Arctic Watchers Act
Sponsored By: Representative Keating
Introduced
Summary
Arctic Watcher Program. This bill would create an Arctic Watcher Program at the State Department to monitor security, economic, and influence threats in the Arctic and to protect U.S. energy, cyber, and critical minerals interests.
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- Diplomats and posts: The State Department would assign "Arctic Watchers" to at least 3 posts in European countries and at least 1 post in North America, with other posts added as needed.
- Security and industries: The program would track military, cyber, economic, and natural resource activity and monitor campaigns by the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and other malign actors that affect U.S. and allied security.
- Foreign partnerships: It would strengthen U.S. engagement with foreign governments and regional and international Arctic mechanisms to advance shared interests.
- Reporting and oversight: Each post must submit an annual report to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Secretary must provide a detailed post breakdown within 180 days and annually.
*Would authorize $10 million for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, increasing annual federal spending by that amount.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Arctic Watchers posted at embassies
If enacted, the State Department would create an Arctic Watcher Program with the Defense Department. It would monitor Arctic security, economic, resource, cyber, science, and political activity in foreign countries and counter campaigns by China, Russia, and others. The Secretary would place Arctic Watchers at U.S. posts—at least 3 in Europe and at least 1 in North America—with more as needed. The Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs would guide them, and each post would send a yearly report to the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees with steps taken and next-year goals. The Secretary would notify those committees when assigning Watchers and would file a detailed report within 180 days of enactment and every year after. The bill would authorize $10 million for fiscal year 2025 and each year after to run the program, subject to future appropriations.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Keating
MA • D
Cosponsors
Castro (TX)
TX • D
Sponsored 3/10/2025
Rep. Huizenga, Bill [R-MI-4]
MI • R
Sponsored 3/10/2025
Amodei (NV)
NV • R
Sponsored 3/10/2025
Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]
TX • R
Sponsored 4/9/2025
Del. Radewagen, Aumua Amata Coleman [R-AS-At Large]
AS • R
Sponsored 5/13/2025
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24]
NY • R
Sponsored 5/19/2025
Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2]
VA • R
Sponsored 6/11/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov