| The
Landmine Elimination and Victim Assistance Act of 2001 is. . .
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. Click here to see which Senators and members of the House of Representatives were original co-sponsors of the Landmine Elimination and Victim Assistance Act of 2001. (Glenn, here is the list) Co-sponsors of the Landmine Elimination and Victim Assistance Act of 2001 as of March 14, 2001. Click
here to see which Senators and members of the House of Representatives
were original co-sponsors of the Landmine Elimination and Victim
Assistance Act of 2001.
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