Enrolled HJR 33: Urging the Alaska delegation in Congress to pursue the establishment of a U.S. Coast Guard port in the Arctic region; supporting the increase in defensive capabilities in the Arctic region; and encouraging the development of critical Arctic infrastructure.
00Enrolled HJR 33 01 Urging the Alaska delegation in Congress to pursue the establishment of a U.S. Coast Guard 02 port in the Arctic region; supporting the increase in defensive capabilities in the Arctic region; 03 and encouraging the development of critical Arctic infrastructure. 04 _______________ 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS Alaska is the only state in the nation that has land bordering the Arctic 07 Ocean; and 08 WHEREAS the retreat of Arctic sea ice is increasing the seasonal navigability of the 09 Arctic Ocean, which has resulted in an influx of traffic and activity in the circumpolar Arctic; 10 and 11 WHEREAS the increased navigability of Arctic routes has the potential to reliably 12 decrease shipping distances of intercontinental vessels by as much as 40 percent in the 13 coming decades; and 14 WHEREAS the control of access to newly opening Arctic waterways is becoming an 15 objective for nations in the region; and 16 WHEREAS the other seven Arctic nations have been very proactive in addressing the
01 changing situation in the Arctic and have begun to assert their interests in the region; and 02 WHEREAS the Russian Federation has recently established the Arctic Joint Strategic 03 Command to assert its long-term military strategy in the Arctic region; and 04 WHEREAS the Russian Federation has constructed as many as 40 icebreakers, 14 05 airfields, and 16 deepwater ports in the region; and 06 WHEREAS the United States has been very inactive in addressing the changing 07 situation in the Arctic region; and 08 WHEREAS the United States possesses only two operating icebreaking vessels, none 09 of which is stationed in this state; and 10 WHEREAS vessels with icebreaking capabilities may operate in any environment, 11 but ships without that capability cannot operate in an Arctic environment without an 12 icebreaker escort; and 13 WHEREAS the United States has an extremely limited capability to respond to 14 medical emergencies that may occur as a result of increased activity in the region; and 15 WHEREAS the United States has no means of asserting itself in the Arctic Ocean or 16 maintaining domain awareness along its northernmost flank; and 17 WHEREAS the extreme weather conditions in the Arctic increase the amount of time 18 needed to complete large infrastructure projects in the region; and 19 WHEREAS the potential for energy discovery in the Arctic region may produce new 20 investment, infrastructural development, and other economic opportunities; 21 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes that the increased 22 activity in the Arctic region is becoming a national security concern for the nation; and be it 23 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the potential 24 for economic development in the Arctic; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the urgency of 26 developing key infrastructure and defense capabilities, considering the investments other 27 nations have committed to the region as well as the increased amount of time needed for those 28 types of projects because of the extreme weather of the region; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the Alaska 30 delegation in Congress to pursue the establishment of a United States Coast Guard port 31 capable of supporting naval contingency operations in the Arctic as well as the development
01 of critical infrastructure that is necessary to improve emergency response capabilities in the 02 region; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature calls on the Alaska 04 Congressional delegation to advocate for the security of the nation's northernmost flank by 05 increasing the military and emergency response capabilities in the Arctic region. 06 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President 07 of the United States; the Honorable Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the U.S. House of 08 Representatives; the Honorable Orrin Hatch, President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate; the 09 Honorable Jim Mattis, United States Secretary of Defense; the Honorable Ryan Zinke, United 10 States Secretary of the Interior; Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard; 11 and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the 12 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.