[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4993 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4993
To immediately halt investment by United States persons in the energy
sector of Venezuela until the legitimate results of the July 28, 2024,
election are respected.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 9, 2024
Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To immediately halt investment by United States persons in the energy
sector of Venezuela until the legitimate results of the July 28, 2024,
election are respected.
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 ``Halt All United States Investments
in Venezuela's Energy Sector Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On July 28, 2024, more than 10,000,000 citizens of
Venezuela voted in a presidential election in which
meticulously documented and publicized data from credible
election monitors clearly and convincingly showed that
opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received more than two-
thirds of the votes against the regime of Nicolas Maduro.
(2) The Maduro regime has refused to respect the
overwhelming choice of the people of Venezuela and subsequently
arrested and abused thousands of innocent citizens of
Venezuela, including children, for peaceful political
participation.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON INVESTMENT BY UNITED STATES PERSONS IN ENERGY
SECTOR OF VENEZUELA UNTIL THE LEGITIMATE RESULTS OF THE
JULY 28, 2024, ELECTION ARE RESPECTED.
(a) Prohibition.--
(1) In general.--Beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act, the following transactions are prohibited:
(A) Any transaction by a United States person, or
an entity owned or controlled by a United States
person, to invest, trade, or operate within the energy
sector of Venezuela, including the provision of goods,
services, or finance to--
(i) Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or
subsidiaries, representatives, or related
companies of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.; or
(ii) the regime of Nicolas Maduro or any
nondemocratic successor government in
Venezuela.
(B) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the
purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of,
or attempts to violate the prohibition under
subparagraph (A).
(2) Applicability.--The prohibitions under paragraph (1)
shall apply--
(A) to the extent provided by law and regulations,
orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued
pursuant to this section; and
(B) notwithstanding any contract entered into or
any license or permit granted before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) Implementation; Penalties.--
(1) Implementation.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, may take such
actions, including prescribing regulations, as are
necessary to implement this section.
(B) IEEPA authorities.--The Secretary of the
Treasury may exercise the authorities provided to the
President under sections 203 and 205 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.
1702 and 1704) to the extent necessary to carry out
this section.
(2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of
subsection (a) or any regulation, license, directive, or order
issued to carry out that subsection 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.
(c) Responsibility of Other Agencies.--All agencies of the United
States Government shall take all appropriate measures within their
authority to carry out the provisions of this section.
(d) Termination of Prohibition.--The prohibitions under subsection
(a) shall terminate on the date on which the President submits to
Congress a determination that the regime of Nicolas Maduro has
recognized the July 28, 2024, electoral victory of Edmundo Gonzalez and
relinquished power to the legitimately democratically elected
government in Venezuela.
(e) United States Person Defined.--In this section, the term
``United States person'' means--
(1) a United States citizen or alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence to the United States;
(2) any entity organized under the laws of the United
States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including
a foreign branch of any such entity); and
(3) any person physically located in the United States.
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