AK SJR15

Urges the U.S. Congress and Administration to fund all facilities and vessels necessary for the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct Arctic missions, including icebreakers and an Arctic Coast Guard base.

Identifies that the United States currently operates only one polar-class icebreaker (USCGC Healy), while Russia has eight nuclear-powered icebreakers and other nations are expanding their Arctic capabilities.

Notes that the most northern U.S. Coast Guard base in Kodiak, Alaska is over 1,000 miles from Chukchi Sea drilling sites and Bering Strait shipping lanes, creating untenable logistical problems for emergency response.

References multiple federal mandates requiring icebreaking operations, including Executive Order 7521 (1936), the Arctic Research Policy Act of 1984, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, and the 2011 Unified Command Plan.

Calls for Congress to consider all financing options for refurbishing current polar-class icebreakers, acquiring new icebreakers, and providing long-term maintenance funding for the Coast Guard icebreaker fleet and Arctic facilities.