[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8795-8796]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               VENEZUELA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.

[[Page 8796]]


  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, in the last 2 months alone, reports 
indicate that nearly 3,000 Venezuelans have been jailed and 69 have 
been killed by the regime. Peaceful protests have led Venezuelan 
strongman Nicolas Maduro to issue a decree to convene a constituent 
National Assembly, what he calls a constituente, in order to rewrite 
Venezuela's constitution.
  But as we all know, Mr. Speaker, Maduro is fooling no one. This is 
just another attempt to undermine and discredit the current 
democratically elected legislature in the National Assembly. Another 
attempt of a power grab which seeks to consolidate more power around 
the executive and possibly rewrite the constitution to favor only one 
individual: Nicolas Maduro. Another attempt to pull a fast one over 
some in the international community who may make the mistake and call 
this weak and dangerous gesture progress.
  But we know the truth. This is not progress. In fact, this is a major 
setback to democracy. Maduro is once again trying to delay the 
inevitable: free, fair, transparent, and democratic elections in 
Venezuela under the supervision of credible international observers.
  Making matters worse, Goldman Sachs is also adding to the Venezuelan 
people's misery. Last week, the investment bank bought $2.8 billion in 
Venezuelan bonds, not only providing the Maduro regime a lifeline in 
the short term but saddling the Venezuelan people with crippling debt 
repayments in the long term.
  When, not if, a democratically elected president comes to the 
Venezuelan people, they will be stuck with the bill and face the 
responsibility to pay for this debt.
  With so many Venezuelans lacking basic goods, including food, many 
have taken to calling these bonds hunger bonds, as the regime lines its 
own pockets and the Venezuelan people continue to suffer.
  This is unconscionable, Mr. Speaker. Venezuela's pervasive corruption 
means any infusion of cash like Goldman Sachs will not benefit the 
people of Venezuela who desperately need it. Instead, Maduro and his 
thugs fill their coffers and use the cash to abuse the Venezuelan 
people and use it to stay in power.
  Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, was already sanctioned in 
the year 2011, for helping Iran avoid its own sanctions. Venezuela's 
Tarek El Aissami, second in command to Maduro, was sanctioned by our 
U.S. Treasury Department early this year under the Foreign Narcotics 
Kingpin Designation Act. Can you imagine? The regime's longstanding 
ties to drug trafficking and other illicit activities are only now 
being exposed, and U.S. businesses should be avoiding deals with Maduro 
like the plague.
  But the private sector is not the only one aiding the Maduro regime. 
Sadly, the U.S. government is also helping prop up the regime. How? By 
allowing purchases of Venezuelan oil. This keeps Maduro afloat. In 
2016, Venezuela remained the third largest foreign crude oil supplier 
to the United States behind Canada and Saudi Arabia. In 2016, oil 
exports from Venezuela were valued at $10.5 billion. During the first 3 
months of 2017, value of oil exports from Venezuela to us here in the 
United States was already worth $3.5 billion. Financial transactions 
like these made to Maduro or any other despotic regime should be 
prevented.
  We have a moral obligation to respect the suffering needs of the 
Venezuelan people and help alleviate this suffering.


           50th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, later today, together with Israel's 
Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, we will be joined live 
from Jerusalem by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Speaker of the Knesset 
Edelstein for a special event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of 
the reunification of Jerusalem--Israel's eternal capital.
  I led a congressional delegation visit to Israel last week, and we 
met with both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Speaker Edelstein at the 
Knesset in Jerusalem.

                              {time}  1030

  We also toured the famous City of David and saw discoveries that 
prove, without a doubt, that Jews have lived in Jerusalem for 
millennia. This is important, Mr. Speaker, because there are efforts at 
the United Nations--at UNESCO and the Human Rights Council--that seek 
to erase all Jewish ties to Jerusalem.
  As we are set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem's 
reunification, we should take this opportunity to rebuff such efforts 
at the U.N. and, instead, reinforce that Jerusalem is, was, and always 
will be the eternal home of the Jewish people.

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