II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1442 

To establish United States policy for the Arctic region for the next 10 

years, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 26, 2017 

Mr. SULLIVAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish United States policy for the Arctic region for 

the next 10 years, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Our Arctic 

5 Interests Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO PROCURE UP TO SIX POLAR7 CLASS ICEBREAKERS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find9 ings: 


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1 (1) The strategic importance of the Arctic con2 tinues to increase as the United States and other 

3 countries recognize the military significance of the 

4 sea lanes and choke points within the region and un5 derstand the potential for power projection from the 

6 Arctic into multiple regions. 

7 (2) The economic significance of the Arctic con8 tinues to grow as nations around the globe begin to 

9 understand the potential for maritime transportation 

10 through, and economic and trade development in, 

11 the region. 

12 (3) Given the potential for maritime accidents, 

13 oil spills, and illegal fishing near the exclusive eco14 nomic zone of the United States, increases in 

15 human, maritime, and resource development activity 

16 in the Arctic region are expected to create additional 

17 mission requirements for the Department of Defense 

18 and the Department of Homeland Security. 

19 (4) The Bering Strait is experiencing signifi20 cant increases in international traffic from vessels 

21 transiting the Northern Sea Route, increases which 

22 are projected to continue if decreases in sea ice cov23 erage continue. 

24 (5) Russia has prioritized the development of 

25 Arctic capabilities and has made significant investVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:31 Jul 07, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442

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1 ments in military infrastructure in the Arctic, in2 cluding the creation of a new Arctic Command and 

3 the construction or refurbishment of 16 deepwater 

4 ports and 14 airfields in the region. 

5 (6) Russia currently has approximately 40 ice6 breakers, including several nuclear-powered ice7 breakers, is currently constructing four, and is 

8 planing to build an additional eight. 

9 (7) On May 15, 2015, former Secretary of De10 fense Ash Carter stated that ‘‘[t]he Arctic is going 

11 to be a major area of importance to the United 

12 States, both strategically and economically in the fu13 ture—it’s fair to say that we’re late to the recogni14 tion of that’’. 

15 (8) On July 6, 2015, Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, 

16 the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, 

17 stated with respect to United States strategic pres18 ence and supporting infrastructure of the United 

19 States in the Arctic that ‘‘[w]e’re not even in the 

20 same league as Russia right now. We’re not playing 

21 in this game at all’’. 

22 (9) On January 12, 2017, Secretary of Defense 

23 James Mattis stated that ‘‘[t]he Arctic is key stra24 tegic terrain . . . Russia is taking aggressive steps 

25 to increase its presence there . . . I will prioritize 


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1 the development of an integrated strategy for the 

2 Arctic. I believe that our interests and the security 

3 of the Arctic would benefit from increasing the focus 

4 of the Department of Defense on this region’’. 

5 (10) Section 1068 of the National Defense Au6 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 

7 114–92) requires a new Department of Defense 

8 ‘‘Strategy to Protect the United States National Se9 curity Interests in the Arctic Region’’. 

10 (11) Section 1095 of the National Defense Au11 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 

12 114–328) requires the Department of Defense to 

13 designate a Department of Defense Strategic Arctic 

14 Port. 

15 (12) In January 2017, the Department of De16 fense released a report entitled ‘‘Report to Congress 

17 on Strategy to Protect United States National Secu18 rity Interests in the Arctic Region’’ to ‘‘update the 

19 ways and means the Department of Defense intends 

20 to use to achieve its objectives as it implements the 

21 2013 National Strategy for the Arctic Region’’, in22 cluding— 

23 (A) enhancing the capability of United 

24 States forces to defend the homeland and exer25 cise sovereignty; 


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1 (B) strengthening deterrence at home and 

2 abroad; 

3 (C) strengthening alliances and partner4 ships; 

5 (D) preserving freedom of the seas in the 

6 Arctic; 

7 (E) engaging public, private, and inter8 national partners to improve domain awareness 

9 in the Arctic; 

10 (F) evolving the infrastructure and capa11 bilities of the Department in the Arctic con12 sistent with changing conditions and needs; 

13 (G) providing support to civil authorities, 

14 as directed; 

15 (H) partnering with other departments 

16 and agencies of Government, and other nations, 

17 to support human and environmental security; 

18 and 

19 (I) supporting international institutions 

20 that promote regional cooperation and the rule 

21 of law. 

22 (13) In June 2014, the Government Account23 ability Office (GAO) reported that the Coast Guard 

24 was experiencing a gap in its heavy icebreaking caVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:31 Jul 07, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442

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1 pability and was without a heavy icebreaker from 

2 2010 to 2013. 

3 (14) Since 2013, the United States Coast 

4 Guard has operated just one heavy icebreaker—the 

5 Polar Star—and one medium icebreaker—the 

6 Healy—which is less capability and capacity than 

7 the United States Coast Guard has historically had 

8 in its fleet. 

9 (15) The only other heavy icebreaker of the 

10 United States Coast Guard—the Polar Sea—has 

11 been inactive since experiencing major engine dam12 age in June 2010. 

13 (16) In June 2016, the Government Account14 ability Office reported on the status of the Arctic 

15 strategy of the United States Coast Guard and how 

16 it had been unable to fulfill a portion of its polar 

17 icebreaking responsibilities due to its aging ice18 breaker fleet. 

19 (17) Senior Coast Guard, Department of 

20 Homeland Security, and Office of Management and 

21 Budget officials have acknowledged that, at histor22 ical funding levels, the Coast Guard cannot afford to 

23 recapitalize and modernize its assets in accordance 

24 with the current plan. 


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1 (18) In July 2010, the Coast Guard first identi2 fied a need for a new icebreaker fleet of 3 heavy cut3 ters and 3 medium cutters to fulfill its statutory 

4 missions. 

5 (19) Preliminary estimates for the acquisition 

6 cost for detailed development and construction of the 

7 first new heavy icebreaker for the United States 

8 have been as high as $1,000,000,000. 

9 (20) The Coast Guard is currently partnering 

10 with the Navy, through an Integrated Program Of11 fice, in an attempt to leverage the shipbuilding ex12 pertise of the Navy. 

13 (b) AUTHORITY TO PROCURE ICEBREAKERS.—The 

14 Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 

15 operating may, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

16 Navy, enter into a contract or contracts for the procure17 ment of up to six polar-class icebreakers, including— 

18 (1) polar-class heavy icebreakers; and 

19 (2) polar-class medium icebreakers. 

20 (c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED

21 STATES REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of the this Act, the Comp24 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

25 the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate 


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1 and the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen3 ate, and the Committee on Transportation and In4 frastructure of the House of Representatives a re5 port assessing the cost and procurement schedule for 

6 new United States icebreakers. 

7 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required in para8 graph (1) shall include an analysis of the following: 

9 (A) The current status of the efforts of the 

10 Coast Guard to acquire new icebreaking capa11 bility, including coordination through the Inte12 grated Program Office. 

13 (B) Actions being taken by the Coast 

14 Guard to incorporate key practices from other 

15 nations that procure icebreakers to increase 

16 knowledge and reduce costs and risks. 

17 (C) The extent by which the cost and 

18 schedule for building Coast Guard icebreakers 

19 differs from those in other countries, if known. 

20 (D) The extent that innovative acquisition 

21 practices (such as multiyear funding and block 

22 buys) may be applied to icebreaker acquisition 

23 to reduce the cost and accelerate the schedule. 


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1 (E) A capacity replacement plan to miti2 gate a potential icebreaker capability gap if the 

3 Polar Star cannot remain in service. 

4 (F) Any other matters the Comptroller 

5 General considers appropriate. 

6 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REVIEW OF NAVY CAPA7 BILITIES IN THE ARCTIC REGION. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find9 ings: 

10 (1) In recent years, the retreat of polar sea ice 

11 in the Arctic, combined with an expected increase in 

12 human activity in the region, has heightened the in13 terests of the United States and other nations in the 

14 Arctic region. 

15 (2) Diminishing sea ice has made some Arctic 

16 waters navigable for longer periods and, as a result, 

17 may contribute to new economic opportunities in 

18 commercial shipping, resource extraction, tourism, 

19 and commercial fishing. 

20 (3) Arctic Region Policy, as outlined in Na21 tional Security Presidential Directive–66 and Home22 land Security Presidential Directive–25, states that 

23 ‘‘[t]he United States has broad and fundamental na24 tional security interests in the Arctic region,’’ includ25 ing ‘‘such matters as . . . deployment of sea and air 


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1 systems for strategic sealift, strategic deterrence, 

2 maritime presence, and maritime security oper3 ations; and ensuring freedom of navigation and over4 flight’’. 

5 (4) The January 2017 report of the Depart6 ment of Defense entitled ‘‘Report to Congress on 

7 Strategy to Protect United States National Security 

8 Interests in the Arctic Region’’ states that ‘‘[i]n sup9 port of the U.S. national security interest in pre10 serving all of the rights, freedoms, and uses of the 

11 sea and airspace recognized under international law, 

12 DoD will preserve the global mobility of U.S. mili13 tary and civilian vessels and aircraft throughout the 

14 Arctic, as in other regions. This includes conducting 

15 Freedom of Navigation operations to challenge ex16 cessive maritime claims when and where necessary’’. 

17 (5) In regard to the ability of the United States 

18 Navy to conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations 

19 (FONOPs) in the Arctic region, on June 15, 2017, 

20 Admiral John Richardson, Chief of Naval Oper21 ations, stated that ‘‘[i]t’s absolutely true that we 

22 don’t have the capacity or the capability’’. 

23 (b) REPORTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

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1 retary of the Navy shall submit to the congressional 

2 defense committees a report on the capabilities of 

3 the Navy in the Arctic region. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required in para5 graph (1) shall include an analysis of the following: 

6 (A) The current naval capabilities of the 

7 Department of Defense in the Arctic region, 

8 with a particular emphasis on surface capabili9 ties. 

10 (B) Any gaps that exist between the cur11 rent naval capabilities described in paragraph 

12 (1) and the ability of the Department to fully 

13 execute its updated strategy for the Arctic re14 gion. 

15 (C) Any gaps in the capabilities described 

16 in paragraph (1) that require ice-hardening of 

17 existing vessels or the construction of new ves18 sels to preserve freedom of navigation in the 

19 Arctic region whenever and wherever necessary. 

20 (D) An analysis and recommendation of 

21 which Navy vessels could be ice-hardened to ef22 fectively preserve freedom of navigation in the 

23 Arctic region when and where necessary, in all 

24 seasons and weather conditions. 


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1 (E) An analysis of any cost increases or 

2 schedule adjustments that may result from ice3 hardening existing or new Navy vessels. 

4 (3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED

5 STATES REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date on which the Secretary submits the report re7 quired by paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of 

8 the United States shall submit to the congressional 

9 defense committees a review of the report, including 

10 any matters in connection with the report and the 

11 review that the Comptroller General considers appro12 priate. 

13 (4) FORM.—The report under paragraph (1) 

14 and the review under paragraph (3) shall each be 

15 submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 

16 classified annex. 

17 SEC. 4. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR 

18 THE ARCTIC REGION. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find20 ings: 

21 (1) Current Department of Defense jurisdiction 

22 over the Arctic Region is a classic case study in 

23 operational seams between three geographic combat24 ant commands—the United States Northern Com25 mand (USNORTHCOM), the United States EuroVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:31 Jul 07, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1442.IS S1442

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1 pean Command (USEUCOM), and the United 

2 States Pacific Command (USPACOM)—and involv3 ing two functional combatant commands—the 

4 United States Strategic Command 

5 (USSTRATCOM) and the United States Transpor6 tation Command (USTRANSCOM). 

7 (2) Within the Arctic Region, the United States 

8 European Command has primary responsibility for 

9 the key adversary, the United States Pacific Com10 mand has operational control of the United States 

11 forces located in Alaska that are best trained for 

12 Arctic conditions, and the United States Northern 

13 Command has the assigned role as the ‘‘Department 

14 of Defense Advocate for Arctic Capability’’. 

15 (3) Within the Office of the Secretary of De16 fense, there is no single person directly responsible 

17 for the coordination of Arctic security issues and, 

18 while the United States Northern Command is the 

19 ‘‘Advocate for Arctic Capabilities’’, the January 

20 2017 report of the Department of Defense entitled 

21 ‘‘Report to Congress on Strategy to Protect United 

22 States National Security Interests in the Arctic Re23 gion’’ was largely written from within the United 

24 States European Command. 


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1 (b) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

2 FOR THE ARCTIC REGION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is a Deputy Assistant 

4 Secretary of Defense for the Arctic Region. The 

5 Deputy Assistant Secretary shall be appointed by 

6 the Secretary of Defense from among individuals 

7 who have an extensive understanding of security en8 vironment in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, cur9 rent United States capabilities for the Arctic and 

10 Antarctic regions and future gaps in such capabili11 ties, and other appropriate policy matters relating to 

12 the Arctic and Antarctic regions. 

13 (2) REPORTING.—The Deputy Assistant Sec14 retary shall report to the Assistant Secretary of De15 fense for International Security Affairs. 

16 (3) DUTIES.—Subject to the authority, direc17 tion, and control of the Secretary of Defense, the 

18 Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and the As19 sistant Secretary of Defense for International Secu20 rity Affairs, the Deputy Assistant Secretary shall as21 sist the Assistant Secretary by overseeing the fol22 lowing: 

23 (A) Advocacy for United States national 

24 security interests in the Arctic region, including 


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1 United States citizens, territory, freedom of 

2 navigation, and economic and trade interests. 

3 (B) Mitigation of operational seams be4 tween relevant geographic and functional com5 batant commands in order to improve unity of 

6 effort among the combatant commands with re7 sponsibility for the Arctic region. 

8 (C) Identification of any capability gaps 

9 and resource gaps in the Arctic region and the 

10 formulation of plans to mitigate these gaps. 

11 (D) Identification of actions by foreign na12 tions which increase the threat to United States 

13 interests in the Arctic region, and the formula14 tion of plans to mitigate these actions. 

15 (E) Planning of military-to-military co16 operation with partner nations that have mu17 tual security interests in the Arctic region. 

18 (4) DISCHARGE OF DUTIES.—Subject to the au19 thority, direction, and control of the Assistant Sec20 retary, in carrying out the duties specified in para21 graph (3), the Deputy Assistant Secretary shall 

22 work closely with the following: 

23 (A) The Under Secretary of Defense for 

24 Research and Engineering. 


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1 (B) The Director of the Defense Advanced 

2 Research Projects Agency. 

3 (C) The Director of the Missile Defense 

4 Agency. 

5 (D) The Director of the Strategic Capabili6 ties Office (or any successor organization). 

7 (E) The United States Northern Com8 mand. 

9 (F) The United States European Com10 mand. 

11 (G) The United States Pacific Command. 

12 (H) The United States Strategic Com13 mand. 

14 (I) The United States Transportation 

15 Command. 

16 (J) The Alaska Command. 

17 SEC. 5. REPORT ON INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED TO PRO18 TECT NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS OF 

19 THE UNITED STATES IN THE ARCTIC REGION. 

20 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense com23 mittees a report setting forth the requirements and invest24 ment plans for military infrastructure required to protect 


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1 United States national security interests in the Arctic re2 gion. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

4 (a) shall include the following: 

5 (1) A review of the operational plan for the pro6 tection of United States national security interests 

7 in the Arctic region, including strategic national as8 sets, United States citizens, territory, freedom of 

9 navigation, and economic and trade interests in the 

10 region. 

11 (2) A description of United States military ca12 pabilities required to implement the operational 

13 plan, including types of forces, major weapon sys14 tems, and logistics required for operations in Arctic 

15 terrain. 

16 (3) A description of the installations, infra17 structure, and deep water ports for deployment of 

18 assets required to support the operational plan, in19 cluding the stationing, deployment, and training of 

20 military forces for operations in the Arctic region. 

21 (4) An investment plan to establish the installa22 tions and infrastructure required to implement the 

23 operational plan. 


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1 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 

3 a classified annex. 

4 SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENT OF DOMAIN AWARENESS IN THE 

5 ARCTIC REGION. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 

8 (1) Current Department of Defense and com9 mercial satellite constellations do not provide suffi10 cient space coverage to offer consistent coverage of 

11 the Arctic and Polar regions. 

12 (2) The United States military currently faces 

13 significant challenges in its ability to operate in the 

14 Arctic region, given these current communications, 

15 navigational, and domain awareness shortfalls. 

16 (3) The September 2016 report of the Inter17 national Security Advisory Board entitled ‘‘Report 

18 on Arctic Policy’’ stated that ‘‘the Arctic presents 

19 some unique problems of domain awareness, given 

20 that it is a region with limited telecommunications 

21 capability, unique geography, and remote and indige22 nous populations’’. 

23 (4) The January 2017 report of the Depart24 ment of Defense entitled ‘‘Report to Congress on 

25 Strategy to Protect United States National Security 


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1 Interests in the Arctic Region’’ concluded that 

2 ‘‘[c]ommand and control of forces are challenged by 

3 limited satellite and terrestrial communications 

4 above 65 degrees north’’ and affirmed that 

5 ‘‘[a]ddressing gaps in key enablers, particularly 

6 C5ISR, domain awareness, remote sensing and ob7 serving capabilities, ice prediction, and weather fore8 casting remains a priority’’. 

9 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 

13 defense committees a report on strategies to improve 

14 United States communications, domain awareness, 

15 and navigational capabilities in the Arctic region. 

16 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 

17 (1) shall include the following: 

18 (A) An identification of domain awareness, 

19 communications, and navigational requirements 

20 in the Arctic region. 

21 (B) A plan to leverage potential or existing 

22 partnerships with United States allies, State 

23 and local governments, and commercial indus24 tries to meet immediate domain awareness, 

25 communications, and navigational requirements 


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1 in the Arctic region, including the possible use 

2 of improved— 

3 (i) satellite imagery and communica4 tions; 

5 (ii) terrestrial communications; and 

6 (iii) unmanned aerial systems. 

7 (C) Any other urgent needs with respect to 

8 the capabilities described in paragraph (1) that 

9 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

10 (3) FORM.—The report under paragraph (1) 

11 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in12 clude a classified annex. 

Æ 


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