[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 497 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 497

To express the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense should 
  field currently available weapons, other technologies, tactics and 
    operational concepts that provide suitable alternatives to anti-
 personnel mines and mixed anti-tank mine systems and that the United 
States should end its use of such mines and join the Convention on the 
  Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines as soon as possible, to expand 
support for mine action programs including mine victim assistance, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2001

   Mr. Leahy (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Crapo, Mr. 
 Conrad, Mr. Specter, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. McConnell, 
  Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Harkin, Mr. 
Torricelli, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. 
    Durbin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To express the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense should 
  field currently available weapons, other technologies, tactics and 
    operational concepts that provide suitable alternatives to anti-
 personnel mines and mixed anti-tank mine systems and that the United 
States should end its use of such mines and join the Convention on the 
  Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines as soon as possible, to expand 
support for mine action programs including mine victim assistance, 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 ``Landmine Elimination and Victim 
Assistance Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The threat posed by tens of millions of unexploded 
        landmines to innocent civilians is a global problem requiring 
        strong United States leadership in cooperation with other 
        governments.
            (2) Landmines continue to maim and kill thousands of 
        people, mostly civilians, each year, and most mine victims lack 
        the care and rehabilitation services they need.
            (3) Landmines, which remain active for hours, days or 
        years, impede the mobility and threaten the safety of United 
        States Armed Forces, North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, 
        and other friendly forces in combat and other military 
        operations.
            (4) At least 139 countries have signed, and 110 countries 
        have ratified, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, 
        Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines 
        and on Their Destruction (opened for signature at Ottawa, 
        Canada, on December 3 and 4, 1997, and at the United Nations 
        Headquarters beginning December 5, 1997). Many of these 
        countries are former producers, exporters, and users of anti-
        personnel mines. Worldwide adherence to the Convention would 
        greatly reduce the threat to future generations from anti-
        personnel mines.
            (5) It is United States Government policy that the United 
        States will search aggressively for alternatives to anti-
        personnel mines and mixed anti-tank mine systems and that the 
        United States will join the Convention by 2006 if suitable 
        alternatives are fielded by then.
            (6) Since 1992, United States law has prohibited the export 
        or transfer of anti-personnel mines.
            (7) Since 1997, the United States has capped its inventory 
        of anti-personnel mines and has not produced anti-personnel 
        mines.
            (8) The United States Government has contributed hundreds 
        of millions of dollars to the costly, dangerous, and arduous 
        task of humanitarian demining around the world.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Department of Defense should field currently 
        available weapons, other technologies, tactics and operational 
        concepts that provide suitable alternatives to anti-personnel 
        mines and mixed anti-tank systems; and
            (2) the United States should end its use of such mines and 
        join the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, 
        Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their 
        Destruction as soon as possible.

SEC. 4. TRANSFERS OF ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES.

    Section 1365(c) of the National Defense authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 1993 (22 U.S.C. 2778 note) is amended by striking 
``During'' and all that follows through ``1992--'' and inserting 
``Beginning on October 23, 1992--''.

SEC. 5. INTER-AGENCY WORKING GROUP ON MINE ACTION.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the President shall establish an inter-agency working group to develop 
a comprehensive plan for expanded mine action programs, including mine 
victim rehabilitation, social support, and economic reintegration. The 
working group shall be composed of the Secretaries of State, Health and 
Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Defense, Education, and the 
Administrator of the Agency for International Development. The 
comprehensive plan shall be developed in close consultation with 
relevant nongovernmental organizations. As part of the development of 
the comprehensive plan, the working group shall determine an estimated 
cost of carrying out the plan.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON ALTERNATIVES TO MINES.

    Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed 
Services and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives a report describing actions taken by the 
Department of Defense to field currently available weapons, other 
technologies, tactics and operational concepts that provide suitable 
alternatives to anti-personnel mines and mixed anti-tank mine systems.
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