 implementation plans required by this section not less 2 than annually. 3 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) ADAPTATION.—The term ‘‘adaptation’’ re- 6 fers to the adjustment in natural or human systems 7 in anticipation of or in response to a changing envi- 8 ronment in a way that effectively uses beneficial op- 9 portunities or reduces negative effects. 10 (2) CLIMATE.—The term ‘‘climate’’ refers to 11 the prevailing meteorological conditions [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]