I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9540 
To authorize assistance to support activities relating to the clearance of 
landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive remnants of war 
in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and to recognize the refugee and 
immigrant communities who supported and defended the Armed Forces 
during the conflict in Southeast Asia, including Hmong, Cham, Cam-
bodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and Vietnamese Americans, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2022 
Mr. CHABOT (for himself, Ms. SPEIER, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. BERA, Mr. 
MEIJER, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, and Mr. KHANNA) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on For-
eign Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize assistance to support activities relating to the 
clearance of landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other 
explosive remnants of war in Cambodia, Laos, and Viet-
nam, and to recognize the refugee and immigrant com-
munities who supported and defended the Armed Forces 
during the conflict in Southeast Asia, including Hmong, 
Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, 
and Vietnamese Americans, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Legacies of War Rec-
ognition and Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RECOGNITION OF THE COMMUNITIES WHO SUP-
PORTED 
AND 
DEFENDED 
THE 
ARMED 
FORCES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) During the conflict in Southeast Asia dur-
ing the 1960s and 1970s, many Hmong, Cham, 
Cambodians, Iu-Mien, Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and 
Vietnamese people— 
(A) fought and died with the Armed 
Forces; 
(B) rescued United States pilots shot down 
in enemy-controlled territory and returned the 
pilots to safety; 
(C) gathered and provided intelligence to 
the Armed Forces about enemy troop positions, 
movement, and strength; and 
(D) provided food, shelter, and support to 
members of the Armed Forces. 
(2) The national armed forces of Cambodia fa-
cilitated the evacuation of the United States Em-
bassy in Phnom Penh on April 12, 1975, by fighting 
Khmer Rouge forces that advanced upon the capital. 
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(3) A tragic legacy of the conflict in Southeast 
Asia is the lethal risk posed by landmines, 
unexploded ordnance (in this Act, referred to as 
‘‘UXO’’), and explosive remnants of war in Vietnam, 
Laos, and Cambodia that still litter forests, rice 
fields, villages, school grounds, roads, and other pop-
ulated areas, hindering development and efforts to 
reduce poverty. 
(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, 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 re-
mains contaminated with tens of millions of small, 
unexploded cluster munitions. Since 1964, UXO and 
other explosive remnants of war have injured or 
killed more than 50,000 civilians in Laos. 
(6) Cambodia has experienced one of the high-
est rates of landmine and UXO casualties in the 
world. Over 64,000 Cambodians have been injured 
or killed by landmines, UXO, or other explosive rem-
nants of war since 1979. 
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(7) The United States is the world’s leading fi-
nancial supporter of demining and programs to re-
move UXO. Since 1993, the United States has pro-
vided more than $3,700,000,000 in assistance to lo-
cate and destroy UXO and other explosive remnants 
of war in more than 100 countries, including more 
than $148,000,000 in Vietnam, $230,000,000 in 
Laos, and $154,000,000 in Cambodia. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) the Hmong, Cham, Cambodian, Iu-Mien, 
Khmu, Lao, Montagnard, and Vietnamese people de-
serve recognition for their support and defense of 
the Armed Forces during the conflict in Southeast 
Asia; and 
(2) the United States should continue to sup-
port activities to clear landmines, UXO, and other 
explosive remnants of war in Vietnam, Laos, and 
Cambodia, while strengthening people-to-people ties 
and reaffirming the long-standing commitment of 
the United States to Southeast Asia. 
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SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR VIETNAM, 
LAOS, AND CAMBODIA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide hu-
manitarian assistance to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia 
for programs to support the following: 
(1) The development or updating of national 
surveys of landmines, UXO, and other explosive 
remnants of war. 
(2) Clearance of such landmines, UXO, and 
other explosive remnants of war. 
(3) Stockpile management of small arms, light 
weapons, and ammunition. 
(4) Capacity building, risk education, destruc-
tion, and physical security related to landmines, 
UXO, and other explosive remnants of war. 
(5) Survivors of incidents involving landmines, 
UXO, and other explosive remnants of war, includ-
ing by providing medical assistance and prosthetic 
devices related to landmines, UXO, and other explo-
sive remnants of war. 
(b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 
President shall seek to consult, partner, and coordinate 
with international organizations, civil societies, donor gov-
ernments, and other stakeholders, as the President deter-
mines appropriate, to leverage the expertise, financial sup-
port, and resources of such entities to minimize duplica-
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tion of efforts and maximize the efficient and effective pro-
vision of assistance from the United States. 
(c) REPORTING AND BRIEFING.— 
(1) REPORTING.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the President 
shall provide a report to the appropriate committees 
of Congress on activities undertaken in accordance 
with this section on the progress of amounts made 
available from the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, 
Demining, and related programs account for 
demining and clearance of landmines, UXO, and 
other explosive remnants of war in Vietnam, Laos, 
and Cambodia. Such reports shall also include— 
(A) the status of amounts made available 
from 
the 
Nonproliferation, 
Anti-terrorism, 
Demining, and related programs account that 
are obligated pursuant to authorities provided 
by prior Acts and the status of unallocated 
amounts made available to such account as of 
the date of enactment of this Act; 
(B) a description of how Nonproliferation, 
Anti-terrorism, Demining, and related programs 
account funds have contributed to landmine, 
UXO, and other explosive remnants of war 
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clearance efforts in Vietnam, Laos, and Cam-
bodia; 
(C) estimates of contaminated land that 
has been cleared, land that still contains land-
mines, UXO, and other explosive remnants of 
war, land that has not been assessed for con-
tamination, and data on the origin of any anti-
personnel mines cleared, to the extent possible; 
(D) a description of collaboration between 
the United States and the governments of Viet-
nam, Laos, and Cambodia including past and 
current progress to date in establishing nation-
wide contamination databases in such countries 
to refine landmine, UXO, and other explosive 
remnants of war locations and target clearance 
efforts; and 
(E) an assessment on the efforts of the 
Department of State to work with the Lao Peo-
ple’s Democratic Republic regarding repatri-
ation and the efforts and effectiveness of re-
integration of Hmonh, Lao, Khmu, and Mien or 
Yao descent who arrive in the United States as 
refugees fleeing persecution in the Lao People’s 
Democratic Republic. 
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(2) BRIEFINGS.—The President shall annually 
brief the appropriate committees of Congress on ac-
tivities undertaken in accordance with this section 
for each year for which amounts are authorized 
under subsection (d). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated 
to 
the 
President 
$100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2023 through 
2027 to carry out this section. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Armed Services, and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Armed Services, and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the Senate. 
(2) The term ‘‘unexploded ordnance’’ or 
‘‘UXO’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
101 of title 10, United States Code. 
Æ 
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