[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 131 (Wednesday, August 2, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4711-S4713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Venezuela

  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I stand here today to speak about the 
devastation befalling Venezuela--the people raging in the streets 
against unfair elections, the dissidents being seized from their homes 
and detained by security forces, and those starving without food and 
water.
  Venezuela--once one of the most richly resourced countries in Latin 
America--is being dismantled by Nicolas Madura and his flailing 
Chavista regime. It is a human tragedy impacting more than 30 million 
people who are literally witnessing society collapse around them.
  The numbers, sadly, speak for themselves. According to estimates from 
the International Monetary Fund, Venezuela's GDP contracted by almost 
20 percent last year, with inflation reaching some 550 percent and 
unemployment spiking to more than 21 percent. The Pharmaceutical 
Federation of Venezuela estimates that the country suffers from an 85-
percent shortage of medicine and a 90-percent deficit of medical 
supplies, including those needed to treat various types of cancer.
  Men and women, young and old, are going hungry. Thanks to Maduro's 
destruction of the Venezuelan currency, flour, cooking oil, and other 
basic commodities have disappeared from store shelves. Students and 
teachers leave their classrooms for hours on end to stand in line, 
hoping to receive a loaf of bread as a week's meal. The most vulnerable 
are going on what are called Maduro diets--skipping meals and reducing 
their food consumption.
  And Maduro's response? The would-be dictator is threatening to seize 
businesses that don't produce enough and has told Venezuelans that 
doing without makes them tougher. Thousands of Venezuelans have crossed 
borders in search of food and medicine, while Maduro and his cronies 
spin conspiracies and rail against phantom enemies on state media. The 
situation is so dire that the regime has begun ``rewarding'' some of 
its most loyal supporters with toilet paper.
  Alongside the disintegration of Venezuela's economy is the specter of 
Maduro's growing dictatorship. We have just witnessed the sham election 
of a so-called constituent assembly, which Maduro intends to use to try 
to rewrite Venezuela's Constitution, to crush what is left of its free 
political institutions, and to consolidate his grip on power. His 
electoral commission lied about the turnout and downplayed the number 
of government workers whom the regime pressured to participate. While 
Maduro preached dialogue on television, his security forces were busy 
rounding up political opponents and murdering peaceful demonstrators.
  This was not Maduro's first power grab. Earlier this year, his 
handpicked supreme court temporarily dissolved Venezuela's duly-elected 
National Assembly and stripped its members of immunity in what the head 
of Organization of American States called a ``self-coup.'' The regime 
backtracked only after ferocious pressure and condemnation.
  But this week's actions make plain Maduro's intent to complete the 
process begun under his mentor, Hugo Chavez, to transform Venezuela 
into a full socialistic dictatorship. We have seen that socialism 
doesn't work. We have seen the ravages of government control of the 
economy. The Venezuelan people are suffering, and when combined with 
dictatorship, it is a toxic mix.
  Maduro's actions must not continue unchallenged. I support the 
Treasury Department's sanctions against senior Venezuelan officials, 
including Maduro, placing him in the ignominious company of Kim Jong Un 
and Robert Mugabe. We must keep the pressure on and continue to isolate 
and delegitimize Maduro's regime, for behind Maduro can be found China, 
with its billions in infrastructure investments, and Russia, with its 
growing control over Venezuela's energy sector, and Iran, whose 
Hezbollah proxy launders money with Maduro's acquiescence.
  Yet Maduro is not without opposition. Brave men and women in the tens 
of thousands have taken to the streets to demand a better future for 
themselves and their families. Many dozens have been killed by the 
regime's security forces, and hundreds have been detained. These 
freedom-loving people represent the best of Venezuela and fearlessly 
follow in the footsteps of generations of dissidents against Socialist 
repression.
  Just yesterday, Maduro's security forces seized two prominent 
opposition leaders--Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma--for daring to 
criticize his regime on social media. These two men were carted away in 
the middle of the night, leaving their loved ones traumatized and 
frantic without information.
  To Lilian and Mitzi, the wives of these two extraordinary men, I want 
to say that you are two of the strongest people I have ever been 
blessed to meet. You inspire me. Your husbands' fight inspires me and 
millions of Americans and people across the globe. I urge you to 
continue to stand and fight on behalf of your husbands and the many 
others who are held captive by the Chavista government.
  I look forward to welcoming Leopoldo and Antonio back to freedom and, 
I hope, they will play leading roles leading a free Venezuela, a post-
Maduro Venezuela.
  Members of my own family have lived through this sort of oppression 
in Cuba, where a lawless government can raid your home without warning, 
arbitrarily detain your relatives and neighbors, and ensure that you 
hardly, if ever, see them again.
  To Lilian and Mitzi, I will continue to raise my voice and to call 
for action--real action--to help Leopoldo, Antonio, and every other 
Venezuelan willing to stand and risk everything to live in a free and 
prosperous and democratic country. It is well past time to consign 
Chavismo to the dustbin of history.
  To the millions of Venezuelans waiting in lines for food, clothes, 
and medicine, struggling with galloping inflation, fearful of Maduro's 
henchmen detaining their friends and families or gunning them down in 
the streets, and

[[Page S4712]]

thinking themselves helpless in the face of their country's decay, you 
are not alone and should not be afraid.
  America and our allies will help see you through this crisis and help 
you recover. Each new outrage from the Maduro regime only makes our 
solidarity with you grow. You are strong and Maduro is weak. You are 
Venezuela's future, and Maduro is its past. You will win, and Maduro 
will lose.
  Venezuela is not the private preserve of a ``busdriver turned 
authoritarian thug in a tracksuit,'' but instead Venezuela is a proud 
and free nation with a glorious past and an even greater future.
  Through its words and deeds, the Maduro regime has abandoned what 
little legitimacy it might have had. When this regime expires, 
Venezuela will restore its place at the forefront of Latin America and 
become a good friend and partner to America once again.
  We stand with the Venezuelan people as your friend against this 
socialist oppression, and we tell you that there are brighter days 
ahead, brighter days of economic cooperation, of energy growth, of 
abundance of prosperity, of throwing off the shackles of 
totalitarianism.
  Estamos contigo Venezuela, tus mejores dias estan por venir.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Toomey).
  The Senator from New Mexico.


Protect Children, Farmers, and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides 
                                  Act

  Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, this May, a spray of pesticide from a 
nearby orchard drifted over to a field, exposing nearly 50 farmworkers 
in California. They soon became sick with nausea and vomiting. Several 
were hospitalized. The workers described it as a living nightmare.
  The chemical they were exposed to is called chlorpyrifos, a 
neurotoxic pesticide related to sarin gas. It has been in use since it 
was developed by Dow Chemical over 50 years ago. Today, it is most 
often used on fruits and nuts, including strawberries, citrus, apples, 
and pecans from my home State of New Mexico. It is also used on grains 
and vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.
  A few years ago, Bonnie Wirtz also experienced the effects of 
chlorpyrifos. Bonnie is a farmer in Minnesota. She was exposed when 
spray drift came into her home through the air-conditioner. Her heart 
started racing, almost to the point of cardiac arrest, and she couldn't 
breathe. At the hospital, her nurse practitioner told her she wasn't 
surprised. She had seen others with similar reactions.
  About 10 years ago, Claudia Angulo--a farmworker in California's San 
Joaquin Valley--was exposed to chlorpyrifos when she was pregnant. 
Claudia worked sorting oranges, apples, broccoli, and other produce 
treated with the chemical. When her son Isaac was born with a mental 
disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, she 
suspected the pesticides she was exposed to.
  A few years ago, European scientists tested some of Isaac's hair. He 
had traces of over 50 pesticides in his body, and the highest 
concentration was chlorpyrifos. It has long been known that exposure to 
chlorpyrifos can be deadly. After years of study, researchers in the 
United States and a number of other countries now believe there is a 
strong connection between chlorpyrifos exposure and mental disability, 
ADHD, and memory deficit in children. They believe the chemical damages 
children's developing brains, even if they are exposed before birth. 
Latino children, whose parents are exposed to the pesticide, and grow 
up near fields treated with it, are at the greatest risk.
  Scientists believe the pesticide poses a threat even to children 
exposed to it from produce from the grocery store or through drinking 
water. The connection is so strong that scientists at the Environmental 
Protection Agency recommended that the EPA ban all uses of the 
pesticide in 2015. The agency had already negotiated a ban on household 
use 15 years ago.
  This March, the EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt ignored his own 
scientists and the body of scientific evidence that chlorpyrifos is 
dangerous. Instead, he reversed course and refused to ban chlorpyrifos. 
That is why I rise to talk about this danger to our children.
  When moms and dads feed fruits and vegetables to their children, they 
are trying to do the right thing. They shouldn't have to worry that 
these foods are laced with dangerous nerve agents. They shouldn't have 
to worry that the farmworkers who picked that produce or the farmers 
living near it were exposed.
  I have been part of the fight to protect public health and the 
environment from toxic chemicals most of my life. I remember when 
Rachel Carson published ``Silent Spring'' in 1962. My father, Stewart 
Udall, was her champion when she was fiercely attacked by the chemical 
industry.
  Just over a year ago, I led the bipartisan effort to reform the 
broken Toxic Substances Control Act. I spent several years working to 
reform how the EPA regulates chemicals, fighting to stand up a credible 
program that could be respected, that could restore confidence in the 
EPA on chemical safety.
  I am very disappointed to have to do this, to introduce a bill on a 
related matter, pesticide regulation. Normally, I would argue that 
Congress should stay out of the business of regulating individual 
chemicals. That is why the EPA was created, to make thoughtful, 
science-based decisions on issues that affect public health and the 
economy.
  In his first decision at the EPA, the administrator has shown his 
hand. He did not respect the science, not even his own scientific team, 
and not even when the science is overwhelmingly decisive. If the EPA 
and this administration will not act to protect the public, to protect 
children, then Congress must.
  I have studied the case for banning chlorpyrifos. There is no 
question it needs to come off the market. In this situation, I believe 
Congress must step in to protect children's health. That is why I have 
introduced the Protect Children, Farmers, and Farmworkers from Nerve 
Agent Pesticides Act--to do what the EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt 
refuses to do: ban chlorpyrifos.
  Let's look at the reasons for banning chlorpyrifos. There are three 
very good ones. There are three reasons, I believe, this bill is 
necessary. First, Administrator Pruitt is wrong. The science is 
established that chlorpyrifos is a threat to health in its current use. 
The EPA has studied and studied the toxicity of chlorpyrifos for over a 
decade. I have talked to the scientists who have been studying it for 
over 30 years.
  In a December 2014 risk assessment, the EPA found chlorpyrifos caused 
unsafe drinking water contamination. Based on that assessment, the EPA 
formally proposed, in November 2015, to revoke the use of chlorpyrifos 
on food. As recently as December 2016, the EPA reaffirmed its 
determination.
  The pesticide is intended to act on the nervous system of insects, 
but it can act on the human nervous system as well. It can cause 
immediate symptoms like nausea, vomiting, convulsions, respiratory 
paralysis--as Bonnie Wirtz and farmworkers in California experienced. 
In extreme cases, it can kill.
  More worrisome, even low-level exposure of chlorpyrifos to developing 
fetuses in young children can interrupt the development processes of 
the nervous system. Exposure during gestation or childhood is linked 
with lower birth weight, slower motor development, and attention 
problems.
  Long-lasting effects on child brain development from in utero 
exposure also include impaired perceptual reasoning and working memory 
and undermined intellectual development by age 7. Exposure to 
organophosphate pesticides like chlorpyrifos is associated with changes 
in children's cognitive, behavioral, and motor performance. In plain 
English, chlorpyrifos damages children's brains.
  Second, chlorpyrifos was one of the most widely used household 
insecticides until the EPA raised concerns in 2000--17 years ago. 
Household use was phased out. That same year, the EPA discontinued use 
of chlorpyrifos on tomatoes altogether and restricted its uses on 
apples and grapes. Currently, chlorpyrifos is still widely used in 
agriculture, but its use is on the decline.
  In 2012, EPA required no-spray buffers around schools, homes, play 
fields, daycare centers, hospitals, and other public places. Growers 
are already working to find alternatives.

[[Page S4713]]

  The third reason is, scientists, doctors, advocates, I, and many of 
our colleagues were shocked when Administrator Pruitt changed course on 
chlorpyrifos in March, choosing to wait until 2022--5 years from now.
  The American Academy of Pediatrics wrote a letter to Administrator 
Pruitt in June telling him that ``EPA has no new evidence indicating 
that chlorpyrifos exposures are safe.'' As a result, EPA has no basis 
to allow continued use of chlorpyrifos, and its insistence on doing so 
puts all children at risk.
  The science hasn't changed since the EPA proposed to ban chlorpyrifos 
in 2015 and in 2016. Only the politics have.
  The law should protect Americans from unsafe pesticides. Under the 
Food Quality Protection Act, the EPA Administrator ``may establish or 
leave in effect a tolerance for a pesticide chemical residue in or on 
food only if the Administrator determines that the tolerance is safe.''
  ``'Safe' means . . . that there is a reasonable certainty that no 
harm will [come] from aggregate exposure.''
  If the Administrator can't determine that a pesticide is safe, the 
Administrator must revoke or modify the tolerance.
  In the case of chlorpyrifos, Administrator Pruitt did not determine 
the pesticide is safe with reasonable certainty, nor could he. Instead, 
he hid behind his claim that the issue requires years more study.
  This issue has been the subject of litigation for many years. When 
the EPA asked the Federal court overseeing the lawsuit for a mere 6-
month extension for more study, the court gave a resounding no. It 
called the request ``another variation on the theme of `partial 
reports, missed deadlines, and vague promises of future action' that 
has been repeated for the last nine years.''
  The EPA Administrator has now given himself a 5-year extension. He is 
failing to follow the Food Quality Protection Act, and he is tying up 
the Federal Government in more unnecessary and wasteful taxpayer-funded 
litigation. In the meantime, children, farmers, and farmworkers are at 
risk because the Administrator refuses to follow the law.
  It doesn't stop there. Administrator Pruitt wants to dismantle 
protections for farmworkers. The EPA is proposing to delay two rules 
vital to protecting our Nation's farmworkers: The agricultural worker 
protection standard and the certificate of pesticide applicators rule. 
Farmworkers have one of the highest rates of chemical exposure among 
U.S. workers. They are regularly exposed to pesticides. Despite the 
urgent need to protect them and their families, they actually are less 
protected than other workers.
  We don't know exactly why Administrator Pruitt is choosing to believe 
a chemical company over respected scientists at his own Agency and 
around the world, but we can follow the money and guess one reason. 
While the President and the Administrator ignore science and the law, 
they have not ignored Dow Chemical Company. Dow gave the President $1 
million for his inauguration. Its CEO attended the signing ceremony 
when the President issued his Executive order requiring agencies to 
roll back what he called unnecessary regulations. The CEO even got the 
signing pen. And the CEO met with Administrator Pruitt shortly before 
the order not to ban one of Dow's big moneymakers.
  Administrator Pruitt may choose to put aside science, public health, 
and environmental protection in favor of big chemical profits, but 
Congress should not. I urge all of my colleagues, especially those 
across the aisle, to stand with me and pass this protection for 
children, families, farmers, and farmworkers.
  I thank my cosponsors and the cosponsors who are coming aboard every 
day: Senators Blumenthal, Booker, Durbin, Gillibrand, Harris, Markey, 
Merkley, and Cardin.
  There have been many public health and labor groups that have stood 
up on this issue--just to name some of them today: National Hispanic 
Medical Association, Learning Disabilities Association of America, 
Farmworker Justice, Project TENDR, United Farm Workers, Earthjustice, 
GreenLatinos, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, LULAC, 
National Resources Defense Council, Environmental Working Group, 
Pesticide Action Network, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, 
Mana, and others.
  The pesticide registration information act is currently moving 
through Congress. This gives Congress the opportunity to address 
chlorpyrifos use and worker protection. This bill is a good start for 
those discussions.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gardner). The Senator from Connecticut.