Arctic Diplomacy Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3433 | Sponsor: Rep. Phillips, Dean (D-MN)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Arctic Diplomacy Act of 2021
This bill establishes the position of Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs within the Department of State.
The ambassador shall facilitate the development and coordination of U.S. foreign policy and activities related to the Arctic region, including policies and activities to (1) meet U.S. national security needs, (2) protect the environment, (3) increase cooperation among Arctic countries, (4) involve Arctic Indigenous people in relevant decisions, and (5) enhance scientific research and monitoring.
Furthermore, the ambassador must establish an Arctic Region Security Policy. The policy must assess and implement plans and actions to (1) bolster U.S. diplomatic presence in Arctic countries, (2) enhance the resilience of Arctic countries to environmental change and increased civilian and military activity in the region, and (3) advance principles of good governance in the region.

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
 establish a United States Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Arctic Diplomacy Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the rapidly changing Arctic environment--
                    (A) creates new national and regional security 
                challenges due to increased military activity in the 
                Arctic;
                    (B) heightens the risk of the Arctic emerging as a 
                major theater of conflict in ongoing strategic 
                competition;
                    (C) threatens maritime safety due to inadequate 
                regional resource capacity to patrol the increase in 
                vessel traffic this remote region is experiencing from 
                the growing expanses of open Arctic water from 
                diminished annual levels of sea ice;
                    (D) impacts public safety due to increased human 
                activity in the Arctic region where search and rescue 
                capacity remains very limited; and
                    (E) threatens the health of the Arctic's fragile 
                and historically pristine environment and the unique 
                and highly sensitive species found in the Arctic's 
                marine and terrestrial ecosystems; and
            (2) the United States should reduce the consequences 
        outlined in paragraph (1) by--
                    (A) carefully evaluating a wide variety and dynamic 
                set of security and safety risks unfolding in the 
                Arctic;
                    (B) developing policies and making preparations for 
                mitigating and responding to threats and risks in the 
                Arctic, including by continuing to work with allies and 
                partners in the Arctic region to deter potential 
                aggressive activities and build Arctic competencies;
                    (C) adequately funding the National Earth System 
                Prediction Capability to substantively improve weather, 
                ocean, and ice predictions on time scales necessary for 
                ensuring regional security and trans-Arctic shipping;
                    (D) investing in resources, including a 
                significantly expanded icebreaker fleet, to ensure that 
                the United States has adequate capacity to prevent and 
                respond to security threats in the Arctic region; and
                    (E) pursuing diplomatic engagements with all Arctic 
                countries to reach an agreement for--
                            (i) maintaining peace and stability in the 
                        Arctic region;
                            (ii) fostering cooperation on stewardship 
                        and safety initiatives in the Arctic region;
                            (iii) promoting environmentally sustainable 
                        natural resource management and economic 
                        development;
                            (iv) ensuring safe and efficient management 
                        of commercial maritime traffic in the Arctic;
                            (v) reducing black carbon and methane 
                        emissions in the Arctic region, including by 
                        working with observers of the Arctic Council, 
                        including India and China, to adopt mitigation 
                        plans consistent with the findings and 
                        recommendations of the Arctic Council's 
                        Framework for Action on Black Carbon and 
                        Methane; and
                            (vi) countering China's Polar Silk Road 
                        initiative.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR ARCTIC AFFAIRS.

    Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 
U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 64. UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR ARCTIC AFFAIRS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department of 
State an Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs (referred to in this 
section as the `Ambassador'), appointed in accordance with subsection 
(b).
    ``(b) Appointment.--The Ambassador shall be appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
    ``(c) Duties.--The Ambassador shall--
            ``(1) facilitate the development and coordination of United 
        States foreign policy in the Arctic region relating to--
                    ``(A) meeting national security needs;
                    ``(B) protecting the Arctic environment and 
                conserving its biological resources;
                    ``(C) promoting environmentally sustainable natural 
                resource management and economic development;
                    ``(D) strengthening institutions for cooperation 
                among Arctic countries;
                    ``(E) involving Arctic indigenous people in 
                decisions that affect them;
                    ``(F) enhancing scientific monitoring and research 
                on local, regional, and global environmental issues; 
                and
                    ``(G) reducing black carbon and methane emissions 
                in the Arctic region;
            ``(2) coordinate the diplomatic objectives, and, as 
        appropriate, represent the United States within multilateral 
        fora that address international cooperation and foreign policy 
        matters in the Arctic region;
            ``(3) help inform, in coordination with the Bureau of 
        Economic and Business Affairs, transnational commerce and 
        commercial maritime transit in the Arctic region;
            ``(4) coordinate the integration of scientific data on the 
        current and projected effects of climate change in the Arctic 
        region and ensure that such data is applied to the development 
        of security strategies for the Arctic region;
            ``(5) make available the methods and approaches on the 
        integration of climate science to other regional security 
        planning programs in the Department of State to better ensure 
        that broader decision-making processes may more adequately 
        account for the effects of climate change;
            ``(6) serve as a key point of contact for other Federal 
        agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department 
        of the Interior, the Department of Homeland Security, and the 
        intelligence community, on Arctic region security issues;
            ``(7) serve as the Chair of the Arctic Council when the 
        United States holds the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council; and
            ``(8) perform such other duties and exercise such powers as 
        the President and Secretary of State shall prescribe.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Arctic countries.--The term `Arctic countries' means 
        the eight countries with territory or exclusive economic zones 
        that extend north of the 66.56083 parallel latitude north of 
        the equator.
            ``(2) Arctic region.--The term `Arctic region' means the 
        geographic region north of the 66.56083 parallel latitude north 
        of the equator.
            ``(3) Intelligence community.--The term `intelligence 
        community' has the meaning given such term in section 3(4) of 
        the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).''.

SEC. 4. ARCTIC REGION SECURITY POLICY.

    The Secretary of State, acting through the Ambassador at Large for 
Arctic Affairs of the Department of State under section 64 of the State 
Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (established pursuant to 
section 3), shall establish an Arctic Region Security Policy. Such 
policy shall assess, develop, budget for, and implement plans, 
policies, and actions relating to--
            (1) bolstering the diplomatic presence of the United States 
        in Arctic countries, including through enhancements to 
        diplomatic missions and facilities, participation in regional 
        and bilateral dialogues related to Arctic security, and 
        coordination of United States initiatives and assistance 
        programs across agencies to protect the national security of 
        the United States and its allies and partners;
            (2) enhancing the resilience capacities of Arctic countries 
        to the effects of environmental change and increased civilian 
        and military activity by Arctic countries and other countries 
        that may result from increased accessibility of the Arctic 
        region;
            (3) assessing specific added risks to the Arctic region and 
        Arctic countries that--
                    (A) are vulnerable to the changing Arctic 
                environment; and
                    (B) are strategically significant to the United 
                States;
            (4) coordinating the integration of environmental change 
        and national security risk and vulnerability assessments into 
        the decision-making process on foreign assistance awards with 
        Greenland;
            (5) advancing principles of good governance by encouraging 
        and cooperating with Arctic states on collaborative approaches 
        to--
                    (A) responsibly manage natural resources in the 
                Arctic region;
                    (B) share the burden of ensuring maritime safety in 
                the Arctic region;
                    (C) prevent the escalation of security tensions by 
                mitigating against the militarization of the Arctic 
                region;
                    (D) develop mutually agreed upon multilateral 
                policies among Arctic countries on the management of 
                maritime transit routes through the Arctic region and 
                work cooperatively on the transit policies for access 
                to and transit in the Arctic region by non-Arctic 
                countries; and
                    (E) facilitate the development of Arctic Region 
                Security Action Plans to ensure stability and public 
                safety in disaster situations in a humane and 
                responsible fashion;
            (6) evaluating the vulnerability, security, survivability, 
        and resiliency of United States interests and non-defense 
        assets in the Arctic region; and
            (7) reducing black carbon and methane emissions in the 
        Arctic region.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Arctic countries.--The term ``Arctic countries'' means 
        the eight countries with territory or exclusive economic zones 
        that extend north of the 66.56083 parallel latitude north of 
        the equator.
            (2) Arctic region.--The term ``Arctic region'' means the 
        geographic region north of the 66.56083 parallel latitude north 
        of the equator.
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