Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) pressed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley on the Biden Administration’s push to incorporate climate change into the U.S. military’s mission at a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing. He also called for a stronger response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and targeted violence against civilians.
“Do you think China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are going to be slowed in their military development by climate change concerns?” asked Senator Cramer. “Do you know if any of them have plans to reach net zero?”
“Do you think China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are going to be slowed in their military development by climate change concerns?” asked Senator Cramer. “Do you know if any of them have plans to reach net zero?”
“I don’t believe so,” responded Secretary Austin. “I’ve asked you for $773 billion to support the capabilities that we think we need. I certainly appreciate what you’ve done for us in the past, but I think there’s also things that we can and should be doing to address the climate issue as well.”
Senator Cramer highlighted the geopolitical opportunity domestic energy provides both in terms of national security and decreasing global greenhouse gas emissions.
“I appreciate that you have this concern [about climate change], but I also hope we can keep the main thing, the main thing. Because more energy development in the United States and providing that energy to our allies actually brings down greenhouse gas emissions. I think deterring the same polluters that have benefited from a lower standard than ours would also do the same,” said Senator Cramer.
Senator Cramer noted Secretary Austin mentioned climate change five times in his written testimony and the fact it’s referenced in the National Defense Strategy. He then asked General Milley if he believes climate change is a military objective the Department of Defense should be focused on tackling.
“It’s a departmental objective for the military. For the uniformed military, it is a condition under which we will operate and it’s something that we have to take into consideration in the conduct of our operations… So it’s a condition under which we operate as opposed to something that we can fix,” said General Milley.
Senator Cramer also discussed Russia’s unprovoked and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine and the Biden Administration’s fear of escalation as opposed to providing the freedom-loving people of Ukraine with the resources they need to defeat Vladimir Putin.
“I think we made too many decisions based on how we think Vladimir Putin would respond to the situation. Things like limiting the kind of help we would provide Ukraine, how quickly we provide that help, postponing and then canceling a scheduled Minuteman III test, and not facilitating the transfer of MiGs. Do you have any evidence Vladimir Putin has ever worried that his massacre of women and children civilians would be escalatory?” asked Senator Cramer.
“I just want to point out that it’s my job, one of my key responsibilities, to manage escalation and make sure that we don’t find ourselves in a nuclear contest if that’s avoidable. Again, there’s nothing about Mr. Putin that we fear,” responded Secretary Austin.