[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 7, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1446-H1447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    VENEZUELA HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to bring attention 
to the sad and tragic truth of what is going on in Venezuela today 
under a cynical socialist thug, the Maduro regime.
  Even though this administration has stepped up and has taken a strong 
stance against Maduro--we have sanctioned a lot of individuals--there 
is still much more that needs to be done.
  And the first step is getting more action by making sure that my 
fellow colleagues are aware of the ongoing crisis in Venezuela and 
helping those who refuse to believe that Maduro can be that bad. Yes, 
he really can be that bad. And we need to understand the suffering and 
the frustration of the Venezuelan people.
  The second step is urging the administration to increase the 
pressure, to use the tools that are available to us, to hold Maduro and 
his evil cronies accountable. We have already seen how some of these 
tools are working, Mr. Speaker.
  Our sanctions are working, so much so that Maduro is actively looking 
at ways to circumvent our sanctions, like this crazy idea of launching 
his own cryptocurrency. We are hitting him where it hurts, and we need 
to build on that momentum.
  But we must also not forget to advocate on behalf of the people of 
Venezuela who are suffering, who are malnourished, and who are sick and 
poor. They lack the most basic medical and food supplies that they 
need--again, all as a result of Maduro's policies. Who would have ever 
thought 30 years ago that Venezuela, that was a breadbasket for South 
America, is now having food shortages throughout the country.
  So I call on the international community to try to see what we can do 
to ease this humanitarian crisis that Venezuelans are going through, 
because this situation is terrible, but I fear that it will get worse.
  Maduro and his thugs are taking advantage of the worsening 
humanitarian situation, defrauding organizations that are looking to 
bring much-needed food and medicine into the country, and making it 
much harder to deliver aid to those who desperately need it.
  This is why my dear friend, Ranking Member Eliot Engel of our Foreign 
Affairs Committee, and I have introduced the Venezuela Humanitarian 
Assistance Act. This bill calls attention to the food shortages, to the 
water shortages, to the severe lack of medicine, to the severe lack of 
medical supplies, and to the lack of other vital goods and services. 
But, more importantly, it directs our great agencies--the USAID, 
especially, and the Department of State--to develop a plan to determine 
how the U.S. can help send in some humanitarian assistance through 
credible and independent nongovernmental organizations that are 
operating in Venezuela or in neighboring countries. It is very 
difficult to get that aid to the people who need it because Maduro does 
not want to help the suffering Venezuelan people.
  This bill passed the House last year, and it sends a strong message 
that we see the millions of people of Venezuela who are suffering and 
that we want to

[[Page H1447]]

help. As the political situation continues to deteriorate because 
socialism does not work, communism does not work, with Maduro 
announcing his sham of elections, another round of elections that only 
the opposition is shut out and only the cronies can win, political 
leaders are still in prison, and protestors continue to be met with 
violence, we must do what we can until this grave humanitarian crisis 
is resolved.

                              {time}  1015

  That is why I urge the international community to take notice of what 
is going on in Venezuela, see how we can come together and pass these 
important measures so that we can help the Venezuelan people. We must 
not stop working until we see once again a free and open, democratic 
Venezuela, free from this socialist and communist regime.

                          ____________________