FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 16, 2022

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: clarke.comms@mail.house.gov

c: 347.387.5123

Washington, D.C. — Earlier this week, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) introduced the Department of Homeland Security Climate Change Research Act to protect the American public from the climate crisis and mitigate the potential impacts of climate change across the globe. 

“Climate change is an international crisis, and it is our duty in Congress to take bold steps to address it in a manner that both safeguards our communities from current climate impacts and prepares them for future disasters. My legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security to recognize the threat of climate change to our national security and general welfare, and to develop plans and tools to counter its impact across the globe,” said Clarke. “It is critical that we address the homeland security implications of climate change in greater depth to ensure a safe and prosperous world for all who call our planet home.”

The DHS Climate Change Research Act will address the national security implications of climate change by:

• Ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security fulfills its mission of conducting research to advance homeland security;
• Directing the Science and Technology Directorate to conduct analysis and technological research on how DHS can confront climate change;
• Implementing a high level of accountability to the American public by mandating annual reporting to Congress regarding the research and projects that DHS has undertaken in the previous year.

The full bill text is available here.

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Yvette D. Clarke has been in Congress since 2007. She represents New York’s Ninth Congressional District, which includes Central and South Brooklyn. Clarke is a Senior Member of both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Committee on Homeland Security, where she serves as Chair of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation Subcommittee.