Expressing concerns about U.S. access to the Arctic in the face of heavy Russian investments and activity in the region, the Senate Appropriations Committee has added $1 billion for the Pentagon to build one ship for the Coast Guard's Polar Icebreaker Recapitalization Project. The fiscal year 2017 defense spending bill the committee approved Thursday intends to add this money to the Navy's Shipbuilding and Conversion account "to construct domestically the first U.S. Coast Guard operated ship for the Polar Icebreaker...