,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bifg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #g1 #bjba,ms4 ,murkowski 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,mr4 ,cramer1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 and ,ms4 ,hassan7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to establish an ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,arctic ,affairs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,arctic ,diplomacy ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,arctic ,affairs ,section #a7;c7 of the ,state ,department ,basic ,authorities ,act of #aief 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfea;a7c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking not more than #bd ,assistant ,secretaries of ,state and inserting not more than #be ,assistant ,secretaries of ,state2 7#b7 by redesignating paragraph 7#d7 as paragraph 7#e72 and 7#c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#c7 the following new paragraph3 7#d7 ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,arctic ,affairs 7,a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be in the ,department of ,state an ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,arctic ,affairs1 who shall be responsible to the ,secretary of ,state and the ,under ,secretary of ,state for ,political ,affairs for all matters1 programs1 and related activities pertaining to the ,arctic region in the conduct of foreign policy by the ,department1 including1 as appropriate1 leading the coordination of programs carried out by ,united ,states ,government agencies abroad1 and such other related duties as the ,secretary may from time to time designate4 7,b7 ,areas of responsibility ,the ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,arctic ,affairs shall maintain continuous observation and coordination of all matters pertaining to energy1 environment1 trade1 infrastructure development and maintenance1 law enforcement1 and political-military affairs in the conduct of foreign policy in the ,arctic1 including programs carried out by other ,united ,states ,government agencies when such programs pertain to the following matters3 7i7 ,national security4 7ii7 ,strengthening cooperation among ,arctic countries4 7iii7 ,the promotion of responsible natural resource management and economic development4 7iv7 ,protecting the ,arctic environment and conserving its biological resources4 7v7 ,arctic indigenous peoples1 including by involving them in decisions that affect them4 7vi7 ,scientific monitoring and research4 7,c7 ,additional duties ,in addition to the responsibilities specified in subparagraph 7,b71 the ,assistant ,secretary for ,arctic ,affairs shall also carry out such other relevant duties as the ,secretary may assign4 7,d7 ,definitions ,in this paragraph3 7i7 ,arctic region ,the term ,arctic region means-- 7,i7 the geographic region north of the #ff4efjhc parallel latitude north of the equator2 7,,ii7 all the ,united ,states territory north and west of the boundary formed by the ,porcupine1 ,yukon1 and ,kuskokwim ,rivers2 7,,iii7 all contiguous seas1 including the ,arctic ,ocean and the ,beaufort1 ,bering1 and ,chukchi ,seas2 and 7,,iv7 the ,aleutian ,chain4 7ii7 ,arctic countries ,the term ,arctic ,countries means the permanent members of the ,arctic ,council1 namely the ,united ,states1 ,canada1 ,denmark1 ,iceland1 ,norway1 ,sweden1 ,finland1 and ,russia4 4