[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2142 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 401
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2142
[Report No. 113-175]
To impose targeted sanctions on persons responsible for violations of
human rights of antigovernment protesters in Venezuela, to strengthen
civil society in Venezuela, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 13, 2014
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Kirk, and Mr.
McCain) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
May 22, 2014
Reported by Mr. Menendez, with amendments
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To impose targeted sanctions on persons responsible for violations of
human rights of antigovernment protesters in Venezuela, to strengthen
civil society in Venezuela, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Venezuela Defense of Human Rights
and Civil Society Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the National
Statistical Institute of Venezuela have stated that the
inflation rate in Venezuela was 56.30 percent in 2013, the
highest level of inflation in the Western Hemisphere and the
third highest level of inflation in the world behind South
Sudan and Syria.
(2) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the Government of
Venezuela have imposed a series of currency controls that has
exacerbated economic problems and, according to the World
Economic Forum, has become the most problematic factor for
doing business in Venezuela.
(3) The Central Bank of Venezuela and the National
Statistical Institute of Venezuela have declared that the
scarcity index of Venezuela reached 28 percent in December
2013, which signifies that one in 4 basic goods is unavailable
at any given time.
(4) Since 1999, violent crime in Venezuela has risen
sharply and the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, an independent
nongovernmental organization, found the national per capita
murder rate to be 79 per 100,000 people in 2013.
(5) The international nongovernmental organization Human
Rights Watch recently stated, ``Under the leadership of
President Chavez and now President Maduro, the accumulation of
power in the executive branch and the erosion of human rights
guarantees have enabled the government to intimidate, censor,
and prosecute its critics.''.
(6) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013
of the Department of State maintained that in Venezuela ``the
government did not respect judicial independence or permit
judges to act according to the law without fear of
retaliation'' and ``the government used the judiciary to
intimidate and selectively prosecute political, union,
business, and civil society leaders who were critical of
government policies or actions''.
(7) The Government of Venezuela has detained foreign
journalists and threatened and expelled international media
outlets operating in Venezuela, and the international
nongovernmental organization Freedom House declared that
Venezuela's ``media climate is permeated by intimidation,
sometimes including physical attacks, and strong antimedia
rhetoric by the government is common''.
(8) Since February 4, 2014, the Government of Venezuela has
responded to antigovernment protests with violence and killings
perpetrated by public security forces, and by arresting and
unjustly charging opposition leader Leopoldo Lopes with
criminal incitement, conspiracy, arson, and intent to damage
property.
(9) As of March 13, 2014, 23 people had been killed, more
than 100 people had been injured, and dozens had been unjustly
detained as a result of antigovernment demonstrations
throughout Venezuela.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN
VENEZUELA AND THE NEED TO PREVENT FURTHER VIOLENCE IN
VENEZUELA.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States aspires to a mutually beneficial
relationship with Venezuela based on respect for human rights
and the rule of law and a functional and productive
relationship on issues of public security, including
counternarcotics and counterterrorism;
(2) the United States supports the people of Venezuela in
their efforts to realize their full economic potential and to
advance representative democracy, human rights, and the rule of
law within their country;
(3) the chronic mismanagement by the Government of
Venezuela of its economy has produced conditions of economic
hardship and scarcity of basic goods and foodstuffs for the
people of Venezuela;
(4) the failure of the Government of Venezuela to guarantee
minimal standards of public security for its citizens has led
the country to become one of the most violent in the world;
(5) the Government of Venezuela continues to take steps to
remove checks and balances on the executive, politicize the
judiciary, undermine the independence of the legislature
through use of executive decree powers, persecute and prosecute
its political opponents, curtail freedom of the press, and
limit the free expression of its citizens;
(6) the people of Venezuela, responding to ongoing economic
hardship, high levels of crime and violence, and the lack of
basic political rights and individual freedoms, have turned out
in demonstrations in Caracas and throughout the country to
protest the inability of the Government of Venezuela to ensure
the political and economic well-being of its citizens; and
(7) the repeated use of violence perpetrated by the
National Guard and security personnel of Venezuela, as well as
persons acting on behalf of the Government of Venezuela, in
relation to the antigovernment protests that began on February
4, 2014, is intolerable and the use of unprovoked violence by
protesters is also a matter of serious concern.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD VENEZUELA.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to support the people of Venezuela in their aspiration
to live under conditions of peace and representative democracy
as defined by the Inter-American Democratic Charter of the
Organization of American States;
(2) to work in concert with the other member states within
the Organization of American States, as well as the countries
of the European Union, to ensure the peaceful resolution of the
current situation in Venezuela and the immediate cessation of
violence against antigovernment protestors;
(3) to hold accountable government and security officials
in Venezuela responsible for or complicit in the use of force
in relation to the antigovernment protests that began on
February 4, 2014, and similar future acts of violence; and
(4) to continue to support the development of democratic
political processes and independent civil society in Venezuela.
SEC. 5. SANCTIONS ON PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLENCE IN VENEZUELA.
(a) In General.--The President shall impose the sanctions described
in subsection (b) with respect to any person, including a current or
former official of the Government of Venezuela or a person acting on
behalf of that Government, that the President determines--
(1) has perpetrated, or is responsible for ordering,
controlling, or otherwise directing, significant acts of
violence or serious human rights abuses in Venezuela against
persons associated with the antigovernment protests in
Venezuela that began on February 4, 2014;
(2) has directed or ordered the arrest or prosecution of a
person primarily because of the person's legitimate exercise of
freedom of expression or assembly; or
(3) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided
significant financial, material, or technological support for,
or goods or services in support of, the commission of acts
described in paragraph (1) or (2).
(b) Sanctions Described.--
(1) In general.--The sanctions described in this subsection
are the following:
(A) Asset blocking.--The exercise of all powers
granted to the President by the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the
extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions
in all property and interests in property of a person
determined by the President to be subject to subsection
(a) if such property and interests in property are in
the United States, come within the United States, or
are or come within the possession or control of a
United States person.
(B) Exclusion from the united states and revocation
of visa or other documentation.--In the case of an
alien determined by the President to be subject to
subsection (a), denial of a visa to, and exclusion from
the United States of, the alien, and revocation in
accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of any visa or
other documentation of the alien.
(2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of
paragraph (1)(A) or any regulation, license, or order issued to
carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the penalties
set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to
the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act
described in subsection (a) of that section.
(3) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters
agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to
an alien if admitting the alien into the United States is
necessary to permit the United States to comply with the
Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations,
signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force
November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United
States, or other applicable international obligations.
(c) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions
under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President--
(1) determines that such a waiver is in the national
security interests of the United States; and
(2) on or before the date on which the waiver takes effect,
submits to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee
on Banking Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives a notice of and
justification for the waiver.
(d) Regulatory Authority.--The President shall issue such
regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out this
section.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien''
have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Financial institution.--The term ``financial
institution'' has the meaning given that term in section 5312
of title 31, United States Code.
(3) Materially assisted.--The term ``materially assisted''
means the provision of assistance that is significant and of a
kind directly relevant to acts described in paragraph (1) or
(2) of subsection (a).
(4) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or of any jurisdiction within the United
States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN VENEZUELA.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development shall, subject
to the availability of appropriations, directly or through
nongovernmental organizations--
(1) defend internationally recognized human rights for the
people of Venezuela;
<DELETED> (2) build the organizational and operational
capacity of democratic civil society activists and
organizations in Venezuela at the national and regional
level;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) support the efforts of independent media
outlets to broadcast, distribute, and share information beyond
the limited channels made available by the Government of
Venezuela;</DELETED>
(2) strengthen the organizational and operational capacity
of democratic civil society in Venezuela;
(3) support the efforts of independent media outlets to
broadcast, distribute, and share information beyond the limited
means available as of the date of the enactment of this Act;
(4) facilitate open and uncensored access to the Internet
for the people of Venezuela;
(5) improve transparency and accountability of institutions
that are part of the Government of Venezuela;
(6) provide support to civil society organizations,
activists, and peaceful demonstrators in Venezuela that have
been targeted for exercising internationally recognized civil
and political rights, as well as journalists targeted for
activities related to the work of a free press; and
(7) provide support for democratic <DELETED>political</DELETED>
organizing and election monitoring in Venezuela.
(b) Strategy Requirement.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a strategy to
carry out the activities described in subsection (a) to--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of State $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 to
carry out subsection (a). Amounts appropriated for the
activities set forth in subsection (a) shall be used pursuant
to the authorization and requirements contained in this
section. Additional amounts may be authorized to be
appropriated under provisions of law.
(2) Notification requirement.--
(A) In general.--Funds appropriated or otherwise
made available pursuant to paragraph (1) may not be
obligated until until 15 days after the date on which
the President has provided notice of intent to obligate
such funds to--
(i) the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives; and
(ii) the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives.
(B) Waiver.--The President may waive the
requirement under subparagraph (A) if the President
determines that failure to waive that requirement would
pose a substantial risk to human health or welfare, in
which case notification shall be provided as early as
practicable, but in no event later than 3 days after
taking the action to which such notification
requirement was applicable in the context of the
circumstances necessitating such waiver.
SEC. 7. REPORT ON BROADCASTING, INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION, AND
CIRCUMVENTION TECHNOLOGY DISTRIBUTION IN VENEZUELA.
(a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of
Governors (in this section referred to as the ``Board'') shall submit
to Congress a report that includes--
(1) a thorough evaluation of the governmental, political,
and technological obstacles faced by the people of Venezuela in
their efforts to obtain accurate, objective, and comprehensive
news and information about domestic and international affairs;
(2) an assessment of current efforts relating to
broadcasting, information distribution, and circumvention
technology distribution in Venezuela, by the United States
Government and otherwise; and
(3) a strategy for expanding such efforts in Venezuela,
including recommendations for additional measures to expand
upon current efforts.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) an assessment of the current level of Federal funding
dedicated to broadcasting, information distribution, and
circumvention technology distribution in Venezuela by the Board
before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(2) an assessment of whether the current level and type of
news and related programming and content provided by the Voice
of America is sufficiently addressing the informational needs
of the people of Venezuela; and
(3) specific measures for increasing broadcasting,
information distribution, and circumvention technology
distribution in Venezuela.
Calendar No. 401
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2142
[Report No. 113-175]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To impose targeted sanctions on persons responsible for violations of
human rights of antigovernment protesters in Venezuela, to strengthen
civil society in Venezuela, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
May 22, 2014
Reported with amendments