Fortify Mexican border or the Arctic? Congress split on funding icebreakers to counter Russia

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Rep. John Garamendi of California, the top Democrat on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee, said adding more polar icebreakers to the region will help the U.S. guard against growing Russian influence.

Russians are "able to assert their dominance" of much of the Arctic, thanks to its large fleet, and the Coast Guard is "hard-pressed" to stop them, Garamendi said.

He also thinks icebreakers are needed to help commercial ships navigating icy passageways stay safe.

"What do you do when some boat hits an ice flow? Do we have a Titanic issue?" he said. As of now, there's "no way to provide assurance of search and rescue."

(Read full article at the Daily Republic)