,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bjjj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #aj1 #bjbe,mr4
 ,keating 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,castro of 
,texas1 ,mr4 ,huizenga1 and ,mr4 ,amodei
 of ,nevada7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs  ,a     
,,bill  ,to establish a program to      
monitor the ,arctic region1 promote     
,united ,states interests in that       
region1 and combat ,russian1 ,chinese1  
and other foreign malign influence in   
the region4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act
 may be cited as the ,arctic ,watchers  
,act4  #b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is   
the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the  
,arctic region is a critical region for 
,united ,states national security which 
presents both risks and opportunities   
for ,united ,states security1 economic1 
natural resource1 cyber1 and            
geopolitical interests around the world2
 and  7#b7 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 region4  #c4 ,arctic ,watcher      
,program  7a7 ,in general ,the          
,secretary of ,state1 in coordination   
with the ,secretary of ,defense1 shall  
establish and carry out a program in the
 ,department of ,state1 to be known as  
the ,arctic ,watcher ,program1 to-- 7#a7
 monitor the ,arctic region across the  
security1 military1 economic1 natural   
resource1 cyber1 scientific1 and        
political sectors in foreign countries2 
7#b7 monitor and combat ,people's       
,republic of ,china1 ,russian           
,federation1 and other malign influence 
campaigns across that region that impact
 ,united ,states national security1     
,european security1 and ,indo-,pacific  
security that pose a threat to the      
rules-based order1 and undermine ,united
 ,states interests in the region2  7#c7 
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       
generations2 and  7#d7 strengthen       
,united ,states energy security1 cyber  
security and economic interests in that 
region including in the critical        
minerals and natural resources sectors4 
7b7 ,assignment  7#a7 ,in general ,in   
carrying out the program required by    
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of       
,state1 in consultation with the ,office
 of the ,ambassador-at-,large for       
,arctic ,affairs1 shall assign          
individuals1 to be known as ,arctic     
,watchers1 to the following posts3 7,a7 
,at least #c posts in ,european         
countries with significant interests in 
the ,arctic region4  7,b7 ,at least one 
post in ,north ,american countries with 
significant interests in the ,arctic    
region4  7,c7 ,other posts as designated
 by the ,secretary of ,state deemed     
necessary for promoting the activities  

of the program4  7#b7 ,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    
7#a74  7c7 ,other responsibilities  7#a7
 ,in general ,the ,office of the        
,ambassador-at-,large for ,arctic       
,affairs shall provide policy guidance  
to ,arctic ,watchers under subsection   
7b7 to further ,united ,states interests
 in the ,arctic region and to carry out 
the activities of the program required  
by subsection 7a74  7#b7 ,report ,each  
post required by subsection 7b77#a7     
shall1 in consultation with the ,office 
of the ,ambassador-at-,large for ,arctic
 ,affairs1 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-- 7,a7   
outlines the steps the post and the     

,arctic ,watcher assigned to that post  
have taken to advance the program       
required by subsection 7a72 and  7,b7   
identifies goals for the ,arctic        
,watcher for the following year to      
further advance such program4  7d7      
,report ,not later than #ahj days after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
and annually thereafter1 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-- 7#a7 a detailed  
breakdown of posts at which staff are   
assigned the role of ,arctic ,watcher2  
7#b7 the responsibilities to which they 
have been assigned2 and  7#c7 the       
strategies developed by the chief of    
mission1 as applicable4  7e7            
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated        
#aj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbe and   
each fiscal year thereafter to carry out
 this section4  #d4 ,arctic region      

defined ,in this ,act1 the term ,arctic 
region has the meaning given that term  
in section #aab of the ,arctic ,research
 and ,policy ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #daaa74