Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I want to comment on an incident that occurred late last week on the floor of the Senate regarding temporary protected status, known as TPS, for people from the country of Venezuela.

TPS can be provided by the President to nationals of a country when that country is experiencing violence or a catastrophe that makes returning to the country unsafe. This is a protection offered by America under many different administrations to help those who might be in the United States when a calamity occurs in their home countries. It has often been granted for countries suffering outbreaks of war or natural disaster, which leads me to the issue of Venezuela.

Currently, the United States is working with regional partners to foster an end to a disastrous dictatorial regime still claiming power in Venezuela.

I was there last year, and I saw what was heartbreaking, considering that this was once a proud Latin American democracy.

People are literally starving in Venezuela. They faint in the workplace from lack of nutrition. Hospitals don't have electric power or the most basic medicines. I visited a children's hospital in Caracas, and they told me they didn't have any antibiotics or the basic cancer drugs necessary for the children who came to their hospital.

Millions are fleeing Venezuela as refugees into neighboring countries. There is brutal political repression. Opposing the dictator, Maduro, is a virtual guarantee of house arrest or worse. Staggering government corruption and a systematic dismantling of that country's democracy are taking place on a regular basis and resulted in election results which were incredible and not believed by anyone in the region when they were announced a few months back.

I have been supportive of this administration's efforts to work with other nations to support the interim Presidency of Juan Guaido and provide assistance to millions of fleeing Venezuelans.

While I fear this issue has escaped President Trump's attention, one simple step he can take is to grant temporary protected status to Venezuelans currently in the United States. Some are here as students and others are here on work visas, but they are on temporary status. What I am asking the President to do is to give them temporary protected status so they will not have to return to Venezuela while the danger still lurks.

Despite repeated requests by myself and many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, President Trump has repeatedly refused. He goes to audiences in Florida and talks about confronting the Venezuelan dictatorship, then he turns around and refuses to give protection to the Venezuelans in the United States who need this protection.

Ironically, while the President's Department of State has issued travel warnings advising Americans not to visit Venezuela because of the danger, this President still will not protect Venezuelans within the United States who are afraid to return.

I have met many such Venezuelans in my home State of Illinois, and I can tell you they are desperately worried about returning to the chaos, violence, and hopelessness of the current Venezuela.

Since the White House refuses to act, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill granting temporary protected status to Venezuelans this last July by a 272-to-158 margin. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Marco Rubio of Florida, and I have introduced a similar Senate bill, but the majority leader, Senator McConnell, refuses to bring up any bill that might not meet the approval of President Donald Trump, even a bill offered by leaders in his own political party.

Senator Menendez and I have tried to call up the House bill for passage only to face objection repeatedly from Senate Republicans.

Last week, to deflect blame from President Trump and the Senate Republicans who object to our bill, the junior Senator from Florida came to the floor with his own approach. He blocked the bipartisan House Venezuela TPS bill from passing and offered a dubious amendment, undermining TPS for others as the price for helping the Venezuelans. In other words, he said: Well, perhaps we can help Venezuelans as long as it is at the expense of others who are in similar status from other countries.

His proposal would in fact significantly weaken the entire temporary protected status. For example, his proposal would require congressional approval of any extension of TPS beyond the original period, and it would limit such extension to an arbitrary 18-month period.

Ultimately, the proposal from the junior Senator from Florida is using the plight of Venezuelans to basically gut the existing Temporary Protected Status Program.

We have seen folks on the other side of the aisle resort to this when it came to DACA--Republicans in the Senate trying to use a vulnerable population, such as the young people who were raised in the United States and want a chance to work their way to citizenship, as bargaining chips for an anti-immigrant agenda. Once again, these Members are simply refusing to stand up to the President when he fails on these issues.

The solution, indeed, is simple. This administration should grant temporary protected status on its own to the Venezuelans, but it refuses. Senate Republicans could pass the bipartisan House bill to grant Venezuelans temporary protected status, but the Senate Republicans refuse.

Let everyone be clear where the real failure to help Venezuelans actually rests. Order of Business

Madam President, at the request of the Republicans on the Senate side, later today, I will be making a unanimous consent request relative to the healthcare issue, which was raised by Senator McConnell earlier. I am told they are not quite ready this morning, so I am going to defer that offer until later in the day when they will be ready, and we can have a colloquy on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

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