[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       VENEZUELA TPS ACT OF 2019

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. BRENDAN F. BOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 23, 2019

  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong 
support of H.R. 549, the Venezuela TPS Act of 2019. I cosponsored this 
bill because I believe this is the right policy to protect the 
thousands of Venezuelans fleeing horrific conditions in their country. 
They don't want to leave. They are being forced to leave.
  Today, the people of Venezuela face economic, political and 
humanitarian crises. The economy has shrunk by nearly 30 percent over 
the past four years, declines often seen only in wartime. Their 
currency erodes daily and is experiencing the highest inflation rates 
in the world. Poverty rates have skyrocketed with over three out of 
every four Venezuelans living in dire straits. Venezuelans can no 
longer meet the recommended 2,000 calories a day. 75 percent of the 
population reported significant weight loss in the last year alone. 
Hospitals are without basic medicines and equipment to treat the sick.
  Venezuela used to be South America's richest nation, now the majority 
of Venezuelans live in unsustainable conditions.
  This crisis is also affecting regional stability. Brazil and Colombia 
are dealing with escalating migrant and refugee flows, as millions of 
Venezuelans cross into their borders. Colombia has taken in almost 1.5 
million Venezuelan refugees, straining their countries resources. The 
U.N. called the exodus from Venezuela the ``largest in recent history 
of Latin America and the Caribbean.''
  It is time for the United States to step up. President Trump has been 
tough on Venezuela's dictator, Maduro, but has shown no mercy to the 
thousands of Venezuelans that have applied for protection in the United 
States. The conditions in Venezuela are exactly what TPS was designed 
to address. It prevents foreign nationals from being deported back to 
countries facing civil unrest.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this 
critical bill tonight.
  This is how we help Venezuelans in the short term.

                          ____________________