[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 51 (Monday, March 25, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2769-H2771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE ACT OF 2019

  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 854) to provide humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people, 
including Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the Americas and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 854

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Humanitarian Assistance to 
     the Venezuelan People Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. REPORT ON THE COORDINATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF 
                   HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF 
                   VENEZUELA INCLUDING STRATEGY ON FUTURE EFFORTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
     coordination with the Administrator of the United States 
     Agency for International Development, shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report outlining the 
     coordination of humanitarian assistance to the people of 
     Venezuela, both in Venezuela and throughout the Western 
     Hemisphere, with nongovernmental organizations and 
     international organizations operating in Venezuela or 
     countries in the region to alleviate the suffering of the 
     Venezuelan people.
       (b) Matters to Be Included.--The report required under 
     subsection (a) shall include the following:
       (1) A description of how and under what circumstances the 
     following humanitarian assistance has been provided:
       (A) Public health commodities for Venezuelan health 
     facilities and services, including medicines on the World 
     Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, and basic 
     medical supplies and equipment.
       (B) Basic food commodities and nutritional supplements 
     needed to address growing malnutrition and improve food 
     security for the people of Venezuela, with a specific 
     emphasis on the most vulnerable populations.
       (C) Technical assistance to ensure health and food 
     commodities are appropriately selected, procured, and 
     distributed, predominantly through local nongovernmental 
     organizations.
       (2) An identification of United States Agency for 
     International Development and Department of State best 
     practices in delivering humanitarian assistance, particularly 
     with regard to food assistance, and how such best practices 
     are being utilized in providing humanitarian assistance to 
     Venezuela and countries in the region.
       (3) A description of current and anticipated challenges to 
     distributing humanitarian assistance in Venezuela and 
     countries hosting Venezuelan migrants.
       (4) A description of efforts to ensure that humanitarian 
     and development assistance for Venezuelans is coordinated 
     with other United States bilateral assistance in the Western 
     Hemisphere and does not result in duplication or omission of 
     such other bilateral assistance.
       (5) A description of how the pre-positioning and 
     distribution of humanitarian assistance is being monitored 
     and evaluated, the number of beneficiaries reached, an 
     assessment of how humanitarian and development assistance is 
     benefitting Venezuelan migrants inside and outside of the 
     country, and what additional staff may be necessary to manage 
     such assistance.
       (6) A strategy for future efforts to provide humanitarian 
     assistance to the people of Venezuela that includes a 
     description of future efforts regarding the matters described 
     in paragraphs (1) through (5).

     SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF CONGRESS.

        Congress strongly condemns all violent actions by the 
     Maduro regime and Venezuela's security forces to block and 
     divert humanitarian assistance from entering Venezuela.

     SEC. 4. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON UNITED STATES EFFORTS 
                   TO PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE 
                   PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA.

       Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
     submit to appropriate congressional committees a report 
     assessing the impact of United States humanitarian assistance 
     on the people of Venezuela, both in Venezuela and throughout 
     the Western Hemisphere, including the total number of 
     beneficiaries reached.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN 
                   ASSISTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA.

       (a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide 
     humanitarian assistance to support the people of Venezuela, 
     both in Venezuela and throughout the Western Hemisphere, in 
     accordance with established international humanitarian 
     principles.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     not less than $150,000,000 is necessary for each of fiscal 
     years 2020 and 2021 to carry out this section.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the President such sums as may be 
     necessary for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to carry out 
     this section.

     SEC. 6. DEFINITION.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the following:
       (A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (B) The Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (C) The Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

[[Page H2770]]

       (D) The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
       (2) Venezuelan security forces.--The term ``Venezuelan 
     security forces'' includes the following:
       (A) The Bolivarian National Armed Forces, including the 
     Bolivarian National Guard.
       (B) The Bolivarian National Intelligence Service.
       (C) The Bolivarian National Police.
       (D) The Bureau for Scientific, Criminal and Forensic 
     Investigations of the Ministry of Interior, Justice, and 
     Peace.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Sires) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 854, the Humanitarian Assistance to 
the Venezuelan People Act of 2019, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, and I 
thank Ms. Mucarsel-Powell for her leadership on this important issue. 
From her first day as a Member of Congress, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell made it 
clear that supporting the Venezuelan people and making sure they 
receive the humanitarian assistance they need would be at the top of 
her agenda. I am proud to partner with her on this bill.
  Over the last few years, we have watched in horror as the Venezuelan 
economy collapsed and rule of law in that country evaporated. Today, 
the man-made crisis created by the Chavez-Maduro regime in Venezuela 
has reached unthinkable levels.
  Ninety percent of the Venezuelan population lives in poverty. Earlier 
this month, the country suffered another massive blow when its electric 
grid collapsed. This made it impossible to refrigerate food, and some 
Venezuelans could no longer receive necessary medical treatments.
  These tremendous hardships have generated a mass exodus from 
Venezuela. Almost 10 percent of the population has fled the country 
over the last 3 years. The United Nations projects that by the end of 
this year, Venezuelans would make up the largest refugee population in 
the world.
  As suffering is only expected to worsen, Congress must do everything 
it can to help the people of Venezuela. Ms. Mucarsel-Powell's 
legislation addresses the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela head-on by 
authorizing new funding and requiring that USAID and the State 
Department develop a humanitarian assistance strategy for the 
Venezuelan people in Venezuela and throughout the region.

                              {time}  1700

  Other countries in the region and particularly our close allies, 
Colombia, have done so much to open up their hearts and their borders 
to the Venezuelan refugees. It is important that the United States help 
ease the burdens on our regional partners, and this bill is an 
important step forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Humanitarian Assistance 
to the Venezuelan People Act introduced by my colleague from Florida 
(Ms. Mucarsel-Powell) and supported enthusiastically by our chairman, 
Albio Sires.
  The humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is unprecedented in our 
hemisphere and is affecting the entire region. So far, more than 3 
million Venezuelans have fled the criminal socialistic dictatorship of 
Maduro, whose mismanagement and repression are creating immense 
challenges for neighboring communities.
  As Chairman Sires said, there are millions of refugees in Colombia, 
the United States, and around the world who fled from Venezuelan 
oppression.
  This bill will ensure that we have a long-term strategy for U.S.-led 
humanitarian assistance to address the crisis so that it is coordinated 
effectively with local partners to meet the needs of its beneficiaries.
  It condemns violent actions by the Maduro regime to block 
humanitarian aid from entering the country, and it authorizes funding 
necessary for future humanitarian assistance.
  The administration has courageously led the humanitarian effort for 
the people of Venezuela and has received invaluable support from the 
Governments of Colombia and Brazil; and, more recently, the Government 
of the Netherlands has agreed to allow the nearby island of Curacao to 
be used as a hub to support future humanitarian aid.
  The United States and this Congress must remain united in our support 
for the people of Venezuela in their struggle for freedom and 
democracy, especially as they struggle to survive without adequate food 
and basic medicines.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the author of this bill, 
the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Mucarsel-Powell).
  Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Sires) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney).
  Nicolas Maduro is an illegitimate president. As a result of his 
brutal dictatorship, the Venezuelan people are suffering in one of the 
worst humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere.
  Without basic food and medicine, people are starving and dying. As 
many as 3.4 million Venezuelans have left the country and migrated to 
neighboring countries, which are having immense difficulty absorbing 
such high volumes of migrants.
  My bill would help alleviate the pain of the Venezuelan people by 
providing humanitarian assistance in accordance with established 
international humanitarian principles to those within the country and 
in the region. It gives Congress the authority to provide as much 
funding as is necessary to address the crisis in both 2020 and 2021, 
with no less than $150 million for each year.
  It also requires the State Department and USAID to show the American 
people the most effective way to coordinate with nongovernmental and 
international organizations operating throughout the region, and the 
bill also requires the administration to submit a report to Congress 
assessing the impact of U.S. humanitarian assistance.
  Maduro has proven that he is willing to let his own people suffer and 
die rather than accept international aid. It is not enough to provide 
USAID with the funds for this aid. The administration must show that 
they are strategically trying everything they can to get the aid to the 
Venezuelan people inside the country, not just leaving it at the 
border. That is what this bill will achieve.
  Finally, the bill expresses Congress' strong condemnation of all 
violent actions by the Maduro regime and Venezuela's security forces to 
block and divert humanitarian assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  Mr. ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, we have no additional speakers.
  I would like to thank the author once again, my colleague, Ms. 
Mucarsel-Powell, and my neighbor in the Cannon Building.
  I would like to also thank, once again, Chairman Sires for his 
leadership in this area, and I enthusiastically encourage everyone in 
this Congress to support this bill and prepare for the day when we can 
get aid to the people of Venezuela.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for 
the purpose of closing.
  I would like to once again thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Mucarsel-Powell) for her remarkable leadership on this issue, which 
demonstrates her strong commitment to the Venezuelan people and to her 
constituents who care so deeply about this issue.
  It is crucial that we stand with our partners and allies in the 
region to provide desperately needed assistance to the Venezuelan 
people and help relieve the burden that Colombians and Venezuela's 
other neighbors have taken on over the last few years.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H2771]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Sires) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 854, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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