House Democrats Just Told the Pentagon to Redo Its Climate Change Report

[babylonsister]

House Democrats Just Told the Pentagon to Redo Its Climate Change Report
They were outraged by the first version.
Dan SpinelliJanuary 30, 2019 3:35 PM


Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a landmark report that identified the 79 American military installations most vulnerable to the “effects of a changing climate.” The 22-page filing frankly acknowledged the security implications of climate change—in dramatic contrast with President Trump’s very public global warming skepticism—but Democrats roundly criticized its failure to include several details requested by Congress, including specific cost estimates to protect or replace the ten most vulnerable bases from each of the military services.

Now those lawmakers want a complete do-over.

In a letter released Wednesday afternoon, three Democratic members of the House Armed Services panel, including Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.), urged acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan to compile another report by April that “thoroughly and clearly addresses” the criteria requested by Congress.

“They clearly ignored the requirement in the law,” says Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), one of the signatories, who had described himself as “deeply disappointed” with the original report. “The report they issued was completely unsatisfactory.” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services panel, said the report carried “about as much value as a phonebook.” Smith immediately demanded another report that “rigorously confronts the realities of our warming planet.”

more...

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/01/house-democrats-just-told-the-pentagon-to-redo-its-climate-change-report/

[underpants]

1. Oh boy - Pentagon accounting

This should be interesting

[alwaysinasnit]

3. Despite a 1990 federal law requiring departmental audits, the Pentagon has only ever done one since

then, and only because Congress finally put its foot down. And as you can guess, it was a disaster.

https://www.thenation.com/article/pentagon-audit-budget-fraud/

[underpants]

6. Thanks. Will read fully later.

One of the problems (if the article didn’t mention it) is the ridiculous number of accounting systems being used. Sept 10th 2001 Rumsfeld - yes him - held a press conference where he mentioned that 1,400 systems are used in the “Pentagon” DoD.

The consensus at the time was that a constituent would develop a system and then get their a Congressperson to allocate funds to buy x number of licenses. The constituent then can market the system as being used by the military. So you have one system to do this and one to do this and they don’t link/talk and it all has to be reconciled. Add in the factor of that much money and that many moving parts and....well...we’ve seen.

[alwaysinasnit]

8. I can't imagine what kind of idiot thought that would be a good idea.

[underpants]

10. Well with that kind of money rolling around

what's a couple thousand here and there? Hell it might have actually been taken advantage of by the DoD.

I have an accounting degree but I wouldn't call myself an accountant. Still I've been on audits and that wouldn't have flown and apparently it didn't. Throwing up their hands and saying - this is too much of a mess to audit is absurd. The only thing more absurd was the DoD's excuse "Hey! At least we tried!"

[alwaysinasnit]

11. "Hey! At least we tried!" Yeah, that is a special kind of bullshit.

[shanny]

2. "Funny" thing is, the Pentagon has known

and said for years that the biggest threat to national security is climate change but now, suddenly, it is see no evil, speak no evil?

Evil.

[Kurt V.]

4. that struck me too. the rot runs deep

[Perseus]

5. I hate to say this but we look at the military as the most patriotic people

in the planet, but they are very corruptible, every dictatorship is always aided by the military because dictators know that is the second line of people they need to corrupt, the first one is the other politicians.

Be very concerned when you see people like Flynn, Kelly...there are more like them.

[shanny]

9. The number of people and institutions that are NOT

covering themselves with glory in our hour of need is both pathetic and depressing. I hope--I really hope--that our party/government does not engage in bipartisany / long-national-nightmare-is-over / look-ahead-and-not-back bullcrap when this is over. Our nation of laws, not men, needs a serious fumigation and has for a while...it's part of how we got tRump and we can't let it continue/recur.

[underpants]

7. Yep even during the W years the DoD almost annually reported

that climate change was/is THE biggest threat. Such concerns were shooed away ‘cause we had some KILLIN’ ta do dammit!