[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6539 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6539

   To establish a Venezuela Restoration Fund, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 2022

  Mr. Crist introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a Venezuela Restoration Fund, 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 ``Preserving Accountability for 
National Assets Act of 2021'' or the ``PANA Act''.

SEC. 2. VENEZUELA RESTORATION FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the United States 
Treasury a fund, to be known as the ``Venezuela Restoration Fund'', 
which shall consist of amounts deposited in the Fund under subsection 
(c).
    (b) Uses.--Amounts in the Fund--
            (1) shall be available to the Secretary of State only for 
        the purposes described in paragraph (2), without fiscal year 
        limitation or need for subsequent appropriation;
            (2) shall be used only for the purposes of--
                    (A) strengthening democratic governance and 
                institutions, including the democratically elected 
                National Assembly of Venezuela;
                    (B) defending internationally recognized human 
                rights for the people of Venezuela, including support 
                for efforts to document crimes against humanity and 
                violations of human rights;
                    (C) supporting the efforts of independent media 
                outlets to broadcast, distribute, and share information 
                beyond the limited channels made available by the 
                Maduro regime; and
                    (D) combatting corruption and improving the 
                transparency and accountability of institutions that 
                are part of the Maduro regime;
            (3) may support governmental and nongovernmental parties in 
        advancing the purposes described in paragraph (2); and
            (4) shall be allocated in a manner complementary to 
        existing United States foreign assistance, diplomacy, and anti-
        corruption activities.
    (c) Funding.--Beginning on or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of 
any funds or assets forfeited to the United States by an individual or 
entity connected to the regimes of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro in 
Venezuela, the funds or assets will be deposited in the Venezuela 
Restoration Fund established under subsection (a).
    (d) Report on Deposit of Funds.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and every 90 days thereafter, the 
Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report that includes an accounting of the amount and 
sources of funds that have been deposited into the Venezuela 
Restoration Fund established under subsection (a) during the preceding 
90-day period.
    (e) Notification on Expenditure of Funds.--Upon expenditure of 
funds from the Venezuela Restoration Fund established under subsection 
(a), the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a summary of the obligation, amounts, and 
expenditure of such funds.
    (f) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate.
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