00                         HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 13                                                                        
01 Urging the United States Coast Guard to name one of the two new polar class                                             
02 icebreakers the "Polar Bear" and to station the icebreaker in the Arctic.                                               
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the Cutter Bear, referred to here as the "USCGC Bear" because of its                                    
05 longevity of service to the United States Coast Guard, was a vessel that served the United                              
06 States Revenue Cutter Service, United States Coast Guard, and the United States Navy; and                               
07       WHEREAS the USCGC Bear served those respective estimable institutions from                                      
08 1884 to 1944; and                                                                                                       
09       WHEREAS the USCGC Bear was an infallible asset in the Bering Sea Patrol, helping                                
10 to develop, protect, and explore the state's coast in the late nineteenth century and early                             
11 twentieth century; and                                                                                                  
12       WHEREAS the USCGC Bear conducted several different exploratory missions in the                                  
13 Arctic and Antarctic regions; and                                                                                       
14       WHEREAS the USCGC Bear served in the Greenland Patrol during World War II,                                      
15 helping to protect allied shipping during the Battle of the Atlantic; and                                               
16       WHEREAS, while being towed in March of 1963, the USCGC Bear was lost at sea;                                    

01 and                                                                                                                     
02       WHEREAS the Natural Resources Management Act of 2019 passed by the 116th                                        
03 Congress of the United States of America appropriated funds for two new polar class                                     
04 icebreakers for service in the Arctic; and                                                                              
05       WHEREAS the two new polar class icebreakers will operate in similar conditions to                             
06 the USCGC Bear, and will likely be as imperative as the USCGC Bear was in furthering the                                
07 development of coastal areas of the state; and                                                                          
08       WHEREAS the Arctic will continue to offer significant economic opportunities in                                 
09 natural resource development and international trade; and                                                               
10 WHEREAS severe weather conditions in the Arctic Ocean require year-round ice                                          
11 breaking capabilities; and                                                                                              
12 WHEREAS other Arctic nations are proactively developing infrastructure, including                                     
13 building more icebreakers, to take advantage of the opportunities in the Arctic; and                                    
14 WHEREAS naming one of the new vessels the "Polar Bear" encourages placement in                                        
15 the Arctic as polar bears do not live in any other part of the world that requires ice-breaking                         
16 capabilities;                                                                                                           
17 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the United States Coast                                     
18 Guard to name one of the new polar class icebreakers currently under construction the "Polar                            
19 Bear" to pay homage to the lost USCGC Bear; and be it                                                                   
20 FURTHER RESOLVED the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States Coast                                           
21 Guard to permanently station the polar class icebreakers in the Arctic to ensure safe year-                             
22 round navigation and national security.                                                                                 
23 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President                                   
24 of the United States; the Honorable Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States and                           
25 President of the U.S. Senate; Admiral Karl L. Schultz, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard; and                                
26 the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the                                     
27 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.