Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SR167 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	III
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. RES. 167
5	5	Recognizing the importance of the Arctic Council and reaffirming the
6	6	commitment of the United States to the Arctic Council.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	APRIL9, 2025
9	9	Ms. M
10	10	URKOWSKI(for herself and Mr. KING) submitted the following
11	11	resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
12	12	RESOLUTION
13	13	Recognizing the importance of the Arctic Council and re-
14	14	affirming the commitment of the United States to the
15	15	Arctic Council.
16	16	Whereas the United States became an Arctic nation upon the
17	17	purchase of Alaska in 1867;
18	18	Whereas the Arctic Council was established on September 19,
19	19	1996, through the Ottawa Declaration, to enhance co-
20	20	operation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic
21	21	states with the active involvement of Arctic Indigenous
22	22	peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic
23	23	issues;
24	24	Whereas the United States is a founding member of the Arc-
25	25	tic Council and has twice served as Chair, from 1998 to
26	26	2000, and again from 2015 to 2017;
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29	29	•SRES 167 IS
30	30	Whereas the Ottawa Declaration defines 8 states, Canada,
31	31	Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federa-
32	32	tion, Sweden, and the United States, as Arctic states and
33	33	members of the Arctic Council as they have sovereignty
34	34	over territory in the Arctic region;
35	35	Whereas the Arctic region is undergoing unprecedented envi-
36	36	ronmental, economic, and social changes due to the im-
37	37	pacts of climate change and increased human activity;
38	38	Whereas the Arctic Council has an advanced understanding
39	39	of Arctic challenges through scientific assessments, policy
40	40	recommendations, and collaborative initiatives;
41	41	Whereas the engagement of Indigenous communities and re-
42	42	spect for traditional knowledge are integral to the Arctic
43	43	Council’s success;
44	44	Whereas the Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental
45	45	initiative involving all Arctic states, raising global aware-
46	46	ness of the Arctic’s significance and influencing inter-
47	47	national climate policies;
48	48	Whereas the Arctic Council has addressed key issues such as
49	49	persistent organic pollutants, oil spill prevention, search
50	50	and rescue, and scientific collaboration;
51	51	Whereas the Arctic Council emphasizes sustainable develop-
52	52	ment, environmental protection, and peace in the Arctic
53	53	amidst growing competition over resources and shipping
54	54	routes;
55	55	Whereas the Arctic Council has played a vital role in main-
56	56	taining the Arctic as a region of low tension and its con-
57	57	tinued work is essential to ensuring a safe, secure, and
58	58	stable Arctic for all;
59	59	Whereas the Arctic Council has made significant contribu-
60	60	tions to understanding Arctic biodiversity, ocean health,
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63	63	•SRES 167 IS
64	64	and sustainable resource management, while also ad-
65	65	dressing emerging threats such as microplastics and ship-
66	66	ping pollution;
67	67	Whereas the United States has demonstrated leadership in
68	68	Arctic affairs, notably through initiatives such as the
69	69	Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, which provided a
70	70	groundbreaking understanding of climate change impacts,
71	71	and the International Circumpolar Surveillance system, a
72	72	region-wide disease surveillance system led by the Centers
73	73	for Disease Control and Prevention;
74	74	Whereas the United States has supported collaborative Arctic
75	75	Council initiatives such as the Circumpolar Wildland Fire
76	76	Initiative, developed under Norway’s Chairship, in part-
77	77	nership with Gwich’in Council International;
78	78	Whereas the Russian Federation’s illegal war of aggression
79	79	against Ukraine has significantly impacted the operations
80	80	of the Arctic Council, raising concerns over the Russian
81	81	Federation’s military modernization in the Arctic and re-
82	82	inforcing cooperative security ties among the 7 other Arc-
83	83	tic states (commonly known as the ‘‘A7’’);
84	84	Whereas, in response to the invasion of Ukraine by the Rus-
85	85	sian Federation, the A7 states temporarily paused par-
86	86	ticipation in all Arctic Council meetings;
87	87	Whereas the European Union suspended cooperation with the
88	88	Russian Federation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council,
89	89	leading to the withdrawal of the Russian Federation in
90	90	2023;
91	91	Whereas, despite the suspension of cooperation with the Rus-
92	92	sian Federation, the Arctic Council and its working
93	93	groups resumed activities in mid-2023;
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96	96	•SRES 167 IS
97	97	Whereas, in February 2024, the Russian Federation sus-
98	98	pended annual payments to the Arctic Council until its
99	99	participation was reinstated;
100	100	Whereas, in February 2024, the 8 Arctic states, in consulta-
101	101	tion with Indigenous permanent participant organiza-
102	102	tions, reached consensus to gradually resume official
103	103	working group meetings;
104	104	Whereas Finland and Sweden’s accession to the North Atlan-
105	105	tic Treaty Organization has heightened the Arctic’s stra-
106	106	tegic importance for the alliance;
107	107	Whereas, in recent years, the United States has expanded its
108	108	diplomatic presence in the Arctic region and strengthened
109	109	economic and people to people ties with the region;
110	110	Whereas the Russian Federation’s diplomatic isolation from
111	111	the A7 states has led to the Kremlin’s increased coopera-
112	112	tion with non-A7 countries, particularly the People’s Re-
113	113	public of China, which poses a threat to United States
114	114	and European national security; and
115	115	Whereas a national intelligence estimate by the National In-
116	116	telligence Council indicates that both Arctic and non-Arc-
117	117	tic states will likely increase their competitive activities
118	118	and military presence in the region as warming tempera-
119	119	tures make the Arctic more accessible and states seek to
120	120	protect their investments: Now, therefore, be it
121	121	Resolved, That the Senate— 1
122	122	(1) recognizes the key role the Arctic Council 2
123	123	has played as a critical forum for fostering inter-3
124	124	national cooperation, sustainable development, and 4
125	125	environmental protection in the Arctic region; 5
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128	128	•SRES 167 IS
129	129	(2) commends the Arctic Council for its 1
130	130	achievements in promoting scientific research, policy 2
131	131	coordination, and Indigenous participation to ad-3
132	132	dress regional challenges; 4
133	133	(3) affirms the United States commitment to 5
134	134	active participation and leadership within the Arctic 6
135	135	Council to advance shared goals and uphold the val-7
136	136	ues of cooperation and respect among Arctic nations 8
137	137	and Indigenous peoples; 9
138	138	(4) acknowledges the Arctic Council’s 8 member 10
139	139	states—Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Nor-11
140	140	way, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the 12
141	141	United States—as key participants in the Arctic 13
142	142	Council due to their sovereignty over territories in 14
143	143	the Arctic Region, which enables them to engage in 15
144	144	collaborative efforts to address Arctic issues; 16
145	145	(5) encourages increased collaboration among 17
146	146	Arctic Council member states, permanent partici-18
147	147	pants, and observers to address emerging challenges 19
148	148	and opportunities in the Arctic, including the im-20
149	149	pacts of climate change and sustainable economic 21
150	150	development; 22
151	151	(6) supports robust funding and resources for 23
152	152	United States agencies and organizations engaged in 24
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155	155	•SRES 167 IS
156	156	Arctic Council activities to ensure the United States 1
157	157	fulfills its responsibilities as an Arctic nation; 2
158	158	(7) calls upon the Arctic Council to continue 3
159	159	prioritizing peace, security, and environmental stew-4
160	160	ardship in the Arctic to safeguard the region for fu-5
161	161	ture generations; 6
162	162	(8) urges the executive branch to uphold and 7
163	163	promote the principles and objectives of the Arctic 8
164	164	Council in its Arctic policy and diplomacy efforts; 9
165	165	(9) emphasizes the importance of increased 10
166	166	United States attention and resources in the Arctic 11
167	167	as geopolitical competition and human activities in 12
168	168	the region intensify; and 13
169	169	(10) emphasizes the importance of the position 14
170	170	of United States Arctic Ambassador-at-Large to pro-15
171	171	vide strong and consistent United States leadership 16
172	172	in Arctic diplomacy and engagement and urges the 17
173	173	executive branch to take all necessary steps to pre-18
174	174	vent prolonged vacancies in this critical role. 19
175	175	Æ
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