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S.V. Dáte, NPR
St. Paul, Minn.

House defense bill: Military DREAMers out, climate science ban in

Immigration activist
Lizardo Buleje of San Antonio, Texas, stands in front of the U.S. Capitol during a rally on immigration reform October 23, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

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GOP leadership decided against keeping an immigration-related provision in the defense authorization bill. But it allowed one banning the Defense Department from participating in climate change research.
GOP leadership decided against keeping an immigration-related provision in the defense authorization bill. But it allowed one banning the Defense Department from participating in climate change research.
Carolyn Kaster

House Republican leadership decided Thursday that it was inappropriate to insert a provision in the defense authorization bill allowing DREAMers — immigrants brought to this country illegally as children — to earn permanent residency by serving in the military.

At the same time, leaders allowed to the floor an amendment banning the Defense Department from participating in climate change research. It was sponsored by West Virginia Republican Rep. David McKinley, who questioned the validity of climate science research generally but also argued that reducing the use of coal wasn't worth the harm it would do to the economy.

"Climate change alarmists contend that man-made CO2 is the cause of climate change," McKinley said on the floor. "Most people may not realize that 96 percent of all the CO2 emissions occur naturally." Most scientists agree that man-made carbon dioxide is accelerating global climate change, and Democrats argued against McKinley's amendment, but to no avail. It passed Friday on a near party-line vote, before the entire bill was passed over to the Senate. It's not likely Democrats who control the Senate will go along with the climate language in their version of the half-trillion-dollar defense bill. Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.