House Oversight Committee to Hold Hearings on Trump Failure to Deal with National Security Impacts of Climate Change

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 8, 2019) Tomorrow the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), will conduct hearings on the interconnected challenges of solving climate change and protecting national security. With the Trump administration ignoring longstanding warnings from the military about the impact of a changing climate on defense infrastructure and the dangers of increased instability, it is a critically important area for investigation for the Congress. The hearing follows a letter by fifty-eight senior national security officials warning about the dangers of climate change.

"For more than a decade, the Department of Defense has warned presidents from both parties about the threat climate change poses to national security and to our troops," said Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President for Political Affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. "It is reckless to ignore the impact of climate change. We are grateful to Chairman Cummings for convening this hearing and are particularly pleased that former Sens. John Kerry and Chuck Hagel are lending their bipartisan expertise to this critical matter."

A recent report from the military noted that "recurrent flooding, drought, and wildfires are the primary concerns at the 79 installations." That assessment follows a report last fall by scientists at the Department of Defense, NASA and 11 other agencies, that climate change will have a devastating effect on our economy and society. In response, President Trump has dismissed the importance of climate change and is reportedly assembling a panel in the White House to undermine the consensus around climate science and its impacts.

To learn more facts about the impact of climate change, please visit edf.org/climate.