[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 126 (Thursday, August 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5790-S5791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 804--RECOGNIZING EDMUNDO GONZALEZ URRUTIA AS THE 
                      PRESIDENT-ELECT OF VENEZUELA

  Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Kaine, 
Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. Bennet) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 804

       Whereas, on July 28, 2024, Venezuela held Presidential 
     elections, the first in the country since the widely 
     discredited Presidential election in 2018;
       Whereas the elections were neither free nor fair, and the 
     process lacked respect for fundamental freedoms, with the 
     Carter Center stating, ``Venezuela's 2024 presidential 
     election did not meet international standards of electoral 
     integrity and cannot be considered democratic.'';
       Whereas President Joe Biden has publicly stated the need 
     for an immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed 
     voting data by Venezuelan authorities;
       Whereas the data released by the vast majority of polling 
     centers showed that the

[[Page S5791]]

     leader of the opposition, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, won with 
     an overwhelming number of votes;
       Whereas the Venezuelan people have demonstrated their 
     desire to live in peace and political freedom, represented by 
     a democratically elected President of their choosing;
       Whereas many international organizations and heads of state 
     have voiced concern with the lack of transparency throughout 
     the electoral process; and
       Whereas numerous countries have either called for 
     transparency in the tally of election results or have 
     rejected the results outright based on clear evidence of 
     fraud, including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican 
     Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, 
     Italy, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and Uruguay: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the victory of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in 
     the Presidential election in Venezuela held on July 28, 2024;
       (2) notes that such recognition is widely shared around the 
     world;
       (3) asserts that the victory of Edmundo Gonzalez marks the 
     return of a democratically elected leader at the national 
     level in Venezuela; and
       (4) stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan people in 
     their democratic aspirations to live freely without 
     repression.

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