1114 
(21) Congressman Walter B. Jones has worked 
to ensure that handlers are given priority when their 
military working dogs reach retirement; 
(22) Congressman Walter B. Jones was a 
strong proponent of the Wounded Warrior Service 
Dog program, which is a valuable program that 
helps wounded members of the Armed Forces man-
age and recover from post-traumatic stress; 
(23) the advocacy of Congressman Walter B. 
Jones for military working dogs is well known 
throughout the nonprofit community that supports 
military working dogs; 
(24) Congressman Walter B. Jones worked with 
the Department of Defense and the Senate to up-
date the language in the Air Force Manual on Mili-
tary Working Dogs to clarify that military working 
dogs are not equipment and to indicates the true 
level of appreciation and respect the Department of 
Defense has for these valuable members of the mili-
tary team; 
(25) Congressman Walter B. Jones was the 
chief legislative sponsor of the Military Working Dog 
Teams Monument, which was built with no taxpayer 
dollars but through corporate and private donations; 
and
1115 
(26) with the support of Congressman Walter 
B. Jones, the National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 110–181) author-
ized the Burnam Foundation to design, fund, build, 
and maintain the Military Working Dog Teams Na-
tional Monument. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress to— 
(1) recognize the efforts of Congressman Walter 
B. Jones to promote military working dogs as un-
sung heroes on the battlefield and in helping wound-
ed warriors recover from physical and mental inju-
ries; 
(2) recognize the service of military working 
dogs and soldier handlers from the tactical explosive 
detection dog program; 
(3) acknowledge that not all tactical explosive 
detection dogs were adopted by their former soldier 
handlers; 
(4) encourage the Army and other government 
agencies, including law enforcement agencies, with 
former tactical explosive detection dogs to prioritize 
adoption to former tactical explosive detection dog 
handlers; and
1116 
(5) honor the sacrifices made by tactical explo-
sive detection dogs and their soldier handlers in 
combat. 
SEC. 1099T. DESIGNATION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
STRATEGIC ARCTIC PORTS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the Arctic is a region of strategic impor-
tance to the national security interests of the United 
States and the Department of Defense must better 
align its presence, force posture, and capabilities to 
meet the growing array of challenges in the region; 
and 
(2) although much progress has been made to 
increase awareness of Arctic issues and to promote 
increased presence in the region, additional meas-
ures, including the designation of one or more stra-
tegic Arctic ports, are needed to show the commit-
ment of the United States to this emerging strategic 
choke point of future great power competition. 
(b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman 
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commanding Gen-
1117 
eral of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, 
the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the Ad-
ministrator of the Maritime Administration, shall 
submit to the congressional defense committees a re-
port evaluating potential sites for one or more stra-
tegic ports in the Arctic. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—Consistent with the updated 
military strategy for the protection of United States 
national security interests in the Arctic region set 
forth in the report required under section 1071 of 
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2019 (Public Law 114–92; 129 Stat. 992), the 
report required under paragraph (1) shall include— 
(A) an evaluation of the amount of suffi-
cient and suitable space needed to create capac-
ity for port and other necessary infrastructure 
for at least one of each of type of Navy or 
Coast Guard vessel, including an Arleigh Burke 
class destroyer of the Navy, a national security 
cutter, and a heavy polar ice breaker of the 
Coast Guard; 
(B) an evaluation of the amount of suffi-
cient and suitable space needed to create capac-
ity for equipment and fuel storage, techno-
logical infrastructure, and civil infrastructure to
1118 
support military and civilian operations, includ-
ing— 
(i) aerospace warning; 
(ii) maritime surface and subsurface 
warning; 
(iii) maritime control and defense; 
(iv) maritime domain awareness; 
(v) homeland defense; 
(vi) defense support to civil authori-
ties; 
(vii) humanitarian relief; 
(viii) search and rescue; 
(ix) disaster relief; 
(x) oil spill response; 
(xi) medical stabilization and evacu-
ation; and 
(xii) meteorological measurements and 
forecasting; 
(C) an identification of proximity and road 
access required to an airport designated as a 
commercial service airport by the Federal Avia-
tion Administration that is capable of sup-
porting military and civilian aircraft for oper-
ations designated in subparagraph (B);
1119 
(D) a description of the requirements, to 
include infrastructure and installations, commu-
nications, and logistics necessary to improve re-
sponse effectiveness to support military and ci-
vilian operations described in subparagraph 
(B); 
(E) an identification of the sites that the 
Secretary recommends as potential sites for 
designation as Department of Defense Strategic 
Arctic Ports; 
(F) the estimated cost of sufficient con-
struction necessary to initiate and sustain ex-
pected operations at such sites; and 
(G) such other information as the Sec-
retary deems relevant. 
(c) DESIGNATION OF STRATEGIC ARCTIC PORTS.— 
Not later than 90 days after the date on which the report 
required under subsection (b) is submitted, the Secretary 
of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, the Commanding General of the United 
States Army Corps of Engineers, the Commandant of the 
Coast Guard, and the Administrator of the Maritime Ad-
ministration, may designate one or more ports as Depart-
ment of Defense Strategic Arctic Ports from the sites 
identified under subsection (b)(2)(E).