Letter To Kerry Re SPEC 118th Congress On Oversight

February 2, 2023
The Honorable John Kerry

Special Presidential Envoy
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Secretary Kerry:
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating your role in the Biden
Administration and the nature of your negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In
the 117th Congress, we requested information from you regarding your position as special
presidential envoy for climate (SPEC)—a cabinet-level position that does not require Senate
confirmation despite your apparent ability to bind the United States to international
agreements1—and SPEC employees’ ties to outside organizations.2 To date, you have failed to
respond to any of our requests. Yet, you continue to engage in activities that could undermine
our economic health, skirt congressional authority, and threaten foreign policy under the guise of
climate advocacy. The Committee requests documents and information to understand your role
and provide necessary transparency over the SPEC and its activities.
In May 2022, you told the Associated Press that you were in negotiations with the CCP to
form a group to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.3 Most recently, at the World Economic
Forums (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, you claimed that the solution to changing global
temperatures is, “money, money, money, money, money, money, money.”4 As a member of the
President’s cabinet, you should be representing the United States’ interests. Your statements,
however, consistently show disregard for American national security and taxpayer dollars.
You have also continued to downplay the CCP’s human rights violations and its
antagonism against the U.S. while promoting climate negotiations that the CCP does not even
appear interested in entering. In April 2021, you insisted that CCP’s intransigence “on human
1
Letter from James Comer, et. al., Ranking Member, J. Comm, on Oversight and Reform to John Kerry, Special
Presidential Envoy (June 14, 2021), available at https://republicans-oversight.house.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2021/06/RMC-JDJ-Letter-to-John-Kerry-Climate-Envoy.pdf.
2
Letter from James Comer, et. al., Ranking Member, J. Comm, on Oversight and Reform to John Kerry, Special
Presidential Envoy (Oct. 4, 2022), available at https://republicans-oversight.house.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2022/10/Kerry-letter-10042022.pdf.
3
Peter Prengaman, At Davos, Kerry cites progress on China-US climate group, ASSOCIATED PRESS (May 24, 2022).
4
Anmar Frangoul, DAVOS WEF John Kerry says ‘money, money, money’ is needed most to tackle climate change,
CNBC (Jan. 17, 2023).
February 2, 2023
Page 2 of 3
rights, geostrategic interests… do not have to get in the way of something that is as critical as
dealing with climate.”5 You recently insisted that the CCP’s behavior should be decoupled from
our attempts to enter into climate agreements, stating “I think the key is that this is not a bilateral
issue and that we need to get back to the table because the world depends on it and it could be
helpful to China’s efforts to protect its own population….”6
Your office continues to ignore requests for information. We are left with an insufficient
understanding of your office’s activities, spending, and staffing. To enable long overdue
oversight of your office, please provide the following documents and information no later than
February 16, 2023, covering the time period January 20, 2021, to the present:
1. All documents and communications regarding elements of the FY21, FY22, and FY23
budgets of the SPEC, including those discussed off the record;
2. A list of all individuals present at any discussions where elements of the FY21, FY22,
and FY23 budgets of the SPEC were discussed, whether on or off the record;
3. A full list, including names, titles, and salaries of all individuals currently and previously
employed by the office of the SPEC, as well as all ethics and financial disclosures of
those individuals;
4. All documents and communications between any individual or individuals within the
office of the SPEC and any third party, including but not limited to any environmental
advocacy group or foreign government official; and
5. All documents and communications regarding domestic and international travel of the
SPEC.
To make arrangements to deliver documents or ask any related follow-up questions,

please contact Committee on Oversight and Accountability Majority Staff at (202) 225-5074.
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the U.S.
House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under
House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.
5
Interview by Ravi Agrawal with John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, in Washington, DC (Apr. 26,
2021), available at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/26/john-kerry-climate-envoy-interview-china-green-
marketplace/.
6
Interview by Nick Schifrin with John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, in Washington, DC (Oct. 25,
2022), available at: https://www.cfr.org/event/cop27-and-international-climate-action-conversation-john-kerry.
February 2, 2023
Page 3 of 3
Sincerely,
James Comer
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Accountability
cc: The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member

Committee on Oversight and Accountability

Letter To Kerry Re SPEC 118th Congress On Oversight

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Letter To Kerry Re SPEC 118th Congress On Oversight

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Letter To Kerry Re SPEC 118th Congress On Oversight

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

February 2, 2023

The Honorable John Kerry

Dear Secretary Kerry:

To make arrangements to deliver documents or ask any related follow-up questions,

cc: The Honorable Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member

You might also like