The Senate will consider a tax withholding provision and a judicial nomination. The House will not be in session.

NOAA Seeks Input on Enforcement Priorities: Public Comment Period on Draft List of Priorities Open Through January 9. Today, NOAA released a draft of its enforcement priorities and invited the public to submit comments through January 9. These enforcement priorities are the latest step NOAA is taking to improve its enforcement program, and will help the agency emphasize compliance through better communication with fishermen. Other improvements in the last two years include new leadership, higher-level review of charging decisions, and a new penalty policy to ensure more consistent penalties nationwide. "Fair and effective enforcement is essential to our ability to rebuild and protect the public's fisheries and other natural resources, and to protect the many fishermen who play by the rules," said Bruce Buckson, director of NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement. "These priorities will help us focus our resources and strategically use our state and federal partnerships to provide the most benefit for marine resources and the American people." NOAA

2 Parties' Icebreakers Plans on Collision Course. For a pair of battered ships that in recent years have mostly sat docked in Seattle, the Coast Guard's heavy-duty icebreakers are facing roiling waters in Congress. The Coast Guard wants to mothball the hobbled Polar Sea and scavenge the 33-year-old vessel for parts for its sister ship, the Polar Star. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., opposes the move. Last week, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed a two-year Coast Guard authorization bill that included an amendment co-sponsored by Cantwell barring the service from decommissioning the Polar Sea. Seattle Times 

How Arctic Microbes Respond to A Warming World. From the North Pole to the Arctic Ocean, the frozen soils within this region keep an estimated 1,672 billion metric tons of carbon out of the Earth's atmosphere. This sequestered carbon is more than 250 times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the United States in the year 2009. As global temperatures slowly rise, however, so too do concerns regarding the potential impacts upon the carbon cycle when the permafrost thaws and releases the carbon that has been trapped for eons. Like so many of the planet's critical environmental processes, the smallest players-microbes-have the most significant influence over the eventual outcome. PhyOrg.com 

Oil Fight: Conservationists vs. Shell in Alaska: Green groups worry how oil drilling may affect whales seals; feds say any risk is negligible. Federal officials say oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean will have "a negligible impact" on the region's endangered whales and seals, but conservationists say the report fails to account for the long-term effects of oil development on marine wildlife and ignores lessons from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The National Marine Fisheries Service released a 54-page report assessing the risks to marine mammals from drilling planned for several sites in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas north of Alaska. Shell wants to drill beginning in July 2012. Discovery

Running Reindeer are Able to Cool Their Brains. A Norwegian study that had reindeer running on treadmills has shown that the Arctic animals are able to selectively cool their brains. The thick-coated mammals, which are heavily insulated against freezing temperatures, were found to use varying methods when they begin to overheat. The scientists from the Universities of Tromso and Oslo measured the physiological responses of the creatures after teaching them to run on treadmills in cold temperatures."Reindeer are the best animals to work with; once they trust the trainer they will do anything for you," Prof Arnoldus Blix told the journal of Experimental Biology. Ice News 

Scientists Probe Alaska's Very Gassy Mini-Marvels. It's a movie script we've seen over and over: A frozen beast from the past is thawed and once awakened, wreaks havoc among modern society. Interestingly, that same storyline is unfolding in real life - somewhat -- inside scientific labs, and it has an Alaskan twist. Researchers have carted chunks of Alaska permafrost off to California, where have learned that allowing the once frozen soil to thaw wakes up hungry microbes, which also offered a cautionary tale. Here's an excerpt: As the Arctic permafrost melts over the coming decades, long-frozen microorganisms will thaw out and start feasting on the soil. The first have already begun to wake up - and early signs are that they will have a major impact on how Earth's climate changes. Alaska Dispatch 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered.

Arctic Policy Forum: The Role of Science in Responsible Development, November 15, 2011. Join the Institute of the North for this quarter's Arctic Policy Forum.  This presentation and networking event will focus on science and collaboration in the Arctic and will feature Michael Macrander, Lead Scientist for Shell and Fran Ulmer, Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. The Institute of the North's Arctic Policy Forums are a new way of engaging in Arctic issues. These quarterly networking events  serve to underline and elevate Alaska's role in the Arctic.  Informal policy presentations followed by networking events invite policy makers and administrators, researchers, community leaders and interested citizens together for an informal sharing opportunity. Participants will hear expert presentations on key policy findings and positions; emerging Arctic technologies; and challenges facing infrastructure development in the Arctic. Participants will also have the opportunity to spend time getting to know key stakeholders in Alaska's Arctic.