[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3384-S3385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6210. Ms. MURKOWSKI submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by her to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle C of title IX, add the following:

     SEC. 930. ARCTIC JOINT PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICE.

       Subpart A of part VI of title 10, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

                     ``CHAPTER 553--OTHER ELEMENTS

``Sec.
``5601. Arctic Joint Program Executive Office.

     ``Sec. 5601. Arctic Joint Program Executive Office

       ``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense 
     shall establish in the Department of Defense an Arctic Joint 
     Program Executive Office (in this section referred to as the 
     `Office').
       ``(b) Executive Agent.--The Executive Agent for the Office 
     shall be the Secretary of the Air Force.
       ``(c) Duties.--The duties of the Office are--
       ``(1) to support the strategic competition objectives of 
     the United States in the Arctic, including deterrence of 
     near-peer adversaries; and
       ``(2) to develop a unified investment roadmap for the 
     Arctic under subsection (d).
       ``(d) Unified Investment Roadmap.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Office shall develop a unified 
     investment roadmap for ongoing and planned investments in 
     Arctic capabilities by each armed force during the 10-period 
     following development of the roadmap that--
       ``(A) specifies the sequence of such investments with major 
     milestones;
       ``(B) identifies which Arctic programs span more than one 
     armed force or are interdependent; and
       ``(C) identifies and addresses capability gaps that are not 
     planned but required in support of the strategic competition 
     objectives described in subsection (c)(1).
       ``(2) Transition plans.--
       ``(A) In general.--In developing the unified investment 
     roadmap required by paragraph (1), the Office shall develop a 
     plan for the transition of investments included in the 
     roadmap from the Office to each armed force.
       ``(B) Responsibility for costs.--The Office shall be 
     responsible for sustainment costs for investments in Arctic 
     capabilities included in the unified investment roadmap 
     required by paragraph (1) for a period of not more than three 
     years. By the end of that period, each armed force shall 
     assume responsibility for sustaining operations and 
     maintenance costs through the full life of the capabilities.
       ``(e) Contracting Authorities.--The Office shall utilize 
     Department-wide contracting authorities and purchasing power, 
     including through the use of multiyear procurement authority, 
     to procure infrastructure, sustainment, logistics, and 
     services for Arctic programs.
       ``(f) Location.--Not later than five years after the date 
     of the enactment of this section, the Office shall transition 
     to a permanent location selected based on the proximity of 
     the location to--
       ``(1) the designated lead for Arctic affairs of the United 
     States Northern Command; and
       ``(2) a central hub of units of the armed forces assigned 
     to focus on Arctic affairs to ensure that the Office 
     thoroughly understands the requirements and needs unique to 
     the Arctic region.
       ``(g) Annual Reports.--Not later than one year after the 
     date of the enactment of this section, and annually 
     thereafter, the head of the Office shall submit to Congress a 
     report that includes--
       ``(1) a description of the status of and expenditures by 
     the Office in the year preceding submission of the report;

[[Page S3385]]

       ``(2) a description of progress made during that year in 
     achieving the objectives described in subsection (c)(1) and 
     the objectives of the unified investment roadmap developed 
     under subsection (d);
       ``(3) a comparison of investment by the United States in 
     Arctic capabilities with known investments by the governments 
     of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China 
     in Arctic capabilities; and
       ``(4) an assessment of the Arctic deterrence posture of the 
     Department of Defense.
       ``(h) Armed Force Defined.--In this section, the term 
     `armed force' means the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the 
     Marine Corps, the Space Force, or the Coast Guard.''.
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