I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4737 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Under Secretary 
for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security 
to research and evaluate existing Federal research regarding approaches 
to mitigate climate change on homeland security to identify areas for 
further research within the Department, research and develop approaches 
to mitigate the consequences of climate change on homeland security, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 18, 2019 
Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Homeland Security 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require 
the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the 
Department of Homeland Security to research and evalu-
ate existing Federal research regarding approaches to 
mitigate climate change on homeland security to identify 
areas for further research within the Department, re-
search and develop approaches to mitigate the con-
sequences of climate change on homeland security, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Home-
land Security Climate Change Research Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE PLANNING, RESEARCH AND DE-
VELOPMENT, AND PROTECTION AND PRE-
PAREDNESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 321. CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP-
MENT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary for Science 
and Technology shall— 
‘‘(1) research and evaluate existing Federal re-
search regarding approaches to mitigate the con-
sequence of climate change on homeland security to 
identify areas for additional research and develop-
ment pursuant to paragraph (2) with respect to— 
‘‘(A) any connection between climate 
change and homeland security, including how 
the resulting competition for resources, eco-
nomic distress, and social discontent has con-
tributed to, among other outcomes, acts of ter-
rorism; 
‘‘(B) the degree to which climate change is 
reflected in terrorism preparedness and emer-
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gency planning and policies, including with re-
spect to preparedness, response to, and recovery 
from natural disasters; and 
‘‘(C) the degree to which the Federal fund-
ing structure to respond to major disaster dec-
larations and emergency declarations is ade-
quately structured to meet the demands of re-
sponding to and recovering from acts of ter-
rorism and natural disasters that are aggra-
vated by climate change; and 
‘‘(2) shall conduct research and development on 
approaches to mitigate the consequences of climate 
change on homeland security in response to finding 
pursuant to paragraph (1). 
‘‘(b) SCOPE.—The scope of the research and develop-
ment under subsection (a)(2) shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) Any connection between climate change 
and homeland security, including how the resulting 
competition for resources, economic distress, and so-
cial discontent can contribute to, among other out-
comes, acts of terrorism. 
‘‘(2) The degree to which climate change is re-
flected in terrorism preparedness and emergency 
planning and policies, including with respect to pre-
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paredness, response to, and recovery from natural 
disasters. 
‘‘(3) The degree to which the Federal funding 
structure to respond to major disaster declarations 
and emergency declarations is adequately structured 
to meet the demands of responding to and recov-
ering from acts of terrorism and natural disasters 
that are aggravated by climate change. 
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 
the Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall con-
sult with the heads of other relevant agencies and depart-
ments of the Federal Government, first responders, and 
relevant owners and operators of critical infrastructure. 
‘‘(d) CLIMATE CHANGE DEFINED.—The term ‘cli-
mate change’ refers to detectable changes in one or more 
climate system components that is directly or indirectly 
attributed to— 
‘‘(1) human activity; and 
‘‘(2) altering the composition of the global at-
mosphere. 
‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—On an annual basis, 
the Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on 
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research and development activities under subsection (a), 
including completed and ongoing research projects.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
320 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 321. Climate change research and development.’’. 
Æ 
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