Rep. Sherrill Statement on Arctic Congressional Delegation Trip

Washington, DC– Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) released the following statement after returning from an overseas Congressional Delegation trip to the Arctic. On Wednesday, Russia officials said it will strengthen its military presence in the northwestern parts of the country in response to Sweden and Finland’s bids to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“I have just returned from Finland and Norway on an official Congressional Delegation trip with the House Armed Services Committee.

“Our trip to visit two of our nation’s key allies comes at a truly historic moment. Norway, a founding member of NATO, was among our last allies to leave Afghanistan and was with our troops until the very end. Finland, alongside Sweden, has asked to join NATO and we are working to achieve their accession as quickly as possible. These nations both share a border with Russia and are key strategic partners as we continue our work to ensure peace and protect democracy across Europe in the face of Russia’s unwarranted attack on Ukraine.

“Finland and Norway present additional strategic importance based on China’s continued attempts to increase their influence in the region with the possibility that melting polar ice caps will open up key polar sea lanes in the next several decades. Given China’s continued attempts to block trade in the South China Sea, and as one of the eight Arctic nations, the United States must engage with our allies to ensure free navigation across the world and protect our nation’s economic interests and supply lines. Our bipartisan delegation of members with backgrounds in national security valued the opportunity to hear directly from our current and future NATO allies in the North Atlantic.”

Through her seat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Sherrill was instrumental in crafting this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included support for Finland’s accession into NATO and robust funding for the European Security Initiative, as well as funding to support continued aid to Ukraine. Her NDAA provisions will bring the Defense Department one step closer to carbon-free power generation and total adoption of microgrid systems and continue her work of lowering our military’s environmental impact – a key strategic issue in the Arctic. During this trip, the delegation met with RAO, a leader in the Finnish energy industry, and the Finnish Minister of Economic and Employment Affairs to discuss energy and infrastructure.

Rep. Sherrill was joined on the Congressional Delegation trip by Representative Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6), former member of the CIA Elissa Slotkin (MI-8), Mark Green (TN-7), and Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), professional staff members of the House Armed Services Committee, and officials from the Department of Defense.

Rep. Sherrill is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Navy for almost 10 years as a helicopter pilot and Russian policy officer. As a Russian policy officer, she worked on implementing our nuclear treaty obligations and oversaw the relationship between the US Navy and Russian Federation Navy. She now serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where she serves as the Vice Chair of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.