Humanitarian Assistance to the Venezuelan People Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 854 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 26, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To provide humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people, including Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the Amer- icas and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.RFS H854 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 854 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Humanitarian Assist- 2 ance to the Venezuelan People Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. REPORT ON THE COORDINATION AND DISTRIBU- 4 TION OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO 5 THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA INCLUDING 6 STRATEGY ON FUTURE EFFORTS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 9 in coordination with the Administrator of the United 10 States Agency for International Development, shall submit 11 to the appropriate congressional committees a report out- 12 lining the coordination of humanitarian assistance to the 13 people of Venezuela, both in Venezuela and throughout the 14 Western Hemisphere, with nongovernmental organizations 15 and international organizations operating in Venezuela or 16 countries in the region to alleviate the suffering of the 17 Venezuelan people. 18 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re- 19 quired under subsection (a) shall include the following: 20 (1) A description of how and under what cir- 21 cumstances the following humanitarian assistance 22 has been provided: 23 (A) Public health commodities for Ven- 24 ezuelan health facilities and services, including 25 medicines on the World Health Organization’s 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.RFS H854 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 854 RFS List of Essential Medicines, and basic medical 1 supplies and equipment. 2 (B) Basic food commodities and nutritional 3 supplements needed to address growing mal- 4 nutrition and improve food security for the peo- 5 ple of Venezuela, with a specific emphasis on 6 the most vulnerable populations. 7 (C) Technical assistance to ensure health 8 and food commodities are appropriately se- 9 lected, procured, and distributed, predominantly 10 through local nongovernmental organizations. 11 (2) An identification of United States Agency 12 for International Development and Department of 13 State best practices in delivering humanitarian as- 14 sistance, particularly with regard to food assistance, 15 and how such best practices are being utilized in 16 providing humanitarian assistance to Venezuela and 17 countries in the region. 18 (3) A description of current and anticipated 19 challenges to distributing humanitarian assistance in 20 Venezuela and countries hosting Venezuelan mi- 21 grants. 22 (4) A description of efforts to ensure that hu- 23 manitarian and development assistance for Ven- 24 ezuelans is coordinated with other United States bi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.RFS H854 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 854 RFS lateral assistance in the Western Hemisphere and 1 does not result in duplication or omission of such 2 other bilateral assistance. 3 (5) A description of how the pre-positioning and 4 distribution of humanitarian assistance is being 5 monitored and evaluated, the number of beneficiaries 6 reached, an assessment of how humanitarian and de- 7 velopment assistance is benefitting Venezuelan mi- 8 grants inside and outside of the country, and what 9 additional staff may be necessary to manage such 10 assistance. 11 (6) A strategy for future efforts to provide hu- 12 manitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela 13 that includes a description of future efforts regard- 14 ing the matters described in paragraphs (1) through 15 (5). 16 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF CONGRESS. 17 Congress strongly condemns all violent actions by the 18 Maduro regime and Venezuela’s security forces to block 19 and divert humanitarian assistance from entering Ven- 20 ezuela. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.RFS H854 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 854 RFS SEC. 4. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON UNITED 1 STATES EFFORTS TO PROVIDE HUMANI- 2 TARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF 3 VENEZUELA. 4 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 5 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 6 States shall submit to appropriate congressional commit- 7 tees a report assessing the impact of United States hu- 8 manitarian assistance on the people of Venezuela, both in 9 Venezuela and throughout the Western Hemisphere, in- 10 cluding the total number of beneficiaries reached. 11 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR HUMAN- 12 ITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF 13 VENEZUELA. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 15 provide humanitarian assistance to support the people of 16 Venezuela, both in Venezuela and throughout the Western 17 Hemisphere, in accordance with established international 18 humanitarian principles. 19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 20 gress that not less than $150,000,000 is necessary for 21 each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to carry out this sec- 22 tion. 23 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 24 authorized to be appropriated to the President such sums 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.RFS H854 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 854 RFS as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2020 and 1 2021 to carry out this section. 2 SEC. 6. DEFINITION. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 5 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 6 mittees’’ means the following: 7 (A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of 8 the House of Representatives. 9 (B) The Committee on Appropriations of 10 the House of Representatives. 11 (C) The Committee on Foreign Relations 12 of the Senate. 13 (D) The Committee on Appropriations of 14 the Senate. 15 (2) VENEZUELAN SECURITY FORCES.—The 16 term ‘‘Venezuelan security forces’’ includes the fol- 17 lowing: 18 (A) The Bolivarian National Armed 19 Forces, including the Bolivarian National 20 Guard. 21 (B) The Bolivarian National Intelligence 22 Service. 23 (C) The Bolivarian National Police. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.RFS H854 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 854 RFS (D) The Bureau for Scientific, Criminal 1 and Forensic Investigations of the Ministry of 2 Interior, Justice, and Peace. 3 Passed the House of Representatives March 25, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H854.RFS H854 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS