Title: Climate Change National Security Strategy Act of 2019
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Climate Change National Security Strategy Act of 2019
This bill requires the impacts of climate change to be identified and considered in the development and implementation of national security policies and plans.
Specifically, the bill requires the National Security Advisor and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to jointly establish an interagency Climate and National Security Working Group, which must develop an action plan on climate-related impacts on national security interests. Further, specified federal departments and agencies must each develop a plan that ensures that such impacts are identified and considered in the development and implementation of relevant national security doctrine, policies, and plans. The plans must be updated at least annually.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1201 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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. Velazquez, 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.

    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 Change National Security 
Strategy Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. POLICY.

    It is the policy of the Federal Government to ensure that the 
current impacts of climate change, and those anticipated in the coming 
decades, be identified and considered in the development and 
implementation of relevant national security doctrine, policies, and 
plans.

SEC. 3. COORDINATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATIONAL SECURITY.

    (a) Establishment.--The National Security Advisor and the Director 
of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, acting jointly, shall 
establish an interagency working group, to be known as the Climate and 
National Security Working Group, to coordinate the development of a 
strategic approach to identify, assess, and share information on 
current and projected climate-related impacts on national security 
interests and to inform the development of national security doctrine, 
policies, and plans.
    (b) Functions.--The Working Group, in close collaboration with the 
United States Global Change Research Program, shall--
            (1) identify the U.S. national security priorities that are 
        within the scope of the mission of the Working Group;
            (2) develop recommendations for requirements for climate 
        and social science data and intelligence analyses, as 
        appropriate, that support national security interests;
            (3) catalog climate science data, intelligence analyses, 
        and other products and programs that support or should be 
        considered in the development of national security doctrine, 
        policy, and plans, including--
                    (A) climate and social science data repositories 
                and analytical platforms;
                    (B) climate modeling, simulation, and projection 
                capabilities; and
                    (C) information-sharing tools and resources 
                supporting climate risk analyses and assessments, such 
                as the Climate Data Initiative, the Climate Resilience 
                Toolkit, the Global Change Information System, and the 
                National Climate Assessment;
            (4) identify information and program gaps that limit 
        consideration of climate change-related impacts in developing 
        national security doctrine, policies, and plans and provide 
        descriptions of these gaps to Federal science agencies and the 
        United States intelligence community to inform future research 
        requirements and priorities, including collection priorities on 
        climate data, models, simulations, and projections;
            (5) facilitate the production and exchange of climate data 
        and information with relevant stakeholders, including the 
        United States intelligence community, and private sector 
        partners, as appropriate;
            (6) produce, as appropriate, and make available science-
        informed intelligence assessments to agencies having 
        responsibilities in the development of national security 
        doctrine, policies, and plans in order to identify climate 
        change-related impacts and prioritize actions related thereto;
            (7) establish, by consensus, guidance for Working Group 
        members on coordinating, sharing, and exchanging climate 
        science data among the members, and with the National Science 
        and Technology Council;
            (8) provide a venue for enhancing the understanding of the 
        links between climate change-related impacts and national 
        security interests and discussing the opportunities for climate 
        mitigation and adaptation activities to address national 
        security issues;
            (9) work to improve the Federal Government's capability and 
        capacity to characterize greenhouse gas sources and sinks 
        accurately at sub-continental scales;
            (10) recommend research guidelines, in coordination with 
        the National Science and Technology Council, concerning the 
        Federal Government's ability to detect climate intervention 
        activities;
            (11) develop, by consensus, guidance for Working Group 
        members on building climate resilience in countries vulnerable 
        to climate change-related impacts;
            (12) take into account defined requirements and current 
        capabilities described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this 
        subsection to facilitate the consideration of climate change-
        related impacts into national security doctrine, policies, and 
        plans;
            (13) have classified and unclassified capabilities, as 
        required and appropriate, to consolidate and make available 
        climate change-related impact information, intelligence 
        analyses, and assessments for access and use by Working Group 
        member agencies;
            (14) identify the most current information on regional, 
        country, and geographic areas most vulnerable to current and 
        projected impacts of climate variability in the near-, mid-, 
        and long-term (as defined in section 5), in order to support 
        assessments of national security implications of climate 
        change, and identify areas most vulnerable to these impacts 
        during these timeframes;
            (15) develop recommendations for the Secretary of State to 
        help ensure that the work of United States embassies, including 
        their planning processes, are informed by relevant climate 
        change-related analyses; and
            (16) coordinate on the development of quantitative models, 
        predictive mapping products, and forecasts to anticipate the 
        various pathways through which climate change may affect public 
        health as an issue of national security.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) In general.--The members of the Working Group shall 
        include the following officials and representatives (or their 
        designees)--
                    (A) the National Security Advisor;
                    (B) the Director of the Office of Science and 
                Technology Policy; and
                    (C) the representatives, appointed by the National 
                Security Advisor and the Director of the Office of 
                Science and Technology Policy (acting jointly), at the 
                Assistant Secretary or equivalent level, of--
                            (i) the Department of State;
                            (ii) the Department of the Treasury;
                            (iii) the Department of Defense;
                            (iv) the Department of Justice;
                            (v) the Department of the Interior;
                            (vi) the Department of Agriculture;
                            (vii) the Department of Commerce;
                            (viii) the Department of Health and Human 
                        Services;
                            (ix) the Department of Transportation;
                            (x) the Department of Energy;
                            (xi) the Department of Homeland Security;
                            (xii) the United States Agency for 
                        International Development;
                            (xiii) the Environmental Protection Agency;
                            (xiv) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                        Administration;
                            (xv) the Office of the Director of National 
                        Intelligence;
                            (xvi) the U.S. Mission to the United 
                        Nations;
                            (xvii) the Office of Management and Budget;
                            (xviii) the Council on Environmental 
                        Quality;
                            (xix) the Millennium Challenge Corporation; 
                        and
                            (xx) any other agency or office as 
                        designated by the Co-Chairs.
            (2) Co-chairs.--The National Security Advisor and the 
        Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, or 
        their designees, shall co-chair the Working Group.
    (d) Action Plan.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall, by consensus, develop 
an action plan, that--
            (1) identifies specific steps that are required to perform 
        its functions;
            (2) includes specific objectives, milestones, timelines, 
        and identification of agencies responsible for completion of 
        all actions described therein;
            (3) includes recommendations to inform the development of 
        agency implementation plans, as described in section 4; and
            (4) be submitted to the co-chairs and the appropriate 
        congressional committees, including--
                    (A) the House Committee on Oversight and Reform;
                    (B) the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs;
                    (C) the Senate Committee on Armed Services;
                    (D) the House Committee on Armed Services;
                    (E) the House Committee on Natural Resources; and
                    (F) the Senate Committee on Environment and Public 
                Works.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 150 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the departments and agencies listed in 
subsection 3(c) shall each develop an appropriate implementation plan 
supporting the policy described in section 2. Such implementation plans 
may be classified, as required, to meet specific agency requirements.
    (b) Contents of Implementation Plans.--Implementation plans shall 
consider for inclusion a description of how the respective departments 
and agencies will accomplish the following:
            (1) Identifying, sustaining, and strengthening climate-
        related data repositories, tools, and modeling products that 
        inform climate change-related impacts on national security.
            (2) Identifying climate change-related risks to departments 
        and agency missions, and risks that may be caused by 
        departments and agency policies, programs, and actions 
        concerning international development objectives, fragility, and 
        regional stability.
            (3) Pursuing departments and agency adaptation strategies 
        and methods that address climate change-related impacts on 
        national security and homeland defense.
            (4) Identifying and implementing climate change-related 
        information-sharing opportunities and arrangements through 
        international development activities, military-to-military 
        engagements, and government-to-government climate-related data 
        exchanges.
            (5) Identifying economic considerations arising from the 
        impacts of climate change globally and the resulting specific 
        impacts on national security, including macroeconomic analyses 
        and data-sharing mechanisms.
            (6) Identifying the potential impact of climate change on 
        human mobility, including migration and displacement, and the 
        resulting impacts on national security.
            (7) Identifying climate change-related impacts on global 
        water, food security, and nutrition and the resulting impacts 
        on national security, and recommending actions to mitigate 
        these impacts.
            (8) Identifying climate change-related global health 
        security concerns affecting humans, animals, and plants, and 
        developing options to address them.
            (9) Developing a department or agency-specific approach to 
        address climate-related hazards and threats to national 
        security.
            (10) Determining and acting on climate change-related 
        threats to infrastructure at the asset, system, and regional 
        level and acting to strengthen the safety, security, and 
        resilience of infrastructure critical to national security.
            (11) Incorporating climate change-related impact 
        information and considerations into department and agency 
        technical and executive education and training programs.
    (c) Reports.--Federal agencies shall update their implementation 
plans required by this section not less than annually.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Adaptation.--The term ``adaptation'' refers to the 
        adjustment in natural or human systems in anticipation of or in 
        response to a changing environment in a way that effectively 
        uses beneficial opportunities or reduces negative effects.
            (2) Climate.--The term ``climate'' refers to the prevailing 
        meteorological conditions over a period of several decades, 
        including the typical frequency and duration of extreme storms, 
        heat waves, precipitation, droughts, cloudiness, winds, ocean 
        temperatures, and other events that a region is likely to 
        encounter.
            (3) Climate change.--The term ``climate change'' refers to 
        detectable changes in one or more climate system components 
        over multiple decades, including--
                    (A) changes in the average temperature of the 
                atmosphere or ocean;
                    (B) changes in regional precipitation, winds, and 
                cloudiness; and
                    (C) changes in the severity or duration of extreme 
                weather, including droughts, floods, and storms.
            (4) Climate modeling.--The term ``climate modeling'' refers 
        to the mathematical representation of the set of interdependent 
        components of the climate system, including the atmosphere and 
        ocean, cryosphere, ecology, land use, natural greenhouse gas 
        emissions, and anthropogenic greenhouse emissions.
            (5) Fragility.--The term ``fragility'' refers to a 
        condition that results from a dysfunctional relationship 
        between state and society and the extent to which that 
        relationship fails to produce policy outcomes that are 
        considered effective or legitimate.
            (6) Global health security.--The term ``global health 
        security''--
                    (A) refers to activities required, both proactive 
                and reactive, to minimize vulnerability to acute public 
                health events that endanger the collective health of 
                populations living across geographical regions and 
                international boundaries; and
                    (B) includes the efforts of the Global Health 
                Security Agenda to establish capacity to prevent, 
                detect, and respond to disease threats, whether 
                naturally occurring, deliberate, or accidental.
            (7) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence 
        community'' has the meaning given to that term in section 3(4) 
        of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
            (8) National security.--The term ``National security'' 
        refers to the protection of the Nation and its people and 
        interests.
            (9) Near-, mid-, and long-term.--The term ``near-, mid-, 
        and long-term'' means current to 10 years, 10 to 30 years, and 
        more than 30 years, respectively.
            (10) Resilience.--The term ``resilience'' refers to the 
        ability--
                    (A) to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to 
                changing conditions; and
                    (B) to withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly 
                from disruptions.
            (11) Working group.--The term ``Working Group'' means the 
        Climate and National Security Working Group established 
        pursuant to section 3(a).
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