[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5947-H5949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING PROFOUND CONCERN ABOUT THE ONGOING POLITICAL, ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN VENEZUELA
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on Foreign Affairs be discharged from further consideration
of the resolution (H. Res. 851) expressing profound concern about the
ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in
Venezuela, urging the release of political prisoners, and calling for
respect of constitutional and democratic processes, and ask for its
immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object,
although I do not intend to object, I am proud to be the sponsor of H.
Res. 851, which expresses profound concern about the shameful and
rampant corruption of President Maduro's government and the plight of
the Venezuelan people.
The Maduro regime's efforts to silence political opposition leaders,
including by jailing Leopoldo Lopez and Daniel de Ceballos, are
unconscionable. And just last week, the National Electoral Council
announced an outrageously high barrier to the referendum on his
government that millions of Venezuelans are demanding.
His flagrant misconduct has brought a series of devastating crises to
Venezuela. Families all across the country are starving. Their local
store shelves are barren, many of them empty of both food and
lifesaving medicine.
And Maduro still refuses to listen to the will of his people. They
are crying out for their voices to be heard and their rights respected,
and we must ensure they are not crying out in vain.
I am proud to cosponsor this legislation with my colleague, the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).
I withdraw my reservation of objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The reservation is withdrawn.
Is there further objection to the request of the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen)?
There was no objection.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 851
Whereas the deterioration of basic governance and the
economic crisis in Venezuela have reached deeply troubling
levels, which in turn have led to an unprecedented
humanitarian situation in Venezuela where millions of people
are suffering from severe shortages of essential medicines
and basic food products;
Whereas Venezuela lacks more than 80 percent of the basic
medical supplies and equipment needed to treat its
population, including medicine to treat chronic illnesses and
cancer as well as basic antibiotics, and 85 percent of
pharmacies are at risk of bankruptcy, according to the
Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation;
Whereas, despite the massive shortages of basic foodstuffs
and essential medicines, President of Venezuela Nicolas
Maduro has rejected repeated requests from the majority of
members of the National Assembly and civil society
organizations to bring humanitarian aid into the country;
Whereas the International Monetary Fund assesses that, in
Venezuela, inflation reached 275 percent and the gross
domestic product contracted 5.7 percent in 2015, and further
projects that inflation will reach 720 percent and the gross
domestic product will contract an additional 8 percent in
2016;
Whereas Venezuela's political, economic, and humanitarian
crisis is fueling social tensions that are resulting in
growing incidents of public unrest, looting, and violence
among citizens;
Whereas these social distortions are taking place amidst an
alarming climate of violence as Caracas continues to have the
highest per capita homicide rate in the world at 120 per
100,000 citizens, according to the United Nations Office on
Drug and Crime;
Whereas the deterioration of governance in Venezuela has
been exacerbated by widespread public corruption and the
involvement of public officials in illicit narcotics
trafficking and related money laundering, which has led to
indictments by the United States Department of Justice and
ongoing investigations by the United States Department of the
Treasury and the United States Drug Enforcement
Administration;
Whereas domestic and international human rights groups
recognize more than 85 political prisoners in Venezuela,
including opposition leader and former Chacao mayor Leopoldo
Lopez, Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, Caracas Mayor Antonio
Ledezma, former Zulia governor Manuel Rosales, and former San
Cristobal mayor Daniel Ceballos;
Whereas, in December 2015, the people of Venezuela elected
the opposition coalition (Mesa de Unidad Democratica) to a
two-thirds majority in the unicameral National Assembly, with
112 out of the 167 seats compared with 55 seats for the
government's Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela party;
Whereas, in late December 2015, the outgoing National
Assembly increased the number of seats in the Supreme Court
of Venezuela and confirmed magistrates politically aligned
with the Maduro Administration and, thereafter, the expanded
Supreme Court has blocked four legislators, including 3
opposition legislators, from taking office;
Whereas, during the first 6 months of the new legislature,
the Supreme Court has repeatedly issued politically motivated
judgments to overturn legislation passed by the
democratically elected National Assembly and block internal
legislative procedures;
Whereas, in 2016, President Maduro has utilized emergency
and legislative decree powers to bypass the National
Assembly, which, alongside the actions of the Supreme Court,
have severely undermined the principles of separation of
powers in Venezuela;
Whereas, in May 2016, Organization of American States
Secretary General Luis Almagro presented a 132-page report
outlining grave alterations of the democratic order in
Venezuela and invoked Article 20 of the Inter-American
Democratic Charter, which calls on the OAS Permanent Council
``to undertake a collective assessment of the situation'';
Whereas, in June 2016, at a joint press conference with
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and President Enrique
Pena Nieto of Mexico, President Barack Obama stated, ``Given
the very serious situation in Venezuela and the worsening
plight of the Venezuelan people, together we're calling on
the government and opposition to engage in meaningful
dialogue and urge the Venezuelan government to respect the
rule of law and the authority of the National Assembly.'';
and
Whereas, at the joint press conference with Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and President Pena Nieto, President Barack
Obama continued, ``Political prisoners should be released.
The democratic process should be respected and that includes
legitimate efforts to pursue a recall referendum consistent
with Venezuelan law.'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses its profound concern about widespread
shortages of essential medicines and basic food products
faced by the people of Venezuela, and urges President Maduro
to permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance;
(2) calls on the Government of Venezuela to immediately
release all political prisoners, to provide protections for
freedom of expression and assembly, and to respect
internationally recognized human rights;
(3) supports meaningful efforts towards a dialogue that
leads to respect for Venezuela's constitutional mechanisms
and resolves the country's political, economic, social, and
humanitarian crisis;
(4) affirms its support for OAS Secretary General Almagro's
invocation of Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic
Charter and urges the OAS Permanent Council, which represents
all of the organization's member states, to undertake a
collective assessment of the constitutional and democratic
order in Venezuela;
[[Page H5948]]
(5) expresses its great concern over the Venezuelan
executive's lack of respect for the principle of separation
of powers, its overreliance on emergency decree powers, and
its subjugation of judicial independence;
(6) calls on the Government of Venezuela and security
forces to respect the Constitution of Venezuela, including
constitutional provisions that provide Venezuelan citizens
with the right to peacefully pursue a fair and timely recall
referendum for their President this year if they so choose;
(7) stresses the urgency of strengthening the rule of law
and increasing efforts to combat impunity and public
corruption in Venezuela, which has bankrupted a resource-rich
country, fuels rising social tensions, and contributes to
elevated levels of crime and violence; and
(8) urges the President of the United States to provide
full support for OAS efforts in favor of constitutional and
democratic solutions to the political impasse, and to
instruct appropriate Federal agencies to hold officials of
the Government of Venezuela accountable for violations of
United States law and abuses of internationally recognized
human rights.
Amendment Offered by Ms. Ros-Lehtinen
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the text of the
resolution at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses its profound concern about widespread
shortages of essential medicines and basic food products
faced by the people of Venezuela, and urges President Maduro
to permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance;
(2) calls on the Government of Venezuela to immediately
release all political prisoners, including United States
citizens, to provide protections for freedom of expression
and assembly, and to respect internationally recognized human
rights;
(3) supports meaningful efforts towards a dialogue that
leads to respect for Venezuela's constitutional mechanisms
and resolves the country's political, economic, social, and
humanitarian crisis;
(4) affirms its support for OAS Secretary General Almagro's
invocation of Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic
Charter and urges the OAS Permanent Council, which represents
all of the organization's member states, to undertake a
collective assessment of the constitutional and democratic
order in Venezuela;
(5) expresses its great concern over the Venezuelan
executive's lack of respect for the principle of separation
of powers, its overreliance on emergency decree powers, and
its threat to judicial independence;
(6) calls on the Government of Venezuela and security
forces to respect the Constitution of Venezuela, including
constitutional provisions that provide Venezuelan citizens
with the right to peacefully pursue a fair and timely recall
referendum for their President this year;
(7) stresses the urgency of strengthening the rule of law
and increasing efforts to combat impunity and public
corruption in Venezuela, which has bankrupted a resource-rich
country, fuels rising social tensions, and contributes to
elevated levels of crime and violence;
(8) urges the President of the United States to provide
full support for OAS efforts in favor of constitutional and
democratic solutions to the political impasse, and to
instruct appropriate Federal agencies to hold officials of
the Government of Venezuela accountable for violations of
United States law and abuses of internationally recognized
human rights; and
(9) urges the President to continue to stand in solidarity
with the Venezuelan people by urging the Maduro government
to--
(A) hold a fair and free recall referendum by the end of
this calendar year;
(B) release all political prisoners, including United
States citizens, from prison;
(C) adhere to democratic principles; and
(D) permit the delivery of emergency food and medicine.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent to dispense with the reading.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
The amendment was agreed to.
The resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
Amendment to the Preamble Offered by Ms. Ros-Lehtinen
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the preamble at
the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas the deterioration of basic governance and the
economic crisis in Venezuela have reached deeply troubling
levels, which in turn have led to an unprecedented
humanitarian situation in Venezuela where millions of people
are suffering from severe shortages of essential medicines
and basic food products;
Whereas Venezuela lacks more than 80 percent of the basic
medical supplies and equipment needed to treat its
population, including medicine to treat chronic illnesses and
cancer as well as basic antibiotics, and 85 percent of
pharmacies are at risk of bankruptcy, according to the
Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation;
Whereas, despite the massive shortages of basic foodstuffs
and essential medicines, President of Venezuela Nicolas
Maduro has rejected repeated requests from the majority of
members of the National Assembly and civil society
organizations to bring humanitarian aid into the country;
Whereas the International Monetary Fund assesses that, in
Venezuela, inflation reached 275 percent and the gross
domestic product contracted 5.7 percent in 2015, and further
projects that inflation will reach 720 percent and the gross
domestic product will contract an additional 8 percent in
2016;
Whereas Venezuela's political, economic, and humanitarian
crisis is fueling social tensions that are resulting in
growing incidents of public unrest, looting, and violence
among citizens;
Whereas these social distortions are taking place amidst an
alarming climate of violence as Caracas continues to have the
highest per capita homicide rate in the world at 120 per
100,000 citizens, according to the United Nations Office on
Drug and Crime;
Whereas the deterioration of governance in Venezuela has
been exacerbated by widespread public corruption and the
involvement of public officials in illicit narcotics
trafficking and related money laundering, which has led to
indictments by the United States Department of Justice and
ongoing investigations by the United States Department of the
Treasury and the United States Drug Enforcement
Administration;
Whereas domestic and international human rights groups
recognize more than 85 political prisoners in Venezuela,
including United States citizens Francisco Marquez and Josh
Holt, opposition leader and former Chacao mayor Leopoldo
Lopez, Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, Caracas Mayor Antonio
Ledezma, former Zulia governor Manuel Rosales, and former San
Cristobal mayor Daniel Ceballos;
Whereas, in December 2015, the people of Venezuela elected
the opposition coalition (Mesa de Unidad Democratica) to a
two-thirds majority in the unicameral National Assembly, with
112 out of the 167 seats compared with 55 seats for the
government's Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela party;
Whereas, in late December 2015, the outgoing National
Assembly increased the number of seats in the Supreme Court
of Venezuela and confirmed magistrates with the Maduro
Administration and, thereafter, the expanded Supreme Court
has blocked four legislators, including 3 opposition
legislators, from taking office;
Whereas the Supreme Court has repeatedly issued politically
motivated judgments to overturn legislation passed by the
democratically elected National Assembly and block internal
legislative procedures;
Whereas, in 2016, President Maduro has utilized emergency
and legislative decree powers to bypass the National
Assembly, which, alongside the actions of the Supreme Court,
have severely undermined the principles of separation of
powers in Venezuela;
Whereas democracy is failing in Venezuela, the Maduro
government controls the presidency, a majority of the
municipalities, the Supreme Court, the military leadership,
the state-owned oil company (PDVSA) leadership, and most of
the media;
Whereas the former Presidents of Spain, Panama, and the
Dominican Republic have pursued dialogue between President
Maduro and the National Assembly;
Whereas, in May 2016, Organization of American States
Secretary General Luis Almagro presented a 132-page report
outlining grave alterations of the democratic order in
Venezuela and invoked Article 20 of the Inter-American
Democratic Charter, which calls on the OAS Permanent Council
``to undertake a collective assessment of the situation'';
Whereas the countries of Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Canada,
Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States, and Uruguay called on
the Venezuelan Government in June 2016 to ``guarantee the
exercise of the constitutional rights of the Venezuelan
people and that the remaining steps for the realization of
the Presidential Recall Referendum be pursued clearly,
concretely and without delay'';
Whereas, in June 2016, at a joint press conference with
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and President Enrique
Pena Nieto of Mexico, President Barack Obama stated, ``Given
the very serious situation in Venezuela and the worsening
plight of the Venezuelan people, together we're calling on
the government and opposition to engage in meaningful
dialogue and urge the Venezuelan government to respect the
rule of law and the authority of the National Assembly.'';
and
Whereas, at the joint press conference with Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and President Pena Nieto, President Barack
Obama continued, ``Political prisoners should be released.
The democratic process should be respected and that includes
legitimate efforts to pursue a recall referendum consistent
with Venezuelan law.'': Now, therefore, be it
[[Page H5949]]
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent to dispense with the reading.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________