[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3795 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3795
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 10 (legislative day, March 7), 2022
Ms. Baldwin (for herself and Mr. Moran) 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 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 HMONG, CHAM, CAMBODIAN, IU-MIEN, KHMU, LAO,
MONTAGNARD, AND VIETNAMESE COMMUNITIES WHO SUPPORTED AND
DEFENDED THE ARMED FORCES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Many Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao,
Montagnard and Vietnamese--
(A) fought and died with United States Armed Forces
during the conflict in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and
1970s;
(B) rescued United States pilots shot down in
enemy-controlled territory and returned the pilots to
safety;
(C) gathered and provided to the United States
Armed Forces intelligence about enemy troop positions,
movement, and strength; and
(D) provided food, shelter, and support to the
United States 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 continuing to fight Khmer Rouge forces as they
advanced upon the capital.
(3) The unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia that still litter forests, rice fields, villages,
school grounds, roads, and other populated areas hinder
development and poverty reduction efforts.
(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, mine and 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, 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 killed or injured by UXO and other
explosive remnants of war since 1979.
(7) The United States is the world's leading financial
supporter of demining and UXO removal programs. Since 1993, the
United States has worked to locate and destroy UXO and other
explosive remnants of war in more than 100 countries, including
in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao,
Montagnard, and Vietnamese Americans deserve recognition for
their support and defense of the United States Armed Forces
during the conflict in Southeast Asia; and
(2) the United States should continue to support activities
to clear UXO and other explosive remnants of war in Vietnam,
Laos, and Cambodia, and strengthen people-to-people ties and
reaffirm America's long-standing commitment to Southeast Asia.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR VIETNAM, LAOS, AND CAMBODIA.
(a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide
humanitarian assistance for programs to support the activities
described in subsection (b).
(b) Activities Supported.--Activities that may be supported by
assistance under subsection (a) include the following:
(1) Developing national surveys of unexploded ordnance
(UXO) and other explosive remnants of war in Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia.
(2) Providing for clearance of such UXO and other explosive
remnants of war.
(3) Providing assistance for capacity building, risk
education, and assistance to survivors, including medical
assistance and prosthetic devices, in Vietnam, Laos, and
Cambodia related to both UXO and other explosive remnants of
war.
(c) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the President
shall seek to consult, partner, and coordinate with international
organizations, civil society, donor governments, and other
stakeholders, as appropriate, to leverage their expertise, financial
support, and resources to minimize duplication of efforts and maximize
the efficient and effective provision of United States assistance.
(d) Briefings.--
(1) Annual briefings.--The President shall provide annual
briefings to the appropriate committees of Congress on
activities undertaken in accordance with this section.
(2) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee of Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the President to carry out this section $100,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
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