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. HASTINGS, 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 Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Science, Space, and Technology, 

and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined 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 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Na3 tional Security Strategy Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. POLICY. 

5 It is the policy of the Federal Government to ensure 

6 that the current impacts of climate change, and those an7 ticipated in the coming decades, be identified and consid8 ered in the development and implementation of relevant 

9 national security doctrine, policies, and plans. 

10 SEC. 3. COORDINATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND NA11 TIONAL SECURITY. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Security Advi13 sor and the Director of the Office of Science and Tech14 nology Policy, acting jointly, shall establish an interagency 

15 working group, to be known as the Climate and National 

16 Security Working Group, to coordinate the development 

17 of a strategic approach to identify, assess, and share infor18 mation on current and projected climate-related impacts 

19 on national security interests and to inform the develop20 ment of national security doctrine, policies, and plans. 

21 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Working Group, in close col22 laboration with the United States Global Change Research 

23 Program, shall— 

24 (1) identify the U.S. national security priorities 

25 that are within the scope of the mission of the 

26 Working Group; 


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1 (2) develop recommendations for requirements 

2 for climate and social science data and intelligence 

3 analyses, as appropriate, that support national secu4 rity interests; 

5 (3) catalog climate science data, intelligence 

6 analyses, and other products and programs that sup7 port or should be considered in the development of 

8 national security doctrine, policy, and plans, includ9 ing— 

10 (A) climate and social science data reposi11 tories and analytical platforms; 

12 (B) climate modeling, simulation, and pro13 jection capabilities; and 

14 (C) information-sharing tools and re15 sources supporting climate risk analyses and as16 sessments, such as the Climate Data Initiative, 

17 the Climate Resilience Toolkit, the Global 

18 Change Information System, and the National 

19 Climate Assessment; 

20 (4) identify information and program gaps that 

21 limit consideration of climate change-related impacts 

22 in developing national security doctrine, policies, and 

23 plans and provide descriptions of these gaps to Fed24 eral science agencies and the United States intel25 ligence community to inform future research requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201

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1 ments and priorities, including collection priorities 

2 on climate data, models, simulations, and projec3 tions; 

4 (5) facilitate the production and exchange of 

5 climate data and information with relevant stake6 holders, including the United States intelligence 

7 community, and private sector partners, as appro8 priate; 

9 (6) produce, as appropriate, and make available 

10 science-informed intelligence assessments to agencies 

11 having responsibilities in the development of national 

12 security doctrine, policies, and plans in order to 

13 identify climate change-related impacts and 

14 prioritize actions related thereto; 

15 (7) establish, by consensus, guidance for Work16 ing Group members on coordinating, sharing, and 

17 exchanging climate science data among the mem18 bers, and with the National Science and Technology 

19 Council; 

20 (8) provide a venue for enhancing the under21 standing of the links between climate change-related 

22 impacts and national security interests and dis23 cussing the opportunities for climate mitigation and 

24 adaptation activities to address national security 

25 issues; 


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1 (9) work to improve the Federal Government’s 

2 capability and capacity to characterize greenhouse 

3 gas sources and sinks accurately at sub-continental 

4 scales; 

5 (10) recommend research guidelines, in coordi6 nation with the National Science and Technology 

7 Council, concerning the Federal Government’s abil8 ity to detect climate intervention activities; 

9 (11) develop, by consensus, guidance for Work10 ing Group members on building climate resilience in 

11 countries vulnerable to climate change-related im12 pacts; 

13 (12) take into account defined requirements 

14 and current capabilities described in paragraphs (2) 

15 and (3) of this subsection to facilitate the consider16 ation of climate change-related impacts into national 

17 security doctrine, policies, and plans; 

18 (13) have classified and unclassified capabili19 ties, as required and appropriate, to consolidate and 

20 make available climate change-related impact infor21 mation, intelligence analyses, and assessments for 

22 access and use by Working Group member agencies; 

23 (14) identify the most current information on 

24 regional, country, and geographic areas most vulner25 able to current and projected impacts of climate varVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201

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1 iability in the near-, mid-, and long-term (as defined 

2 in section 5), in order to support assessments of na3 tional security implications of climate change, and 

4 identify areas most vulnerable to these impacts dur5 ing these timeframes; 

6 (15) develop recommendations for the Secretary 

7 of State to help ensure that the work of United 

8 States embassies, including their planning processes, 

9 are informed by relevant climate change-related 

10 analyses; and 

11 (16) coordinate on the development of quan12 titative models, predictive mapping products, and 

13 forecasts to anticipate the various pathways through 

14 which climate change may affect public health as an 

15 issue of national security. 

16 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Work18 ing Group shall include the following officials and 

19 representatives (or their designees)— 

20 (A) the National Security Advisor; 

21 (B) the Director of the Office of Science 

22 and Technology Policy; and 

23 (C) the representatives, appointed by the 

24 National Security Advisor and the Director of 

25 the Office of Science and Technology Policy 


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1 (acting jointly), at the Assistant Secretary or 

2 equivalent level, of— 

3 (i) the Department of State; 

4 (ii) the Department of the Treasury; 

5 (iii) the Department of Defense; 

6 (iv) the Department of Justice; 

7 (v) the Department of the Interior; 

8 (vi) the Department of Agriculture; 

9 (vii) the Department of Commerce; 

10 (viii) the Department of Health and 

11 Human Services; 

12 (ix) the Department of Transpor13 tation; 

14 (x) the Department of Energy; 

15 (xi) the Department of Homeland Se16 curity; 

17 (xii) the United States Agency for 

18 International Development; 

19 (xiii) the Environmental Protection 

20 Agency; 

21 (xiv) the National Aeronautics and 

22 Space Administration; 

23 (xv) the Office of the Director of Na24 tional Intelligence; 


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1 (xvi) the U.S. Mission to the United 

2 Nations; 

3 (xvii) the Office of Management and 

4 Budget; 

5 (xviii) the Council on Environmental 

6 Quality; 

7 (xix) the Millennium Challenge Cor8 poration; and 

9 (xx) any other agency or office as des10 ignated by the Co-Chairs. 

11 (2) CO-CHAIRS.—The National Security Advisor 

12 and the Director of the Office of Science and Tech13 nology Policy, or their designees, shall co-chair the 

14 Working Group. 

15 (d) ACTION PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall, 

17 by consensus, develop an action plan, that— 

18 (1) identifies specific steps that are required to 

19 perform its functions; 

20 (2) includes specific objectives, milestones, 

21 timelines, and identification of agencies responsible 

22 for completion of all actions described therein; 

23 (3) includes recommendations to inform the de24 velopment of agency implementation plans, as de25 scribed in section 4; and 


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1 (4) be submitted to the co-chairs and the ap2 propriate congressional committees, including— 

3 (A) the House Committee on Oversight 

4 and Reform; 

5 (B) the Senate Committee on Homeland 

6 Security and Governmental Affairs; 

7 (C) the Senate Committee on Armed Serv8 ices; 

9 (D) the House Committee on Armed Serv10 ices; 

11 (E) the House Committee on Natural Re12 sources; and 

13 (F) the Senate Committee on Environment 

14 and Public Works. 

15 SEC. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 150 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the departments and agen18 cies listed in subsection 3(c) shall each develop an appro19 priate implementation plan supporting the policy described 

20 in section 2. Such implementation plans may be classified, 

21 as required, to meet specific agency requirements. 

22 (b) CONTENTS OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS.—Im23 plementation plans shall consider for inclusion a descrip24 tion of how the respective departments and agencies will 

25 accomplish the following: 


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1 (1) Identifying, sustaining, and strengthening 

2 climate-related data repositories, tools, and modeling 

3 products that inform climate change-related impacts 

4 on national security. 

5 (2) Identifying climate change-related risks to 

6 departments and agency missions, and risks that 

7 may be caused by departments and agency policies, 

8 programs, and actions concerning international de9 velopment objectives, fragility, and regional stability. 

10 (3) Pursuing departments and agency adapta11 tion strategies and methods that address climate 

12 change-related impacts on national security and 

13 homeland defense. 

14 (4) Identifying and implementing climate 

15 change-related information-sharing opportunities 

16 and arrangements through international develop17 ment activities, military-to-military engagements, 

18 and government-to-government climate-related data 

19 exchanges. 

20 (5) Identifying economic considerations arising 

21 from the impacts of climate change globally and the 

22 resulting specific impacts on national security, in23 cluding macroeconomic analyses and data-sharing 

24 mechanisms. 


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1 (6) Identifying the potential impact of climate 

2 change on human mobility, including migration and 

3 displacement, and the resulting impacts on national 

4 security. 

5 (7) Identifying climate change-related impacts 

6 on global water, food security, and nutrition and the 

7 resulting impacts on national security, and recom8 mending actions to mitigate these impacts. 

9 (8) Identifying climate change-related global 

10 health security concerns affecting humans, animals, 

11 and plants, and developing options to address them. 

12 (9) Developing a department or agency-specific 

13 approach to address climate-related hazards and 

14 threats to national security. 

15 (10) Determining and acting on climate change16 related threats to infrastructure at the asset, sys17 tem, and regional level and acting to strengthen the 

18 safety, security, and resilience of infrastructure crit19 ical to national security. 

20 (11) Incorporating climate change-related im21 pact information and considerations into department 

22 and agency technical and executive education and 

23 training programs. 


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1 (c) REPORTS.—Federal agencies shall update their 

2 implementation plans required by this section not less 

3 than annually. 

4 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ADAPTATION.—The term ‘‘adaptation’’ re7 fers to the adjustment in natural or human systems 

8 in anticipation of or in response to a changing envi9 ronment in a way that effectively uses beneficial op10 portunities or reduces negative effects. 

11 (2) CLIMATE.—The term ‘‘climate’’ refers to 

12 the prevailing meteorological conditions over a pe13 riod of several decades, including the typical fre14 quency and duration of extreme storms, heat waves, 

15 precipitation, droughts, cloudiness, winds, ocean 

16 temperatures, and other events that a region is like17 ly to encounter. 

18 (3) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘climate 

19 change’’ refers to detectable changes in one or more 

20 climate system components over multiple decades, 

21 including— 

22 (A) changes in the average temperature of 

23 the atmosphere or ocean; 

24 (B) changes in regional precipitation, 

25 winds, and cloudiness; and 


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1 (C) changes in the severity or duration of 

2 extreme weather, including droughts, floods, 

3 and storms. 

4 (4) CLIMATE MODELING.—The term ‘‘climate 

5 modeling’’ refers to the mathematical representation 

6 of the set of interdependent components of the cli7 mate system, including the atmosphere and ocean, 

8 cryosphere, ecology, land use, natural greenhouse 

9 gas emissions, and anthropogenic greenhouse emis10 sions. 

11 (5) FRAGILITY.—The term ‘‘fragility’’ refers to 

12 a condition that results from a dysfunctional rela13 tionship between state and society and the extent to 

14 which that relationship fails to produce policy out15 comes that are considered effective or legitimate. 

16 (6) GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY.—The term 

17 ‘‘global health security’’— 

18 (A) refers to activities required, both 

19 proactive and reactive, to minimize vulnerability 

20 to acute public health events that endanger the 

21 collective health of populations living across 

22 geographical regions and international bound23 aries; and 

24 (B) includes the efforts of the Global 

25 Health Security Agenda to establish capacity to 


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1 prevent, detect, and respond to disease threats, 

2 whether naturally occurring, deliberate, or acci3 dental. 

4 (7) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

5 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given to 

6 that term in section 3(4) of the National Security 

7 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 

8 (8) NATIONAL SECURITY.—The term ‘‘National 

9 security’’ refers to the protection of the Nation and 

10 its people and interests. 

11 (9) NEAR-, MID-, AND LONG-TERM.—The term 

12 ‘‘near-, mid-, and long-term’’ means current to 10 

13 years, 10 to 30 years, and more than 30 years, re14 spectively. 

15 (10) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ re16 fers to the ability— 

17 (A) to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to 

18 changing conditions; and 

19 (B) to withstand, respond to, and recover 

20 rapidly from disruptions. 

21 (11) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

22 Group’’ means the Climate and National Security 

23 Working Group established pursuant to section 3(a). 

Æ 


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