[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 178 (Wednesday, December 9, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H9186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          VENEZUELAN ELECTIONS

  (Mr. CURBELO of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday, the people of 
Venezuela took to the polls and, in a loud, clear voice, deposed the 
Chavista ruling party from the National Assembly.
  Polls leading up to the election indicated that a vast majority, 87 
percent of Venezuelans, were dissatisfied with the direction that 
Maduro and his cronies were taking the country.
  Maduro's policies have led Venezuela to having the hemisphere's 
highest inflation rate, causing critical shortages of food and 
medicine, as well as the collapse of the Venezuelan currency and 
rampant crime.
  The newly elected coalition has pledged to make necessary reforms to 
get a handle on the economy. It has also promised to pass laws to 
release the political prisoners that have been unjustly arrested by the 
Maduro regime.
  Sunday's elections were a watershed moment for the Venezuelan people, 
and it charts a new course for their destiny. However, there is still 
hard work that needs to be done to ensure a thriving, prosperous, and 
just Venezuela, at peace with itself and with its people.
  I congratulate the Venezuelan people and the Venezuelan community in 
the United States on this momentous occasion.

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