Legacies of War Recognition and Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act
This bill authorizes humanitarian assistance to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to clear landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
Under the bill, the President may, from FY2024 through FY2029, provide humanitarian assistance to (1) develop national surveys of landmines and other explosive remnants of war; (2) clear such explosive remnants of war; (3) manage stockpiles of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition; (4) build capacity and improve physical security related to such explosive remnants of war; and (5) support survivors of incidents involving such explosive remnants of war, including by providing related medical assistance and prosthetic devices.
The bill also requires the President to report to Congress about any assistance provided.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4570 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4570
To authorize assistance to support activities relating to the clearance
of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive remnants of war
in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and to recognize the refugee and
immigrant communities who supported and defended the Armed Forces
during the conflict in Southeast Asia, including Hmong, Cham,
Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and Vietnamese Americans,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 12, 2023
Mr. Bera (for himself, Mr. Phillips, Mrs. Radewagen, Ms. Houlahan, Mr.
Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Norton, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Larsen of
Washington, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Tokuda, Mr.
Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Titus, Mr. Himes, Mr. Pallone, Mr.
McGovern, Mr. Carson, and Mr. Trone) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize assistance to support activities relating to the clearance
of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive remnants of war
in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and to recognize the refugee and
immigrant communities who supported and defended the Armed Forces
during the conflict in Southeast Asia, including Hmong, Cham,
Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and Vietnamese Americans,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Legacies of War Recognition and
Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act''.
SEC. 2. RECOGNITION OF THE COMMUNITIES WHO SUPPORTED AND DEFENDED THE
ARMED FORCES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) During the conflict in Southeast Asia during the 1960s
and 1970s, many Hmong, Cham, Cambodians, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao,
Montagnard, and Vietnamese people--
(A) supported the Armed Forces;
(B) rescued United States pilots shot down in
enemy-controlled territory and returned the pilots to
safety;
(C) gathered and provided intelligence to the Armed
Forces about enemy troop positions, movement, and
strength; and
(D) provided food, shelter, and support to members
of the Armed Forces.
(2) The national armed forces of Cambodia facilitated the
evacuation of the United States Embassy in Phnom Penh on April
12, 1975, by fighting Khmer Rouge forces that advanced upon the
capital.
(3) A tragic legacy of the conflict in Southeast Asia is
the lethal risk posed by landmines, unexploded ordnance (in
this Act, referred to as ``UXO''), and explosive remnants of
war in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia that still litter forests,
rice fields, villages, school grounds, roads, and other
populated areas, hindering development and efforts to reduce
poverty.
(4) Vietnam remains one of the world's most contaminated
countries, with an estimated 800,000 tons of UXO left over from
the conflict in Southeast Asia that ended more than 40 years
ago. Since 1975, UXO accidents have caused more than 105,000
casualties, including more than 38,000 deaths of Vietnamese
civilians.
(5) In Laos, much of the country's land remains
contaminated with tens of millions of small, unexploded cluster
munitions. Since 1964, UXO and other explosive remnants of war
have injured or killed more than 50,000 civilians in Laos.
(6) Cambodia has experienced one of the highest rates of
landmine and UXO casualties in the world. Over 64,000
Cambodians have been injured or killed by landmines, UXO, or
other explosive remnants of war since 1979.
(7) The United States is the world's leading financial
supporter of demining and programs to remove UXO. Since 1993,
the United States has provided more than $4,200,000,000 in
assistance for locating and destroying UXO and other explosive
remnants of war and related programs in more than 100
countries, including more than $185,000,000 in Vietnam,
$310,000,000 in Laos, and $180,000,000 in Cambodia.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao,
Montagnard, and Vietnamese people deserve recognition for their
support and defense of the Armed Forces during the conflict in
Southeast Asia; and
(2) the United States should continue to support activities
to clear landmines, UXO, and other explosive remnants of war
and to provide related assistance in Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia, while strengthening people-to-people ties and
reaffirming the long-standing commitment of the United States
to Southeast Asia.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR VIETNAM, LAOS, AND CAMBODIA.
(a) In General.--The President may provide humanitarian assistance
to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia for programs to support the following:
(1) The development or updating of national surveys of
landmines, UXO, and other explosive remnants of war.
(2) Clearance of such landmines, UXO, and other explosive
remnants of war.
(3) Stockpile management of small arms, light weapons, and
ammunition.
(4) Capacity building, risk education, destruction, and
physical security related to landmines, UXO, and other
explosive remnants of war.
(5) Survivors of incidents involving landmines, UXO, and
other explosive remnants of war, including by providing medical
assistance and prosthetic devices related to landmines, UXO,
and other explosive remnants of war.
(b) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the President
shall seek to consult, partner, and coordinate with international
organizations, civil societies, donor governments, and other
stakeholders, as the President determines appropriate, to leverage the
expertise, financial support, and resources of such entities to
minimize duplication of efforts and maximize the efficient and
effective provision of assistance from the United States.
(c) Reporting and Briefing.--
(1) Reporting.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall provide a report to
the appropriate committees of Congress on activities undertaken
in accordance with this section on the progress of amounts made
available from the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining,
and related programs account for demining and clearance of
landmines, UXO, and other explosive remnants of war in Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia. Such reports shall also include--
(A) the status of amounts made available from the
Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and related
programs account that are obligated pursuant to
authorities provided by prior Acts and the status of
unallocated amounts made available to such account as
of the date of enactment of this Act;
(B) a description of how Nonproliferation, Anti-
terrorism, Demining, and related programs account funds
have contributed to landmine, UXO, and other explosive
remnants of war clearance efforts in Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia;
(C) estimates of contaminated land that has been
cleared, land that still contains landmines, UXO, and
other explosive remnants of war, land that has not been
assessed for contamination, and data on the origin of
any antipersonnel mines cleared, to the extent
possible;
(D) a description of collaboration between the
United States and the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia including past and current progress to date in
establishing nationwide contamination databases in such
countries to refine landmine, UXO, and other explosive
remnants of war locations and target clearance efforts;
and
(E) an assessment on the efforts of the Department
of State to work with the Government of the Lao
People's Democratic Republic regarding the repatriation
of and the efforts to reintegrate into Laotian society
those of Hmonh, Lao, Khmu, and Mien or Yao descent who
arrived in the United States as refugees but have since
been removed.
(2) Briefings.--The President shall annually brief the
appropriate committees of Congress on activities undertaken in
accordance with this section for each year for which amounts
are authorized under subsection (d).
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the President $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2024 through 2028 to carry out this section.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.
(2) The term ``unexploded ordnance'' or ``UXO'' has the
meaning given such term in section 101 of title 10, United
States Code.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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