I oppose the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as it currently stands. Despite the defense industry's well-organized, well-funded, and highly deceptive scare campaign portraying China as an imminent military danger, we know that global warming and the climate crisis are the real national security threat that we most urgently need to address. The NDAA provides large sums to protect military bases from the fire, flood, drought, storm, and sea-level consequences of global warming. Yet it does nothing to protect the American people by addressing the root causes of the climate emergency, such as reducing the Pentagon's use of fossil fuels or redirecting defense research dollars towards alternative energy sources or carbon sequestration.
I was heartened by your January 27 Executive Order stating we would address the climate emergency with a whole of government approach. Yet this NDAA neither reflects nor in any way implements that “whole of government” commitment. Moreover, some of the most important and necessary climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act have either been removed entirely or significantly weakened. Since it appears that the NDAA is now being expanded at the last minute to include the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), I urge you to insist that the climate standards and provisions that were taken out of the BBBA be added to the NDAA so that the massive defense budget finally begins to address the climate catastrophe that is now affecting us daily. Thanks.
First sent on November 17, 2021 by Jessica
