[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 7 (Thursday, January 11, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                VENEZUELA'S GROWING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

  (Mr. FITZPATRICK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to a 
growing humanitarian crisis, one that is often forgotten in news around 
the world. Venezuela is suffering through a collapse of its economy and 
Venezuela's children are starving to death.
  According to a recent media report, the number of cases of severe 
malnutrition has nearly tripled in the years since the economic 
collapse, and doctors believe that 2018 will be even worse.
  The Venezuelan Government has taken pains to hide the impact that the 
collapse has had on its population and the role their own repressive 
policies have played, but the recent statistics tell the true story. 
From 2012 to 2015, the mortality rate of infants under 4 weeks old has 
increased tenfold.
  In 2016, 11,446 children under the age of 1 year old have died, an 
increase of 30 percent. Families and children now dig through trash in 
the hopes of finding food. This is a crisis we cannot turn a blind eye 
to. We must work together to address it. I urge my colleagues to keep 
this at the forefront of our consideration.

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