119-hr2000

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2000 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2000

 To establish a program to monitor the Arctic region, promote United 
States interests in that region, and combat Russian, Chinese, and other 
 foreign malign influence in the region.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 10, 2025

 Mr. Keating (for himself, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Huizenga, and Mr. 
Amodei of Nevada) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To establish a program to monitor the Arctic region, promote United 
States interests in that region, and combat Russian, Chinese, and other 
 foreign malign influence in the region.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Arctic Watchers Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

 It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) the Arctic region is a critical region for United 
 States national security which presents both risks and 
 opportunities for United States security, economic, natural 
 resource, cyber, and geopolitical interests around the world; 
 and

    (2) the People's Republic of China and the Russian 
 Federation seek to undermine United States interests in that 
 region and it is incumbent upon the United States to counter 
 Chinese and Russian influence in all sectors in the region.

SEC. 3. ARCTIC WATCHER PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Secretary of Defense, shall establish and carry out a program in the 
Department of State, to be known as the ``Arctic Watcher Program'', 
to--

    (1) monitor the Arctic region across the security, 
 military, economic, natural resource, cyber, scientific, and 
 political sectors in foreign countries;

    (2) monitor and combat People's Republic of China, Russian 
 Federation, and other malign influence campaigns across that 
 region that impact United States national security, European 
 security, and Indo-Pacific security that pose a threat to the 
 rules-based order, and undermine United States interests in the 
 region;

    (3) strengthen the capacity of the United States to engage 
 with foreign countries and regional and international 
 mechanisms with stakes in that region and protect the region 
 for future generations; and

    (4) strengthen United States energy security, cyber 
 security and economic interests in that region including in the 
 critical minerals and natural resources sectors.

    (b) Assignment.--

    (1) In general.--In carrying out the program required by 
 subsection

    (a) , the Secretary of State, in consultation with 
 the Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, shall 
 assign individuals, to be known as ``Arctic Watchers'', to the 
 following posts:
        (A) At least 3 posts in European countries with 
 significant interests in the Arctic region.
        (B) At least one post in North American countries 
 with significant interests in the Arctic region.
            (C) Other posts as designated by the Secretary of 
 State deemed necessary for promoting the activities of 
 the program.

    (2) Notification.--The Secretary of State shall notify the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate upon 
 assigning individuals to be Arctic Watchers under paragraph

    (1) .
            (c) Other Responsibilities.--

    (1) In general.--The Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for 
 Arctic Affairs shall provide policy guidance to Arctic Watchers 
 under subsection

    (b) to further United States interests in the 
 Arctic region and to carry out the activities of the program 
 required by subsection

    (a) .

    (2) Report.--Each post required by subsection

    (b)

    (1) shall, 
 in consultation with the Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for 
 Arctic Affairs, prepare and submit to the Committee on Foreign 
 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
 Foreign Relations of the Senate an annual report that--
        (A) outlines the steps the post and the Arctic 
 Watcher assigned to that post have taken to advance the 
 program required by subsection

    (a) ; and
        (B) identifies goals for the Arctic Watcher for the 
 following year to further advance such program.
            (d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a 
report that includes--

    (1) a detailed breakdown of posts at which staff are 
 assigned the role of Arctic Watcher;

    (2) the responsibilities to which they have been assigned; 
 and

    (3) the strategies developed by the chief of mission, as 
 applicable.

    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year 
thereafter to carry out this section.

SEC. 4. ARCTIC REGION DEFINED.

 In this Act, the term ``Arctic region'' has the meaning given that 
term in 

section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act (15 U.S.C. 
4111).
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