I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3247 
To direct the President to develop and submit to Congress a strategy to 
protect United States interests in the Arctic region, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 14, 2017 
Mr. BERA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees 
on Foreign Affairs, Energy and Commerce, Science, Space, and Tech-
nology, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the President to develop and submit to Congress 
a strategy to protect United States interests in the Arctic 
region, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect United States 
Security in the Arctic Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(4) The rapidly warming Arctic region threat-
ens fisheries and wildlife habitat, existing infrastruc-
ture and communities throughout Alaska, including 
increased vulnerability to coastal erosion. Alaska na-
tive communities are particularly vulnerable to the 
changing climate. 
(5) Given these developments, the United 
States needs to bolster its infrastructure and assets 
in the Arctic region to safeguard its strategic inter-
ests, defend its national borders, protect the environ-
ment, and maintain its scientific and technological 
leadership. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the President should continue to convene 
the Arctic Executive Steering Committee established 
on January 21, 2015, pursuant to Executive Order 
13689 (80 Fed. Reg. 6425; relating to enhancing co-
ordination of national efforts in the Arctic); and 
(2) the United States should ratify the United 
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in order 
to allow the United States to secure its claim to off-
shore resources present along the Arctic’s extended 
continental shelf. 
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SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO PROTECT UNITED STATES INTER-
ESTS IN THE ARCTIC REGION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall de-
velop and submit to Congress a strategy to protect United 
States interests in the Arctic region. 
(b) GOALS.—The strategy required under subsection 
(a) shall include the following goals: 
(1) Improve telecommunications, navigation, 
ocean and coastal mapping, and Coast Guard and 
other infrastructure to support a sustained security 
and emergency response presence for the State of 
Alaska. 
(2) Direct the United States representative to 
the Arctic Council to use the voice and vote of the 
United States to conduct increased confidence-build-
ing and cooperative security measures with the other 
member countries of the Arctic Council. 
(3) Support climate resilience efforts across the 
Arctic region. 
(4) Sustain robust research funding to under-
stand the ongoing climate changes in the Arctic re-
gion and the global impact of such changes. 
(c) USE OF PRIOR REPORTS AND STRATEGIES.—The 
strategy required under subsection (a) shall be informed 
by the reports and strategies described in section 2(2) and 
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other relevant United States Government reports and 
strategies regarding the Arctic region. 
(d) COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
OF
THE
UNITED 
STATES REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after 
the date of the enactment of the this Act, the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall submit to 
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate 
and the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate, and the Committee on Transportation and In-
frastructure of the House of Representatives a re-
port assessing the cost and procurement schedule for 
new United States icebreakers. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required in para-
graph (1) shall include an analysis of the following: 
(A) The current status of the efforts of the 
Coast Guard to acquire new icebreaking capa-
bility, including coordination through the Inte-
grated Program Office. 
(B) Actions being taken by the Coast 
Guard to incorporate key practices from other 
nations that procure icebreakers to increase 
knowledge and reduce costs and risks. 
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(C) The extent by which the cost and 
schedule for building Coast Guard icebreakers 
differs from those in other countries, if known. 
(D) The extent that innovative acquisition 
practices (such as multiyear funding and block 
buys) may be applied to icebreaker acquisition 
to reduce the cost and accelerate the schedule. 
(E) A capacity replacement plan to miti-
gate a potential icebreaker capability gap if the 
Polar Star cannot remain in service. 
(F) Any other matters the Comptroller 
General considers appropriate. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION TO PROCURE COAST GUARD ICE-
BREAKERS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Consistent with the plan re-
quired by section 3523 of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), the 
Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
operating may enter into a contract to procure up to three 
Coast Guard heavy icebreakers to defend United States 
interests in the Arctic Region, beginning in fiscal year 
2018. 
(b) LIABILITY SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONS.—Any 
contract entered into under subsection (a) shall provide 
that— 
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(1) any obligation of the United States to make 
a payment under the contract is subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations for that purpose; and 
(2) the total liability to the Government for ter-
mination of such contract shall be limited to the 
total amount of funding obligated under such con-
tract at the time of termination. 
(c) REPORT.—Consistent with such section, the Sec-
retary shall report to the relevant congressional commit-
tees on plans of such department to— 
(1) procure and sustain icebreakers in addition 
to the vessels authorized by subsection (a); and 
(2) ensure that at least three Coast Guard ice-
breakers are operational at all times. 
Æ 
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