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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE NET ZERO REVIEW ACT OF 2020
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HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS
of florida
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the National
Defense Net Zero Review Act of 2020, legislation that will refocus the
Defense Department's (DoD's) efforts on Net Zero initiatives and
require the Secretary to establish the first integrated master plan for
achieving Net Zero energy benchmarks.
The DoD consumes more energy than any other federal agency, spending
nearly $12 billion on energy in FY2017, approximately two percent of
the Department's total budget. Since the early 2000s, the DoD has made
commendable progress in implementing Net Zero projects. These
initiatives have generally focused on efforts to produce more energy
from renewable sources on installations, limit consumption of water in
order to not deplete the local watershed, and reduce, reuse, and
recover waste to prevent unnecessary additions to landfills.
Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, while progress has been made, it simply
isn't enough. In fact, many of the energy benchmarks established by
previous acts of Congress have never been achieved by the DoD, and many
of the goals announced by senior DoD leaders over the past decade are
no longer being pursued. To quote from the findings from a 2016
Government Accountability Office (GAO) study--the most systemic review
of Net Zero with the DoD--the Department has ``not established an
integrated net zero strategy or policy for achieving Net Zero,'' and
``none of the military departments have established Net Zero as a
funded program''. Further, the DoD has not fully identified the
potential costs of implementing net zero initiatives, due at least in
part to insufficiently defined statutory goals.
On the operational side of energy usage, DoD emissions for all
military operations between 2001 and 2017 are estimated to be 766
million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The FY2017 Operational Energy
Annual Report found that the Department used roughly 87 million barrels
of fuel per year, which comes out to some 240,000 barrels per day.
These findings paint a clear picture, that absent Congressional
interest and oversight, pursuing and achieving Net Zero will not be
prioritized in the way that it should be.
The legislation that I am introducing today will get us back on track
with a wholesale review of Net Zero initiatives under the DoD. First,
my bill commissions two studies from the Comptroller General of the
United States--a follow-up to the 2016 study and a second examining
options for increasing efficiency and resilience on the operational
side of the DoD's energy usage--that will analyze the extent to which
these types of initiatives have been implemented, and the associated
costs, benefits, challenges, and opportunities that exist for moving
forward. These studies also solicit new information from the DoD,
including anticipated funding and infrastructure needs to get serious
about achieving Net Zero, and options for achieving specific
benchmarks. Once this information is at hand, my legislation requires
the Secretary of the DoD to present Congress with a master plan
outlining an integrated strategy for achieving these initiatives in a
manner that continues to prioritize military readiness.
Importantly, Madam Speaker, my bill does not impose any arbitrary
deadlines or requirements of the DoD. Rather, this legislation focuses
on gathering the data we need to know what is feasible, what we'll need
to get it done, and how much time it will take, so that Congress can
make informed decisions in the future. This is the right way to move
forward, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
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