Title: Climate Security Intelligence Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Climate Security Intelligence Act of 2019
This bill establishes the Climate Security Intelligence Center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The center's duties shall include serving as the primary intelligence community organization for analyzing climate security threats and identifying best practices for such analysis.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3110 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3110

   To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to establish a Climate 
   Security Intelligence Center within the Office of the Director of 
             National Intelligence, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2019

Mr. Heck (for himself, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Welch, Mr. Himes, and Mr. Carson 
 of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
               Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the National Security Act of 1947 to establish a Climate 
   Security Intelligence Center within the Office of the Director of 
             National Intelligence, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Climate Security Intelligence Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The evidence for human-induced climate change is clear 
        and undeniable.
            (2) According to the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of 
        the U.S. Intelligence Community, climate change will fuel 
        competition for resources, and cause economic distress and 
        social discontent through 2019 and beyond.
            (3) In 2016, the National Intelligence Council found that 
        ``climate change and its resulting effects are likely to pose 
        wide-ranging national security challenges for the United States 
        and other countries over the next 20 years.''.
            (4) The intelligence community, the Department of Defense, 
        the Department of State, international organizations, and 
        national security experts have all concluded that the impacts 
        of climate change pose a significant risk to the national 
        security of the United States.
            (5) The impacts of climate change--
                    (A) threaten the national security infrastructure 
                of the United States both domestically and abroad;
                    (B) negatively impact the readiness and operations 
                of the Armed Forces; and
                    (C) contribute to the conditions that lead to 
                subnational, national, regional, and global 
                instability.
            (6) The intelligence community has previously analyzed, 
        studied, and engaged in public-private partnerships to improve 
        understanding about the effects of climate change on national 
        security, however, such efforts were undertaken in a sporadic 
        manner due to inconsistent policy commitment to such efforts.
            (7) The United States needs to be fully prepared to respond 
        to the threats to and harmful impacts on national security from 
        climate change, but is not at the present time.

SEC. 3. CLIMATE SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CENTER.

    (a) Establishment.--Title I of the National Security Act of 1947 
(50 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section:

``SEC. 120. CLIMATE SECURITY INTELLIGENCE CENTER.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is within the Office of the Director of 
National Intelligence a Climate Security Intelligence Center.
    ``(b) Director of Climate Security Intelligence Center.--There is a 
Director of the Climate Security Intelligence Center, who shall be the 
head of the Climate Security Intelligence Center, and who shall be 
appointed by the Director of National Intelligence.
    ``(c) Duties of Center.--The duties of the Climate Security 
Intelligence Center shall be as follows:
            ``(1) To serve as the primary organization within the 
        intelligence community for--
                    ``(A) analyzing climate security threats and the 
                climate influence of the United States; and
                    ``(B) identifying and disseminating climate 
                intelligence indications and warnings.
            ``(2) To assess and identify best practices in the analysis 
        of climate security, including identifying publicly available 
        information and clandestinely collected intelligence that 
        enables such analysis.
            ``(3) To assess and identify best practices with respect to 
        prior efforts of the intelligence community to analyze climate 
        security, including--
                    ``(A) the Measurements of Earth Data for 
                Environmental Analysis program of the Central 
                Intelligence Agency;
                    ``(B) the Center on Climate Change and National 
                Security of the Central Intelligence Agency; and
                    ``(C) climate security-related activities of the 
                Director of National Intelligence.
            ``(4) To use the best practices identified under paragraphs 
        (2) and (3) to inform the work of the Climate Security 
        Intelligence Center.
            ``(5) To consult, as appropriate, with other elements of 
        the intelligence community and Federal agencies to avoid 
        duplication of existing efforts.
            ``(6) To perform such other duties as the Director of 
        National Intelligence shall specify.
    ``(d) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of the Climate Security Intelligence Act of 2019, and every 
two years thereafter, the Climate Security Intelligence Center shall 
submit to the congressional intelligence committees and the Director of 
National Intelligence a report on the activities conducted by the 
Center for the period covered by the report.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `climate security' means the effects of 
        climate change on the following:
                    ``(A) The national security of the United States.
                    ``(B) Infrastructure that enhances the national 
                security of the United States, including--
                            ``(i) military installations, Department of 
                        Defense facilities, intelligence community 
                        facilities, and other physical facilities that 
                        contribute to or otherwise support operations 
                        of the intelligence community or the Department 
                        of Defense; and
                            ``(ii) critical infrastructure of the 
                        United States (as defined in subsection (e) of 
                        the Critical Infrastructures Protection Act of 
                        2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))).
                    ``(C) Subnational, national, regional, and global 
                politics, governance, and political stability.
                    ``(D) The security of allies and partners of the 
                United States.
                    ``(E) Ongoing or potential political violence, 
                including unrest, rioting, guerrilla warfare, 
                insurgency, terrorism, rebellion, revolution, civil 
                war, and interstate war.
            ``(2) The term `climate influence of the United States' 
        means the global influence and leadership of the United States 
        with respect to the climate policies of other countries, 
        international organizations, and transnational groups.
            ``(3) The term `climate intelligence indications and 
        warnings' mean climate security developments with the potential 
        to--
                    ``(A) imminently and substantially alter the 
                political stability or degree of human security in a 
                state or region; or
                    ``(B) threaten the United States, the military, 
                political, or economic interests of allies or coalition 
                partners of the United States, or citizens of the 
                United States abroad.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 103(c) of the National Security 
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3025(c)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (14) as paragraph (15); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(14) The Climate Security Intelligence Center.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the National 
Security Act of 1947 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 119B the following new item:

``Sec. 120. Climate Security Intelligence Center.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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