S. 497
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,
This
Act may be cited as the `Landmine Elimination and Victim Assistance Act of
2001'.
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.
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.
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--'.
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.
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.