00                         HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 9                                                                         
01 Encouraging the homeporting of new United States Coast Guard icebreakers in the                                         
02 state.                                                                                                                  
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:                                                                         
04       WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard has proposed a renovation and expansion                                   
05 of its Seattle waterfront base, which, over the next decade, will be home to three new                                  
06 icebreakers and other vessels; and                                                                                      
07 WHEREAS the United States has a strategic interest in keeping pace with the                                           
08 development and deployment of icebreaker fleets by Arctic nations such as Russia, Finland,                              
09 Sweden, China, and other nations that are currently outpacing the United States in the number                           
10 of icebreakers and sustained presence in the Arctic, which provide security for those nations'                          
11 research, military, fishing, and merchant fleets; and                                                                   
12       WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard aims to support the United States in                                      
13 conducting national missions, responding to critical events, and projecting American presence                           
14 in the high latitudes; and                                                                                              
15       WHEREAS the increased activity in the Arctic underscores a commensurate need for                                
16 proximate maritime presence in the Arctic region of the United States to enable the                                     

01 responsible development of resources, foster maritime commerce, safeguard the well-being of                             
02 Arctic residents and ecosystems, facilitate emergency and disaster preparedness and response,                           
03 and protect the sovereignty of the United States; and                                                                   
04 WHEREAS the state is at the forefront of Arctic knowledge, research, and                                              
05 development and is uniquely positioned to provide, support, manage, and facilitate ease of                              
06 access to the high latitudes; and                                                                                       
07 WHEREAS the state's workforce has the experience and regional knowledge to                                            
08 support the operations of the United States Coast Guard, the maintenance of Coast Guard                                 
09 vessels, and the extraction of natural resources in the world's high latitudes, which include an                        
10 estimated 10 percent of the world's oil reserves and an abundance of fish stocks; and                                   
11 WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard currently has limited Arctic emergency                                          
12 response capabilities and no permanent bases near the strategically important Bering Strait or                          
13 the state's North Slope to support Coast Guard operations; and                                                          
14 WHEREAS the January 2012 delivery of fuel to Nome, Alaska, by the Russian fuel                                        
15 tanker Renda, escorted by the United States Coast Guard's only polar icebreaker in service at                           
16 the time, Healy, emphasizes the need for icebreaker presence in Alaska; and                                             
17 WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard should have a greater overall presence in                                       
18 the Arctic, with the ability to stage assets closer to future shipping, oil and gas drilling,                           
19 commercial fishing activities, and military and other critical events; and                                              
20 WHEREAS the state has an abundance of deepwater ports strategically located near                                      
21 established fuel shortage infrastructure, availability of supply depots for the icebreakers, and                        
22 housing, jobs, schools, and shopping for members of the United States Coast Guard and their                             
23 families; and                                                                                                           
24 WHEREAS homeporting icebreakers in the state would enhance the United States                                          
25 Coast Guard's ability to meet its stated objectives;                                                                    
26 BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives encourages proposed new                                              
27 United States Coast Guard icebreakers to be strategically homeported in the state rather than                           
28 in the Port of Seattle.