[Pages S396-S397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 261. 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; to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in 2018, I had the opportunity to visit
Venezuela. It was a once prosperous, albeit imperfect, democracy
suffering from terrible economic and political decline. I told then-
President Maduro that if he rigged the upcoming election, Venezuelans
would be even more isolated and endure further unnecessary suffering.
It didn't stop him for a minute. He went ahead with a discredited
election. The result was as predicted: The economy of Venezuela started
descending into chaos. People were literally starving. There was an
exodus of millions of people from Venezuela.
You might say, if you believe that the United States has no
responsibility: What is it our business anyway? Countries are going to
have failed governments, and so what? What difference does it make?
Well, the difference it makes is the thousands and thousands of
Venezuelans who were part of an exodus from Venezuela. Most of them
went to Colombia and nearby nations, but many of them came to the
United States. I know. I met them. They were the bus people that were
sent to Chicago, for example, by the Governor of Texas, overwhelmingly
Venezuelans.
How many actually came to the United States, I am not sure. I am not
sure anybody really knows, but we are talking about thousands.
And at this point, imagine what we are suggesting. This man Maduro is
still in control in Venezuela, and we are going to go through a mass
deportation where we round up the Venezuelans who came to this country
and send them back, back to starvation, political oppression.
I get it. If you are a dangerous person, you never should have come
to this country in the first place. And if you commit a serious crime
once you are here, I don't believe you should stay. Just that basic.
I don't go as far as the bill we considered a week or so ago. I
believe that prosecution and a finding of guilt is still important in
an America that is ruled by due process.
But having said that, What are we going to do about Venezuela? The
same man is still there, and there have been not one, but two rotten,
suspect elections in the time since I have been there.
Last July, for example, Venezuela held another Presidential election,
during which the regime arbitrarily blocked the leading opposition
candidates from the ballot and tried to undermine the electoral
process. Nonetheless, more than 10 million Venezuelans actually voted.
And results meticulously documented by credible election monitors
showed a sweeping victory not for Maduro, the incumbent, but for
Edmundo Gonzalez, his opponent.
I was glad to see that one of the newly confirmed Secretary of State
Rubio's first calls was to President-elect Gonzalez, who actually won
the election.
Despite his sweeping, clear victory, the Maduro regime has refused to
give up the office of Presidency and refused to recognize the
legitimate election results.
Maduro regime announced they won--actually, not true; arbitrarily
arrested thousands of opponents; issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez,
which is becoming a common trick by these dictators; and refused to
swear him in on inauguration day.
So today, I am introducing a short bill terminating U.S. petroleum
cooperation and related trade with Venezuela until the legitimate
results of the election are respected.
It is pretty simple. The entrenched regime clings to power using oil
revenues, some of them from the United States. Under my bill, that
comes to an end.
President Trump and Secretary Rubio could also take this step right
now without my legislation, but maybe the bill will be a reminder that
this is a good idea.
Lastly, I appealed to our democratic allies in the region, including
the democracies of the Caribbean, to stand resolute in defense of a
sweeping and clear vote by their exhausted Venezuelan neighbors. They
cannot sit idly by for another 6 years of regime-inflicted suffering
and collapse in Venezuela.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 261

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 2025''.

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.
(3) Despite overwhelming evidence that Edmundo Gonzalez won
a decisive victory to be Venezuela's next president, the
Maduro regime ignored the results of the election and the law
of Venezuela by forcibly refusing to allow Gonzalez to be
sworn in on Venezuela's January 10, 2025, inauguration day.

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 petroleum-related transaction allowed--
(i) as a result of the Partial Agreement on the Promotion
of Political Rights and Electoral Guarantees for All, agreed
to by the regime of Nicolas Maduro and the political
opposition in Venezuela in October 2023 (commonly known as
the ``Barbados Agreement''); or
(ii) pursuant to a license issued after entry into that
agreement relating to petroleum-related transactions with
Venezuela.
(B) Any transaction allowed under General License No. 41 or
General License No. 8M of the Office of Foreign Assets
Control of the Department of the Treasury on the day before
such date of enactment.
(2) Applicability.--The prohibitions under paragraph (1)
shall apply to the extent provided by law and regulations,
orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant
to this section.
(b) National Security Waiver.--The President may waive the
prohibitions under subsection (a) if the President--
(1) determines that the waiver is in the national security
interests of the United States; and
(2) submits in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees a report, which may include a classified annex, on
that determination and the reasons for the determination.
(c) 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.--For purposes of implementing this
section, 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).

[[Page S397]]

(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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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
or to a transitional government that includes and is agreed
to by the legitimately elected political opposition in
Venezuela.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(2) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence to the United States;
(B) 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
(C) any person physically located in the United States.

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