Venezuelan Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume and rise in strong support of H.R. 4587, the Venezuelan Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act.

I would first like to thank Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen for authoring this legislation and for her dedication to these important issues.

The eyes of this Congress and the international community are on Venezuela and President Nicolas Maduro and his security forces as they crack down on peaceful protesters. It is an absolute tragedy that 42 people have been killed in protests throughout the country. I am also troubled that opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez remains in jail on charges while many others have been unjustly detained by the Maduro government.

I am grateful for President Obama and Secretary Kerry's strong statements condemning the government's reprehensible actions. Let me say that all of us in Congress want nothing more than a peaceful resolution to this conflict. It was disappointing when negotiations between the Maduro government and the opposition broke down, and I hope that these talks can be revived.

In March, the House of Representatives passed a resolution which encouraged ``a process of dialogue between the Government of Venezuela and the political opposition to end the violence.'' I continue to believe that dialogue is the best way out of this crisis. In the meantime, the legislation that we are considering today makes it clear that the United States will not turn a blind eye to human rights violations.

This bill has been crafted to impose targeted sanctions on human rights violators in Venezuela, while not harming average Venezuelans who are already suffering as a result of terrible economic mismanagement by the country's leaders.

While the Venezuelan Government might try to say otherwise, let us be clear: there is not a single provision in this bill that would negatively affect the average Venezuelan. This bill does not touch the Venezuelan oil sector or other parts of the country's economy. Instead, the Venezuelan Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act revokes visas and freezes assets of human rights violators. Finally, it is important to note that this bill gives President Obama a great deal of flexibility to respond to events on the ground in Venezuela. Each and every sanction in this bill can be waived by the President at any time.

I would also point out, Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned when this came up in committee and as the gentlewoman will remember, that it is important that the United States sends a strong signal in Latin America. Although we understand that each of the Latin American countries is distinct and different and all have different histories, we witnessed in the 1960s through the 1980s many thousands of students who disappeared, who were removed from their homes by their governments because of the protests that were going on in those countries at the time. We want to make sure that that never happens again, and this bill is important in ensuring that the Venezuelan Government understands that the United States is watching and that we will make sure that something like that doesn't happen again.

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