15 U.S.C. § 4101 : US Code - Section 4101: Congressional findings and declaration of purposes

Search 15 U.S.C. § 4101 : US Code - Section 4101: Congressional findings and declaration of purposes

(a) The Congress finds and declares that -
(1) the Arctic, onshore and offshore, contains vital energy
resources that can reduce the Nation's dependence on foreign oil
and improve the national balance of payments;
(2) the Arctic is critical to national defense;
(3) the renewable resources of the Arctic, specifically fish
and other seafood, represent one of the Nation's greatest
commercial assets;
(4) Arctic conditions directly affect global weather patterns
and must be understood in order to promote better agricultural
management throughout the United States;
(5) industrial pollution not originating in the Arctic region
collects in the polar air mass, has the potential to disrupt
global weather patterns, and must be controlled through
international cooperation and consultation;
(6) the Arctic is a natural laboratory for research into human
health and adaptation, physical and psychological, to climates of
extreme cold and isolation and may provide information crucial
for future defense needs;
(7) atmospheric conditions peculiar to the Arctic make the
Arctic a unique testing ground for research into high latitude
communications, which is likely to be crucial for future defense
needs;
(8) Arctic marine technology is critical to cost-effective
recovery and transportation of energy resources and to the
national defense;
(9) the United States has important security, economic, and
environmental interests in developing and maintaining a fleet of
icebreaking vessels capable of operating effectively in the heavy
ice regions of the Arctic;
(10) most Arctic-rim countries possess Arctic technologies far
more advanced than those currently available in the United
States;
(11) Federal Arctic research is fragmented and uncoordinated at
the present time, leading to the neglect of certain areas of
research and to unnecessary duplication of effort in other areas
of research;
(12) improved logistical coordination and support for Arctic
research and better dissemination of research data and
information is necessary to increase the efficiency and utility
of national Arctic research efforts;
(13) a comprehensive national policy and program plan to
organize and fund currently neglected scientific research with
respect to the Arctic is necessary to fulfill national objectives
in Arctic research;
(14) the Federal Government, in cooperation with State and
local governments, should focus its efforts on the collection and
characterization of basic data related to biological, materials,
geophysical, social, and behavioral phenomena in the Arctic;
(15) research into the long-range health, environmental, and
social effects of development in the Arctic is necessary to
mitigate the adverse consequences of that development to the land
and its residents;
(16) Arctic research expands knowledge of the Arctic, which can
enhance the lives of Arctic residents, increase opportunities for
international cooperation among Arctic-rim countries, and
facilitate the formulation of national policy for the Arctic; and
(17) the Alaskan Arctic provides an essential habitat for
marine mammals, migratory waterfowl, and other forms of wildlife
which are important to the Nation and which are essential to
Arctic residents.
(b) The purposes of this chapter are -
(1) to establish national policy, priorities, and goals and to
provide a Federal program plan for basic and applied scientific
research with respect to the Arctic, including natural resources
and materials, physical, biological and health sciences, and
social and behavioral sciences;
(2) to establish an Arctic Research Commission to promote
Arctic research and to recommend Arctic research policy;
(3) to designate the National Science Foundation as the lead
agency responsible for implementing Arctic research policy; and
(4) to establish an Interagency Arctic Research Policy
Committee to develop a national Arctic research policy and a five
year plan to implement that policy.