Democrats plan to propose an amendment on the national security implications of climate change when the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) marks up its fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill June 28.
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), the ranking member of the HASC’s emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee, is expected to spearhead the amendment.
While President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about climate change, defense officials have warned that the massive melting of ice in the Arctic could open the region to more activity by Russia and other potential adversaries, possibly requiring the United States to place more surveillance and other assets there.
The bill already contains a provision that would require the Department of Defense to provide a report on its efforts “to resolve Arctic security capability and resource gaps.”
Defense officials have also warned that certain U.S. coastal bases, such as those in the Norfolk, Va., area, could be deluged by rising sea levels and that climate change in less-developed parts of the world could foster instability.
Langevin has criticized Trump’s recent move to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, saying that “Rhode Island is on the front lines of sea level rise, and our citizens will ultimately pay the price” for that decision.