02.20.19

ICYMI: Congress Funds First Polar Icebreaker in Four Decades

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) applauded the Senate’s passage of a major appropriations package last week that includes $655 million dedicated to the design and construction of a new heavy polar security cutter, $20 million to acquire long lead-time materials for a second polar security cutter, and $400 million for offshore patrol cutters and $340 million for fast response cutters, six of which will be based in Alaska. Additionally, the bill provides $53 million for shore-side infrastructure facilities in Alaska to support the new cutters, with $22 million going to Kodiak and $31 million to Seward. 

“After years of advocating for the federal government to take America’s role as an Arctic nation seriously, we have finally secured substantial resources for our country to strengthen its position in the region with a brand-new icebreaker,” said Senator Sullivan. “With this appropriation, Congress and the Trump administration are acknowledging that Alaska is America’s Arctic, a fact that is important to our broader national security interests. I was glad to have the opportunity to use my leadership role on the Commerce and Armed Services Committees, in conjunction with Senator Murkowski’s work on the Appropriations Committee, to secure America’s first new polar icebreaker in a generation and the needs of the Coast Guard in Alaska."

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