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The Green New Deal is a Calamity for National Defense

April 30, 2021

Washington, D.C. – When House Democrats first introduced the Green New Deal in the 116th Congress, Congressman Lamborn introduced language in the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the Department of Defense to produce a report on the costs and impact of the Green New Deal on national security.

As the Democrats in both chambers have re-introduced the Green New Deal with support from the Biden administration, Congressman Lamborn, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Readiness, issued the following statement:

"When the Democrats began pushing their ‘Green New Deal,' I had the Pentagon evaluate how its implementation would impact our national security. We were told ‘don't worry, it's aspirational,' but now they're pushing it in earnest. This report confirms what we've known all along: the Green New Deal will cost the Department of Defense trillions of dollars and crush our military's combat power. It is impossible for the DoD to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Implementing this radical far-left policy, now embraced by President Biden, will have a detrimental effect on our military readiness. The Green New Deal is one of the most radical, expansive, and intrusive plans ever introduced in the U.S. Congress. I will fight this, and I remain committed to ensuring our military has the necessary resources it needs to face the growing challenges of an increasingly complex threat environment. We can't subordinate our national security, and thus leadership of the free world, to the radical far-left who currently control the Democrat Party policy."

The report addressed the following seven questions:

1. An assessment of the technical feasibility of the Department of Defense (DoD) achieving net-zero greenhouse emissions by the date that is ten years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

2. The cost of the DoD achieving net-zero greenhouse emissions by the date that is ten years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

3. An assessment of the effects the effort to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by the date that is ten years after the date of the enactment of this Act would have on the requirements for major service acquisition programs.

4. An assessment of the ability of the DoD to implement the national defense strategy if required to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by the date that is ten years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

5. How the implementation of the proposed Green New Deal would affect military readiness.

6. Address the cost of closing all of the more than 800 overseas military installations.

7. How complying with the Green New Deal would affect the current threat environment and the ability of the DoD to protect the homeland.

According to the report "Given the size of the DoD and the broad mission it is directed to fulfill, it cannot realistically achieve what would be the fundamental goals, no matter how desirable, specified in H. Res. 109, without the development of new technology and massive investments, far exceeding its annual budget, in new or upgraded equipment and facilities." The report continues saying "it would likely require trillions of dollars for DoD, let alone the nation as a whole to meet the goals of H. Res. 109."

Read the full report here.

Contact: Cassandra Sebastian (719) 520-0055