Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025
Floor Speech
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Madam Chair, this amendment is a solution in search of a problem as there is currently no effort underfoot or plans to require the use of zero-emission vehicles as part of official travel.
The term ``zero-emission vehicle'' is very broad, broader than just electronic vehicles. It includes some hybrid electronic vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and any new technology that would replace fossil fuels currently or in the future. It also would ban things like bicycles and sailboats.
This amendment is written so broadly that if someone went to a rental car company to rent a car and the only thing available was a Tesla, they might not be able to get reimbursed for it. I don't think we should be micromanaging the Department of Defense on how it does its transportation reimbursement policy.
Again, this is a solution in search of a problem. This is part of House Republicans' broader attack on any effort to address climate change. The majority wants to divorce climate action from readiness. We have heard time and time again, particularly from leadership in the Navy, that climate change has an impact on readiness.
The Department of Defense is a contributor to climate change, and so any effort to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, any effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the military, should be rewarded, should be encouraged, and not proactively prohibited in such a broad way that is counterproductive.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Madam Chair, one thing we have learned in Virginia is that an all-encompassing approach to energy policy is smart, that it is good for national security, that it is good to have energy independence here. That includes electronic vehicles. That includes wind power, solar power, and not just a myopic view that the only fuel available is fossil fuel.
I am a child of Generation X, so I remember ``Schoolhouse Rock'' basically saying: Energy, we are going to use it all up.
The more we can move to renewable energy, that is just good common sense. It is good energy policy. It is good transportation policy. It is good for national security.
Again, no one has said to anyone in the military: You can only use a zero-emission vehicle. They are not planning to do it. This is an amendment in search of a problem that is counterproductive and could cause harm unintentionally.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Madam Chair, we can agree that we want our servicemembers to focus on their job and be ready to do their job, and we know that climate change is having an impact on readiness. We have heard it time and time again.
As temperatures rise, it affects our servicemembers. As sea level rises, it affects our Navy. We have Navy Station Norfolk that is going to be subject to multiple major storms every year. When it rains, there is a street that goes right down the middle of it that floods and bisects the naval station in two.
We cannot keep our head in the sand on the impact of climate change on readiness. They are directly related. We need to focus on how to fix that, not look for solutions to problems that don't exist.
Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Madam Chair, I thank Ranking Member Smith for yielding time.
I have good news in that the NDAA does include a raise for our servicemembers, which is long overdue, but we can multitask.
For all of the reasons that Ranking Member Smith said, it is important that we work to save our planet because, if we don't, it will have longer-term and short-term national security implications and implications for the readiness of our servicemembers, which we heard in committee time and time again.
In addition to the climate benefits, EVs emit less noise and heat, so they are harder for our enemies to detect. They improve responsiveness and flexibility and decrease our reliance on fossil fuels so that, should fuel supplies ever be compromised or slow, our Armed Forces will still be able to respond because they have more options available.
Yet, Republicans want to play politics with climate; not the Democrats. We are working to address climate change. We are looking to respond to climate change and make sure that our military remains ready and does not continue to contribute to global warming itself.
As written, though, this amendment doesn't just block the DOD's adoption of electric vehicles. It prohibits maintenance of existing EVs and charging infrastructure or the potential installation of infrastructure that has already been secured but subject to a servicing contract.
Why in the world would we tie the hands of our military to maintain what they already have? That is just dumb. I don't understand why we are doing it. We shouldn't do it.
Previous NDAAs have contained provisions that address reasonable concerns related to the DOD's adoption of EVs, including ensuring grid stability, proper phasing of support infrastructure, and resiliency planning. That is not in this amendment.
The notion that EVs contain Chinese component parts and are, therefore, more of a threat than traditional internal combustion engines is specious. That argument could be used for every battery found in every vehicle, every phone, every computer, and almost anything that has a battery the DOD uses.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, climate change and sea level rise and increased temperatures and increased storms have a direct impact on military readiness, operations, and the health and well-being of our servicemembers.
Yelling and calling people names or ridiculing them for the type of car they choose to drive won't change that fact. When we had Navy leadership in a hearing, I asked them to talk about the impact of climate change on readiness. As sea level rise increases, we have more corrosion of our ships. As temperatures increase, that has a direct impact on the health of our servicemembers.
I went to Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval station in the world, which is in one of the most vulnerable places to sea level rise, the most vulnerable on the East Coast. I asked the commanding officer: What are you most worried about? She said: When increased storms come and literally water floods a street that bisects this base in half, that the increasing sea level rise is reclaiming the land that Naval Station Norfolk is on and they have nowhere to rebuild.
This amendment would prohibit the Department of Defense from expending funds to implement a broad spectrum of the Biden/Harris administration's executive orders, everything from job-creating, clean energy projects to ensuring that rural, low income, Tribal, and minority communities are not continually, inordinately impacted by pollution from our military installations, which oh, by the way, in Norfolk at one time killed the Elizabeth River, which is slowly starting to come back because Naval Station Norfolk has decided to be a better neighbor and steward of the land that it is on.
We don't need to speculate on the impacts of this amendment because a rider on the fiscal year 2024 Defense appropriations bill made a $500 million cut to climate-tagged accounts immediately impacting operational energy programs that make our servicemembers more effective and lethal, extending on-station times, and reducing the need for refueling.
Come to these military installations that are vulnerable, that are impacted, and talk to their commanding officers and maybe that will help you connect the dots between climate change, climate policy, and military readiness.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, do you know what I teach my children? I teach them the ripple effect. Your simple act of kindness today may not change and lead to world peace tomorrow, but it will have a ripple effect.
What we do today to reduce our carbon footprint will have a ripple effect. The military has been one of the largest, not just contributors to greenhouse gases, but pollution that has damaged mostly low-income, rural, Tribal, and minority communities who didn't at the time have the power to contribute or consult on the decisions that were being made.
The environmental justice executive order is designed to say we are going to be a better neighbor and we are going to be a better steward and make sure that we are not destroying the environment on which our military bases sit. That is a good thing.
Extreme weather events, sea level rise, and severe flooding has a direct impact on military readiness. I think it is really sad that my colleague doesn't believe the commanding officer of the largest naval base in the world when unprompted is asked what the biggest thing you are worried about, she raised two issues that were related: I am landlocked with the sea encroaching on my base, I have nowhere to go, and it is impacting my ability to ensure we are ready to meet increased national security impacts. As other parts of the planet become uninhabitable, where do you think they are going to go?
Mr. Chair, I ask that my colleagues oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, 80 years ago, after the invasion of D-Day, we witnessed the beginning of the end of the Hitler regime. In the wake of World War II and its devastation, NATO was created in an effort to deter then-Soviet expansionism, forbid the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encourage European political integration.
Given what is happening right now with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, now is not the time to say we are going to turn our back on or abandon NATO. We need to strengthen and recommit to our alliance.
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