Legacies of War Recognition and Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4686 To recognize the refugee and immigrant communities from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam including the Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and Vietnamese Americans who supported and de- fended the Armed Forces during the conflict in Southeast Asia, authorize assistance to support activities relating to clearance of unexploded ord- nance and other explosive remnants of war, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To recognize the refugee and immigrant communities from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam including the Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and Vietnamese Americans who supported and defended the Armed Forces during the conflict in Southeast Asia, authorize assistance to support activities relating to clearance of unexploded ordnance and other explosive remnants of war, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4686.IS S4686 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4686 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Legacies of War Rec- 2 ognition and Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. RECOGNITION OF THE HMONG, CHAM, CAMBODIAN, 4 IU-MIEN, KHMU, LAO, MONTAGNARD, AND VI- 5 ETNAMESE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES WHO 6 SUPPORTED AND DEFENDED THE ARMED 7 FORCES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. 8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 9 (1) Many Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, 10 Khmu, Lao, Montagnard and Vietnamese Ameri- 11 cans— 12 (A) fought and died with United States 13 Armed Forces during the conflict in Southeast 14 Asia in the 1960s and 1970s; 15 (B) rescued United States pilots shot down 16 in enemy-controlled territory and returned the 17 pilots to safety; 18 (C) gathered and provided to the United 19 States Armed Forces intelligence about enemy 20 troop positions, movement, and strength; and 21 (D) provided food, shelter, and support to 22 the United States Armed Forces. 23 (2) The National Armed Forces of Cambodia 24 facilitated the evacuation of the United States Em- 25 bassy in Phnom Penh on April 12, 1975, by con- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4686.IS S4686 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4686 IS tinuing to fight Khmer Rouge forces as they ad- 1 vanced upon the capital. 2 (3) A tragic legacy of the conflict in Southeast 3 Asia is the lethal risk posed by unexploded ordnance 4 (UXO) in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia that still 5 litter forests, rice fields, villages, school grounds, 6 roads, and other populated areas—hindering devel- 7 opment and poverty reduction efforts. 8 (4) Vietnam remains one of the world’s most 9 contaminated countries, with an estimated 800,000 10 tons of UXO left over from the conflict in Southeast 11 Asia that ended more than 40 years ago. Since 12 1975, mine and UXO accidents have caused more 13 than 100,000 casualties, including 40,000 deaths of 14 Vietnamese civilians. 15 (5) From 1964–1973, the United States 16 dropped more than 2,000,000 tons of bombs on 17 Laos during American operations to disrupt North 18 Vietnamese military supply routes. As a result, Laos 19 is the most heavily bombed country per capita in the 20 world. Much of the country’s land remains contami- 21 nated with tens of millions small, unexploded cluster 22 munitions. Since the end of the conflict, UXO have 23 injured or killed more than 25,000 civilians in Laos. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4686.IS S4686 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4686 IS (6) Cambodia suffers from one of the highest 1 rates of landmine and UXO accidents in the world. 2 Over 64,000 Cambodians have been killed or injured 3 by UXO and other explosive remnants of war since 4 1979, with an average of one casualty every week. 5 (7) The United States is the world’s leading fi- 6 nancial supporter of demining and UXO removal 7 programs. Since 1993, the United States has pro- 8 vided more than $3,700,000,000 in assistance to lo- 9 cate and destroy UXO and other explosive remnants 10 of war in more than 100 countries, including more 11 than $148,000,000 in Vietnam, $230,000,000 in 12 Laos, and $150,000,000 in Cambodia. 13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 14 gress that— 15 (1) the Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, 16 Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and Vietnamese Ameri- 17 cans deserve recognition for their support and de- 18 fense of the Armed Forces during the conflict in 19 Southeast Asia; and 20 (2) the United States should continue to sup- 21 port activities to clear UXO and other explosive rem- 22 nants of war in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and 23 strengthen people-to-people ties and reaffirm Amer- 24 ica’s long-standing commitment to Southeast Asia. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4686.IS S4686 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4686 IS SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR VIETNAM, 1 LAOS, AND CAMBODIA. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 3 provide humanitarian assistance for programs to support 4 the activities described in subsection (b). 5 (b) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may be 6 supported by assistance under subsection (a) include the 7 following: 8 (1) Developing national surveys of unexploded 9 ordnance (UXO) and other explosive remnants of 10 war in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. 11 (2) Providing for clearance of such UXO and 12 other explosive remnants of war. 13 (3) Providing assistance for capacity building, 14 risk education, and assistance to survivors, including 15 medical assistance and prosthetic devices, in Viet- 16 nam, Laos, and Cambodia related to both UXO and 17 other explosive remnants of war. 18 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 19 President shall seek to consult, partner, and coordinate 20 with international organizations, civil society, donor gov- 21 ernments, and other stakeholders, as appropriate, to lever- 22 age their expertise, financial support, and resources to 23 minimize duplication of efforts and maximize the efficient 24 and effective provision of United States assistance. 25 (d) BRIEFINGS.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4686.IS S4686 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4686 IS (1) ANNUAL BRIEFINGS.—The President shall 1 provide annual briefings to the appropriate commit- 2 tees of Congress on activities undertaken in accord- 3 ance with this section. 4 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS 5 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appro- 6 priate committees of Congress’’ means— 7 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 8 the Committee on Armed Services, and the 9 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 10 and 11 (B) the Committee of Foreign Affairs, the 12 Committee on Armed Services, and the Com- 13 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep- 14 resentatives. 15 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 16 authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry 17 out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 18 through 2025. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Oct 10, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4686.IS S4686 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS