Arctic Diplomacy Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3433 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. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. PHILLIPS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arctic Diplomacy Act 4 of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 (1) the rapidly changing Arctic environment— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3433 IH (A) creates new national and regional secu- 1 rity challenges due to increased military activity 2 in the Arctic; 3 (B) heightens the risk of the Arctic emerg- 4 ing as a major theater of conflict in ongoing 5 strategic competition; 6 (C) threatens maritime safety due to inad- 7 equate regional resource capacity to patrol the 8 increase in vessel traffic this remote region is 9 experiencing from the growing expanses of open 10 Arctic water from diminished annual levels of 11 sea ice; 12 (D) impacts public safety due to increased 13 human activity in the Arctic region where 14 search and rescue capacity remains very lim- 15 ited; and 16 (E) threatens the health of the Arctic’s 17 fragile and historically pristine environment and 18 the unique and highly sensitive species found in 19 the Arctic’s marine and terrestrial ecosystems; 20 and 21 (2) the United States should reduce the con- 22 sequences outlined in paragraph (1) by— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3433 IH (A) carefully evaluating a wide variety and 1 dynamic set of security and safety risks unfold- 2 ing in the Arctic; 3 (B) developing policies and making prep- 4 arations for mitigating and responding to 5 threats and risks in the Arctic, including by 6 continuing to work with allies and partners in 7 the Arctic region to deter potential aggressive 8 activities and build Arctic competencies; 9 (C) adequately funding the National Earth 10 System Prediction Capability to substantively 11 improve weather, ocean, and ice predictions on 12 time scales necessary for ensuring regional se- 13 curity and trans-Arctic shipping; 14 (D) investing in resources, including a sig- 15 nificantly expanded icebreaker fleet, to ensure 16 that the United States has adequate capacity to 17 prevent and respond to security threats in the 18 Arctic region; and 19 (E) pursuing diplomatic engagements with 20 all Arctic countries to reach an agreement for— 21 (i) maintaining peace and stability in 22 the Arctic region; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3433 IH (ii) fostering cooperation on steward- 1 ship and safety initiatives in the Arctic re- 2 gion; 3 (iii) promoting environmentally sus- 4 tainable natural resource management and 5 economic development; 6 (iv) ensuring safe and efficient man- 7 agement of commercial maritime traffic in 8 the Arctic; 9 (v) reducing black carbon and meth- 10 ane emissions in the Arctic region, includ- 11 ing by working with observers of the Arctic 12 Council, including India and China, to 13 adopt mitigation plans consistent with the 14 findings and recommendations of the Arc- 15 tic Council’s Framework for Action on 16 Black Carbon and Methane; and 17 (vi) countering China’s Polar Silk 18 Road initiative. 19 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR ARC- 20 TIC AFFAIRS. 21 Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities Act 22 of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by adding 23 at the end the following new section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3433 IH ‘‘SEC. 64. UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR 1 ARCTIC AFFAIRS. 2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 3 the Department of State an Ambassador at Large for Arc- 4 tic Affairs (referred to in this section as the ‘Ambas- 5 sador’), appointed in accordance with subsection (b). 6 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENT.—The Ambassador shall be ap- 7 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and con- 8 sent of the Senate. 9 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Ambassador shall— 10 ‘‘(1) facilitate the development and coordination 11 of United States foreign policy in the Arctic region 12 relating to— 13 ‘‘(A) meeting national security needs; 14 ‘‘(B) protecting the Arctic environment 15 and conserving its biological resources; 16 ‘‘(C) promoting environmentally sustain- 17 able natural resource management and eco- 18 nomic development; 19 ‘‘(D) strengthening institutions for co- 20 operation among Arctic countries; 21 ‘‘(E) involving Arctic indigenous people in 22 decisions that affect them; 23 ‘‘(F) enhancing scientific monitoring and 24 research on local, regional, and global environ- 25 mental issues; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3433 IH ‘‘(G) reducing black carbon and methane 1 emissions in the Arctic region; 2 ‘‘(2) coordinate the diplomatic objectives, and, 3 as appropriate, represent the United States within 4 multilateral fora that address international coopera- 5 tion and foreign policy matters in the Arctic region; 6 ‘‘(3) help inform, in coordination with the Bu- 7 reau of Economic and Business Affairs, 8 transnational commerce and commercial maritime 9 transit in the Arctic region; 10 ‘‘(4) coordinate the integration of scientific data 11 on the current and projected effects of climate 12 change in the Arctic region and ensure that such 13 data is applied to the development of security strate- 14 gies for the Arctic region; 15 ‘‘(5) make available the methods and ap- 16 proaches on the integration of climate science to 17 other regional security planning programs in the De- 18 partment of State to better ensure that broader deci- 19 sion-making processes may more adequately account 20 for the effects of climate change; 21 ‘‘(6) serve as a key point of contact for other 22 Federal agencies, including the Department of De- 23 fense, the Department of the Interior, the Depart- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3433 IH ment of Homeland Security, and the intelligence 1 community, on Arctic region security issues; 2 ‘‘(7) serve as the Chair of the Arctic Council 3 when the United States holds the Chairmanship of 4 the Arctic Council; and 5 ‘‘(8) perform such other duties and exercise 6 such powers as the President and Secretary of State 7 shall prescribe. 8 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 ‘‘(1) ARCTIC COUNTRIES.—The term ‘Arctic 10 countries’ means the eight countries with territory 11 or exclusive economic zones that extend north of the 12 66.56083 parallel latitude north of the equator. 13 ‘‘(2) ARCTIC REGION.—The term ‘Arctic region’ 14 means the geographic region north of the 66.56083 15 parallel latitude north of the equator. 16 ‘‘(3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 17 ‘intelligence community’ has the meaning given such 18 term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 19 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).’’. 20 SEC. 4. ARCTIC REGION SECURITY POLICY. 21 The Secretary of State, acting through the Ambas- 22 sador at Large for Arctic Affairs of the Department of 23 State under section 64 of the State Department Basic Au- 24 thorities Act of 1956 (established pursuant to section 3), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3433 IH shall establish an Arctic Region Security Policy. Such pol- 1 icy shall assess, develop, budget for, and implement plans, 2 policies, and actions relating to— 3 (1) bolstering the diplomatic presence of the 4 United States in Arctic countries, including through 5 enhancements to diplomatic missions and facilities, 6 participation in regional and bilateral dialogues re- 7 lated to Arctic security, and coordination of United 8 States initiatives and assistance programs across 9 agencies to protect the national security of the 10 United States and its allies and partners; 11 (2) enhancing the resilience capacities of Arctic 12 countries to the effects of environmental change and 13 increased civilian and military activity by Arctic 14 countries and other countries that may result from 15 increased accessibility of the Arctic region; 16 (3) assessing specific added risks to the Arctic 17 region and Arctic countries that— 18 (A) are vulnerable to the changing Arctic 19 environment; and 20 (B) are strategically significant to the 21 United States; 22 (4) coordinating the integration of environ- 23 mental change and national security risk and vulner- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3433 IH ability assessments into the decision-making process 1 on foreign assistance awards with Greenland; 2 (5) advancing principles of good governance by 3 encouraging and cooperating with Arctic states on 4 collaborative approaches to— 5 (A) responsibly manage natural resources 6 in the Arctic region; 7 (B) share the burden of ensuring maritime 8 safety in the Arctic region; 9 (C) prevent the escalation of security ten- 10 sions by mitigating against the militarization of 11 the Arctic region; 12 (D) develop mutually agreed upon multilat- 13 eral policies among Arctic countries on the 14 management of maritime transit routes through 15 the Arctic region and work cooperatively on the 16 transit policies for access to and transit in the 17 Arctic region by non-Arctic countries; and 18 (E) facilitate the development of Arctic Re- 19 gion Security Action Plans to ensure stability 20 and public safety in disaster situations in a hu- 21 mane and responsible fashion; 22 (6) evaluating the vulnerability, security, surviv- 23 ability, and resiliency of United States interests and 24 non-defense assets in the Arctic region; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3433 IH (7) reducing black carbon and methane emis- 1 sions in the Arctic region. 2 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) ARCTIC COUNTRIES.—The term ‘‘Arctic 5 countries’’ means the eight countries with territory 6 or exclusive economic zones that extend north of the 7 66.56083 parallel latitude north of the equator. 8 (2) ARCTIC REGION.—The term ‘‘Arctic region’’ 9 means the geographic region north of the 66.56083 10 parallel latitude north of the equator. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3433.IH H3433 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS