I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5606 
To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
establish a Climate Change Education Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 24, 2018 
Ms. SHEA-PORTER (for herself, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. WATSON
COLEMAN, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. 
HANABUSA, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. CARTWRIGHT) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration to establish a Climate Change Education Pro-
gram, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Edu-
cation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) The evidence for human-induced climate 
change is overwhelming and undeniable. 
(2) Atmospheric carbon can be significantly re-
duced through conservation, by shifting to renewable 
energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and geo-
thermal, and by increasing the efficiency of build-
ings, including domiciles, and transportation. 
(3) Providing clear information about climate 
change, in a variety of forms, can remove the fear 
and the sense of helplessness, and encourage individ-
uals and communities to take action. 
(4) Implementation of measures that promote 
energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable en-
ergy will greatly reduce human impact on the envi-
ronment. 
(5) Informing people of new technologies and 
programs as they become available will ensure max-
imum understanding and maximum effect of those 
measures. 
(6) More than 3,000,000 students graduate 
from high schools and colleges each year, armed 
with attitudes, skills, and knowledge about the cli-
mate that inform their actions. 
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(7) The effect on the climate, positive or nega-
tive, of each of those 3,000,000 students lasts be-
yond a lifetime. 
(8) Those students need to be prepared to im-
plement changes in professional and personal prac-
tices, to support and help develop new technology 
and policy, and to address the coming social and 
economic challenges and opportunities arising from a 
changing climate. 
(9) It has been demonstrated that the people of 
the United States overwhelmingly support teaching 
students about the causes, consequences, and poten-
tial solutions to climate change in all 50 States and 
more than 3,000 counties across the United States. 
(10) Only 30 percent of middle school and 45 
percent of high school science teachers understand 
the extent of the scientific consensus on climate 
change. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION.—The term 
‘‘climate change education’’ means informal and for-
mal interdisciplinary learning at all age levels 
about— 
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(A) climate change, climate adaptation and 
mitigation, and climate resilience; and 
(B) the effects of climate change, climate 
adaptation and mitigation, and climate resil-
ience on the environmental, energy, social, and 
economic systems of the United States. 
(2) GREEN COLLAR JOB.—The term ‘‘green col-
lar job’’ means a job— 
(A) in a business that produces goods or 
provides services that benefit the environment 
or conserve natural resources; or 
(B) in which the duties of the worker in-
volve making the production processes of the 
employer more environmentally friendly or use 
fewer natural resources. 
(3) GREEN ECONOMY.—The term ‘‘green econ-
omy’’ means an economy that results in improved 
human well-being and social equity by significantly 
reducing environmental risks and ecological scar-
cities. 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
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(5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 
agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(6) NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de-
scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 
501(a) of that Code. 
SEC. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration shall establish a Climate 
Change Education Program to— 
(1) increase the climate literacy of the United 
States by broadening the understanding of climate 
change, including possible long-term and short-term 
consequences and potential solutions; 
(2) apply the latest scientific and technological 
discoveries, including through the use of the sci-
entific assets of the Administration, to provide for-
mal and informal learning opportunities to individ-
uals of all ages, including individuals of diverse cul-
tural and linguistic backgrounds; and 
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