National Security Climate Intelligence Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 5119
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-09-03: Referred to the House Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select).
- Last Updated
- 2025-09-22T19:42:50Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The National Security Climate Intelligence Act of 2025 aims to integrate climate change considerations into U.S. national security intelligence by requiring periodic assessments of its impacts on national and economic security. This helps ensure that intelligence efforts address climate-related threats systematically.
Key Provisions
- Mandated Assessments: The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), through the National Intelligence Council (NIC), must produce an Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA)—a comprehensive report compiled by multiple intelligence agencies—on the national security and economic security effects of climate change.
- Timeline: The first ICA is due within four years of the Act's enactment, with subsequent assessments required at least every six years.
- Submission and Format: The ICA must be submitted to the congressional intelligence committees (specific House and Senate panels overseeing intelligence). It may be classified (kept secret for security reasons), but must include an unclassified executive summary (a non-secret overview) for broader access.
- Legislative Amendment: Adds a new Section 1115 to Title XI of the National Security Act of 1947, which governs intelligence activities, and updates the Act's table of contents accordingly.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Introduces a recurring obligation for the intelligence community to assess climate change as a security issue, which was not previously required under the National Security Act of 1947.
- Expands the scope of intelligence assessments to explicitly include economic security alongside traditional national security concerns, formalizing climate change's role in intelligence priorities.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: The DNI and NIC will need to allocate resources for research, analysis, and reporting every six years, potentially influencing budget and staffing in the intelligence community. This could enhance coordination between environmental experts and intelligence analysts.
- Citizens: Indirect benefits through better-informed policies on climate risks, such as disaster preparedness or resource conflicts, which could affect public safety and economic stability.
- International Relations: Assessments may shape U.S. diplomacy, aid, or military strategies related to global climate challenges, like water scarcity or migration, fostering cooperation or tensions with other nations on environmental security.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Intelligence Community: DNI, NIC, and agencies like the CIA and NSA, who must conduct and compile the assessments.
- Congress: Intelligence committees in the House and Senate, which receive the reports and can use them to oversee intelligence and shape legislation.
- Executive Branch Policymakers: Departments like Defense, State, and Homeland Security, which may rely on these ICAs for planning.
- Broader Society: Environmental organizations, businesses, and the public, indirectly through policy decisions informed by the assessments.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Strengthens the National Security Act by embedding climate intelligence as a statutory duty, without altering core intelligence authorities or oversight mechanisms.
- Constitutional: Aligns with Congress's power to direct intelligence activities (under Article I) and the executive's role in national security, posing no apparent conflicts with separation of powers.
- Political: Elevates climate change from an environmental issue to a core national security priority, potentially bridging partisan divides on intelligence but inviting debate over resource allocation in a politically charged topic.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-50]
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2025-09-03: Referred to the House Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select).
- 2025-09-03: Introduced in House
- 2025-09-03: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- National Security Climate Intelligence Act of 2025 — issued 2025-09-03 — PDF (3 pages)