I know that our full Committee Chairman, Senator Inhofe, is committed to ensuring that we continue down the path to readiness and recovery while we still prioritize modernization.

First, the readiness issues with regard to the Navy and the Marine Corps, importantly within the context of the new National Defense Strategy (NDS) and the recent National Defense Commission report.

I want to thank all the members for being here for this important hearing that really kind of emphasizes that modernization and readiness go hand in hand.

The Navy cannot conduct visible surface FONOPs, in all weather conditions during all times of the year without ice-hardened and winterized ships; neither can any other nation or military.

I want to echo what my colleague from New Mexico said about our friend and colleague Senator Heitkamp. I can say that everything he just said--there is strong bipartisan agreement on that front. I want to emphasize a couple of points he…

I ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Earthquake in Alaska

it is Thursday afternoon, and it is the time of the week when I usually come down to talk about one of my constituents or some Alaskan who is doing a great thing for their community or the State or the country. I call that our Alaskan of…

My own sense is we are very behind on this issue relative to other countries, relative to what is happening and that is a problem.

Funding for dredging and outer breakwater construction at Nome will help our Nation take advantage of the opportunities the Arctic presents for our economy as well as help fulfill our responsibility of protecting our Arctic waters from…

I think the Polar Code is a good step in the right direction.

The other country that is becoming very active, aggressive, in the Arctic is China.

I think the communities along the North Coast are ready to provide the information that is required.

The National Defense Authorization Act, this year, which was signed into law by the President in August had a provision that I authored.

I think it is a great point that certainly we have a lot to learn from, in terms of, how the Great Lakes have operated.

if God forbid we did have some kind of accident, we certainly do not have the capability to safely rescue them right now.

I think it is extremely important to have those international standards that we are talking about.

I would like our witnesses, any and all of you, to do a little bit of comparing and contrasting.

I have been and remain an advocate to ensuring that the Coast Guard gets another ice breaker that is at least as capable as the Mackinaw.

I think there is a lot of agreement. You could tell from the panel. I think you can see it among Senators and a lot of good ideas.

I think they took everything to heart and adjusted some of the routes to satisfy different seasons for hunting.

The Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter initiative is clearly in our Nation's best interests in protecting this emerging maritime frontier.

These routes can save shippers weeks in travel and are thousands of nautical miles shorter when compared to using the Suez Canal or Panama Canals.

I think there is still some work to do but no question, it is important and a lot better than where we were before we had the Polar Code.

The retreat of Arctic sea ice, better ice-breaking technology and global demand for Arctic resources has led to an increase in human activity.