Russian-Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding and for his leadership on the Foreign Affairs Committee. His expertise, having been elected to Congress in November, is welcomed.

It is really wonderful to be able to join him on the floor of the House of Representatives to make sure that we continue to voice our support for democracy to be restored in Venezuela and mitigate the threat that Maduro's regime poses to all of us in the Western Hemisphere.

I also extend my thanks to Mr. Engel, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mr. McCaul, the ranking member, both of whom have really come together with the bills that were adopted earlier, and with this one, to make sure that it is demonstrated very clearly that there is no daylight in the United States when it comes to the issue of making sure that we can restore democracy to Venezuela.

Mr. Speaker, the people of Venezuela are suffering right now under the rule of a brutal despot, Nicolas Maduro. The widespread starvation, economic devastation, and public health crisis he has inflicted on his own people has been absolutely heartbreaking to witness. I saw this tragedy up close when my colleague, Representative Donna Shalala, and I traveled to the Colombian-Venezuelan border earlier this month.

The stories we heard and what we saw was gut-wrenching: easily avoidable medical tragedies; blockaded humanitarian aid; and because of a lack of access to vaccines, the rampant spread of disease cured long ago. We witnessed these tragic realities firsthand.

I also hear these horrific experiences from my own friends and neighbors when I return to my hometown of Weston, affectionately known in south Florida and around the world, quite frankly, as Westonzuela.

It is no surprise that this cruel regime has very few friends. Not surprisingly, one of them is the Kremlin. That is why the Russia- Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act is so urgently needed. This bill would require the State Department to provide a crucial threat assessment of Russia's influence in Venezuela.

Just this weekend, we saw media reports that more Russian military officials continue to arrive in Venezuela. According to the latest reports, planes brought in Russian cargo, advisers, and officials to train the same Venezuelan military apparatus that is keeping Maduro in power. This is just the latest attempt in a long-running push by Vladimir Putin to prop up this brutal autocrat.

In December, the Russian Federation sent two Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela for joint exercises. The Tu-160 can carry conventional or nuclear-tipped cruise missiles with an estimated maximum range of around 3,000 miles. That same month, Russian and Venezuelan forces took part in a joint 10-hour exercise across the Caribbean with these Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers.

This menacing Kremlin influence creates not only a hurdle to restoring a functioning, legitimate democracy to the people of Venezuela, but it also poses an imminent military threat to the entire Western Hemisphere. We not only need a detailed assessment of what kind of threat this poses but a strategy for dealing with it. Under this bill, the State Department would be required to deliver both essential diplomatic tools to Congress.

Our goal, regardless of party, is to allow for the peaceful transition to Venezuela's rightful leader, interim President Juan Guaido, and for the peaceful execution of free and fair elections. That will not happen soon enough, so long as Putin troops are helping prop up Maduro's bloody regime.

Another invaluable crutch the Kremlin has handed Maduro is pipelined through the embattled nation's oil supply. As his people suffer and protest all around him, Maduro survives inside an oil-soaked cocoon that the Russian Federation provides to his regime.

Maduro secures these lifeline loans by promising to repay the Russians with future oil exports. But amid Venezuela's economic crisis, Maduro, not surprisingly, fell behind on those payments, reports indicate, beginning in 2017. News reports suggest that the Russian state oil company Rosneft lent the Venezuelan state oil company billions of dollars, partly as a prepayment for its crude oil.

Those oily tentacles are another reason why the Russia-Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act is so vital. This bill would also require the President to give Congress an assessment of the security risks posed by any potential Russian acquisition of the U.S. energy infrastructure holdings of CITGO, which is owned by Venezuela. By monitoring the CITGO acquisition risks, we monitor one of Maduro's vital veins of sustenance.

Finally, what this bill would also do is allow the United States to use the diplomatic tools of travel to discourage further Russian- Venezuelan military entanglements. It would block travel to the United States by anyone who is acting or has acted on behalf of the Russian Government in direct support of the Venezuelan security forces.

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, except in rare circumstances, this bill would allow for a ban and immediate revocation of visas from anyone working on behalf of the Russian Government to directly bolster the Venezuelan security forces.

Right now, the people of Venezuela are enduring an unimaginable onslaught of hunger, preventable medical dangers, and dire escalating economic pain. We cannot stand idly by while Putin assists Maduro in carrying out this inhumane and barbaric tragedy.

The Russian-Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act will make it harder for the Kremlin to outfit Maduro with weapons of oppression. This bill will also allow the United States to monitor and minimize the threat that Russia poses to the entire region.

Restoring democracy to Venezuela will not happen overnight. No single action alone could bring it about. But combined with the strong humanitarian aid and military export bills my colleagues have crafted that have passed on the floor tonight, the Russian-Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act will provide part of the comprehensive solution this all-encompassing tragedy needs.

The Venezuelan people, including my friends and neighbors back home, desperately need this relief.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard real stories of neighbors and friends standing in front of me, describing the Maduro regime's confiscation of their businesses, just coming in one day and taking over everything. They have wrought devastation across that land. Venezuela was once a vibrant, rich, successful democracy that he has driven into the ground for his own enrichment.

We can help bring this to an end through bills like the Russian- Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their support of this critical legislation.

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