[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 328 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 328

  Condemning the anti-democratic actions of Venezuelan President Hugo 
  Chavez and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States 
  should strongly support the aspirations of the democratic forces in 
                               Venezuela.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 18, 2005

   Mr. Mack submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Condemning the anti-democratic actions of Venezuelan President Hugo 
  Chavez and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States 
  should strongly support the aspirations of the democratic forces in 
                               Venezuela.

Whereas President Hugo Chavez Frias was democratically elected President of 
        Venezuela in 1998 and reelected in 2000 under the Venezuelan 
        Constitution of 1999;
Whereas President Chavez came to power promising to address the problems of 
        corruption and poverty which plagued previous governments;
Whereas President Chavez made sweeping changes to the political landscape in 
        Venezuela, including the approval of a new constitution, which 
        established a unicameral national assembly and changed the name of the 
        country to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela;
Whereas the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution, which was written by a Constitutional 
        Assembly called by President Chavez and approved by a national 
        referendum, has allowed President Chavez to increase his dominion over 
        the democratic institutions of Venezuela;
Whereas Venezuela signed the Inter-American Democratic Charter on September 11, 
        2001, committing the Venezuelan Government to guarantee ``the essential 
        elements of representative democracy . . . respect for human rights and 
        fundamental freedoms, access to the exercise of power in accordance with 
        the rule of law, the holding of periodic, free, and fair elections based 
        on secret balloting and universal suffrage . . . the pluralistic system 
        of political parties and organizations, and the separation of powers and 
        independence of branches of government'';
Whereas President Chavez' victory in the August 2004 referendum, a 
        constitutionally sanctioned consultative election which he attempted to 
        thwart at every turn, enabled him to virtually rid the political 
        landscape of any official opposition, thereby eliminating any political 
        space in that country;
Whereas President Chavez has stacked the supreme court and lower courts with 
        loyalist judges, severely crippling the independence of the judiciary;
Whereas President Chavez has decreed that all private property deemed ``not in 
        productive use'' will be confiscated by the government and redistributed 
        to third parties;
Whereas President Chavez instituted a media responsibility law which places 
        arbitrary restrictions on broadcast media coverage, imposing severe 
        penalties for alleged violations, and used other legal instruments to 
        intimidate independent media outlets which criticize his government;
Whereas changes to Venezuela's penal code threaten freedom of association and 
        freedom of expression, increasing criminal penalties for alleged 
        ``contempt'' or ``disrespect'' of public officials;
Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) in a 2004 report 
        expressed concerns that ``the Chavez Government's tendency to militarize 
        public administration and allow the military's excessive involvement in 
        political decision making'' should be of grave concern;
Whereas President Chavez has used the legal system to persecute opponents, 
        violating citizens' civil and political rights;
Whereas President Chavez is using the Venezuelan court system to prosecute and 
        jail for up to 16 years four officers of the pro-democracy organization 
        Sumate (Join up) for voter education activities, and helping to collect 
        signatures for the constitutionally-sanctioned presidential recall 
        referendum;
Whereas President Chavez through the recent congressional election now has full 
        control over every institution of the Venezuelan Government, effectively 
        silencing any opposition and eliminating any political space;
Whereas President Chavez undermines traditional labor unions in Venezuela by 
        creating parallel, competing, government-affiliated unions within the 
        same company, which violates current International Labor Organization 
        (ILO) standards;
Whereas Venezuela is a member of the ILO and the ILO has been informed of 
        Venezuela's violations;
Whereas President Chavez and his supporters have stated their intention to use 
        their full control of the national assembly to change the constitution 
        to allow him to remain in power until 2030, well beyond current 
        constitutional limits;
Whereas President Chavez is supporting radical forces in Colombia, Bolivia, and 
        Ecuador, and leftist parties in other nations in the region in an effort 
        to destabilize the already fragile democratic governments;
Whereas President Chavez has purchased 100,000 Russian AK-103 assault rifles and 
        plans to procure the technology to produce additional rifles and 
        ammunition, has signed an agreement with Spain to purchase Spanish-built 
        warships, and has initiated discussions to buy Brazilian fighter 
        aircraft;
Whereas President Chavez has developed a close relationship with Cuban dictator 
        Fidel Castro who is providing President Chavez with advice, medical 
        teams, sports coaches, and assistance with his intelligence and security 
        services;
Whereas President Chavez has also associated himself with other dictators 
        including Muammar Qadafi , Kim Jong Il of North Korea, and the 
        totalitarian regimes in Iran and the People's Republic of China;
Whereas President Chavez was also the only head of state to visit Saddam Hussein 
        after the 1991 Gulf War and while United Nations sanctions were imposed;
Whereas President Chavez has challenged the democratic principle of freedom of 
        religious expression by ordering American missionaries working with 
        indigenous people to leave Venezuela by the end of 2005; and
Whereas President Chavez recently refused entry of a senior United States 
        congressional delegation that was to meet with President Chavez to try 
        to ease tensions between the United States and Venezuela: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) Congress--
                    (A) strongly condemns the actions taken by 
                President Hugo Chavez Frias to increase his control 
                over the democratic institutions in Venezuela and 
                eliminate opposition to his rule as detrimental to 
                democracy in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the 
                future of democracy in Venezuela, and the stability of 
                the entire region;
                    (B) strongly condemns the actions taken by 
                President Chavez to support radical forces in Colombia, 
                Ecuador, and Bolivia in an effort to destabilize those 
                nations;
                    (C) is alarmed by Venezuela's purchase of 100,000 
                Russian AK-103 assault rifles and its plans to procure 
                the technology to produce additional Russian rifles and 
                ammunition on its own, its purchase of Spanish-built 
                warships and planned purchase of Brazilian fighter 
                aircraft, and its efforts to acquire Russian 
                helicopters and fighter jet aircraft, which could start 
                an arms race in the Andes;
                    (D) calls for an end to the continued verbal 
                assaults on the United States and the politically-
                motivated attempts to prevent honest dialogue between 
                the United States and Venezuela meant to help ease 
                tensions between the two countries; and
                    (E) supports the efforts of the Venezuelan 
                democratic civil society to create the necessary 
                conditions for political space for the opposition to 
                include a free and fair election process and open and 
                honest dialogue within Venezuela and the international 
                community; and
            (2) it is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) it should be the policy of the United States to 
                actively support the aspirations of the democratic 
                forces in Venezuela;
                    (B) it should be the policy of the United States to 
                work with the international community, including the 
                Organization of American States, to assist democratic 
                forces in Venezuela;
                    (C) it should be the policy of the United States to 
                work through the Organization of American States and 
                other regional and international organizations to 
                encourage political elements within Venezuela to 
                preserve, protect, and defend democracy against those 
                forces which intend to undermine the tenets, 
                institutions, and processes of a true democracy;
                    (D) it is critical that the 2006 elections in 
                Venezuela be free, fair, and transparent; and
                    (E) the Government of the United States should help 
                to protect political space in Venezuela and to support 
                independent organizations by providing assistance and 
                material support to Venezuelan nongovernmental 
                organizations through the United States Agency for 
                International Development and to political parties 
                through the National Endowment for Democracy and its 
                subordinate organizations, ensuring that the assistance 
                goes for party strengthening and should be open to all 
                legitimate Venezuelan political forces.
                                 <all>