Science Committee Leaders Question Lack of National Security Concerns in Administration’s Proposed Emissions Rule

Letter

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“An investigation by this Committee found that DoD ignored national security concerns raised by industry experts and others about both the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and the setting of science-based reduction targets with a foreign company. Due to DoD’s failure, Congress was forced to step in and include language in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 postponing enforcement of this proposed rule through the end of 2024, and outright banning enforcement of this provision for nontraditional defense contractors.

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...the defense industrial base will have to divert time and resources to quantify and disclose the amount of greenhouse gases generated from production in their own facilities as well as their supply chains... Contractors may be forced to redesign weapons systems to incorporate green technologies that are less combat-effective but satisfy a politically motivated mandate.

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...failed to explicitly say if national security issues were raised during the drafting of this proposed rule. Instead, DoD made multiple references to the use of waivers to preclude most, if not all, manufacturers from complying with the rule if finalized. If DoD believes waivers will be used often, and regularly, it only validates the national security concerns raised by experts and poses the question of why the rule was proposed in the first place.”

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