[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6436-6437]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                      VENEZUELA REFUGEE ASSISTANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Comer). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for over a decade, thousands of 
Venezuelans were forced to flee the brutal Chavez dictatorship, and the 
situation has only worsened under his handpicked successor, Nicolas 
Maduro.
  Over the last several years, the people of Venezuela have 
increasingly spoken out against the Maduro regime, and time and time 
again he has attempted to silence them. In the last few weeks alone, 
the world has seen countless examples of the regime's thuggish tactics, 
unethical behavior, and lethal force against innocent civilians.
  Top opposition leaders like Leopoldo Lopez remain locked up in 
Maduro's prisons, while the dictator continues to stop at nothing to 
try and control all branches of government. Thousands of opposition 
protesters have been arrested and dozens have been left for dead or 
killed.
  So in response to this continued political crisis, I have joined with 
my colleagues Darren Soto, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Debbie Wasserman 
Schultz to introduce bipartisan legislation allowing Venezuelan 
nationals who have made a new home in the United States to remain here 
if they choose to do so, since it is too dangerous to return to their 
home country.
  Instead of returning to the instability and uncertainty in Venezuela, 
these individuals would be granted legal permanent residency, so long 
as they do not have a criminal record and have never been involved in 
the persecution of others, eliminating any possibility of human rights 
violators or Chavista thugs accessing our legal immigration system.
  The people of Venezuela deserve the American people's support and 
admiration for their continued fight against the brutal Maduro anti-
American regime. Honest and hardworking Venezuelans who would be 
persecuted or imprisoned unjustly should they return to their country 
should be allowed the opportunity to take refuge here in the United 
States.


                    Flood Insurance Reauthorization

  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the 
critical issue of reforming and reauthorizing the National Flood 
Insurance Program.

[[Page 6437]]

For my constituents in south Florida and the Florida Keys, and for 
coastal communities across the country, flood insurance is an absolute 
necessity to protect against natural disasters. But the program is 
flawed and saddled with $23 billion of debt.
  We have a unique opportunity in the coming months to address the 
issues that matter most to our constituents, providing for optimal 
coverage at rates that are affordable to policyholders and based on 
accurate flood maps. There are numerous solutions I am studying, such 
as expanding the use of Write Your Own policies and growing the private 
insurance market, as long as strict oversight protocols are established 
and a Federal backstop is in place.
  We should also promote stronger building standards for new 
construction projects that will better withstand flooding and strong 
winds. In Florida, we are a payee State, a donor State into the NFIP, 
but have also adopted strong building standards to reduce cleanup costs 
after the damage of a natural disaster has been done.
  As Congress works to reform the NFIP, I will find commonsense 
solutions with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure our 
constituents have access to reliable coverage at fair and appropriate 
rates.


                    Miami-Dade County Public Schools

  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
seven Miami-Dade County schools that were recently named to the USA 
Today's top 100 public schools in the country, including Archimedean 
Upper Conservatory Charter School in my own district.
  The rankings are based on graduation rates, reading, and math scores 
on State standardized tests, including how low-income and minority 
students fared in comparison to the State average, and the number of 
students taking college-level advanced placement courses and scoring 
well on the corresponding tests.
  As a former Miami-Dade County Public School Board member, I am 
incredibly proud to see the tremendous growth and success of these 
schools in south Florida. MDCPS was in the midst of a financial and 
moral recovery when I was on the board just a few years ago; and during 
my time there, we improved the quality of education and put students 
and teachers first, resulting in major gains in student performance and 
graduation rates.
  Today, Superintendent Carvalho and the board continue to make great 
progress. The teachers, staff, administrators, and parents at these 
schools are working to ensure our students have the best education 
possible.
  Congratulations on this honor. I look forward to visiting the 
Archimedean Owls back home in the very near future.

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