VERDAD Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 101 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1025 To provide humanitarian relief to the Venezuelan people and Venezuelan migrants, to advance a constitutional and democratic solution to Ven- ezuela’s political crisis, to address Venezuela’s economic reconstruction, to combat public corruption, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 3, 2019 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. YOUNG, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. COONS, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. HAWLEY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. CARPER, and Mr. GARDNER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JUNE 3, 2019 Reported by Mr. RISCH, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To provide humanitarian relief to the Venezuelan people and Venezuelan migrants, to advance a constitutional and democratic solution to Venezuela’s political crisis, to ad- dress Venezuela’s economic reconstruction, to combat public corruption, narcotics trafficking, and money laun- dering, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1025 RS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLES.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and 5 Development Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘VERDAD Act of 6 2019’’. 7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 8 this Act is as follows: 9 Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents. Sec. 2. Defined term. TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR THE INTERIM PRESIDENT OF VEN- EZUELA AND RECOGNITION OF THE VENEZUELAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Sec. 101. Findings; sense of Congress in support of the Interim President of Venezuela. Sec. 102. Recognition of Venezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly. Sec. 103. Advancing a negotiated solution to Venezuela’s crisis. TITLE II—HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR VENEZUELA Sec. 201. Humanitarian relief for the Venezuelan people. Sec. 202. Humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans in neighboring countries. Sec. 203. Requirement for strategy to coordinate international humanitarian assistance. Sec. 204. Support for efforts at the United Nations on the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Sec. 205. Sanctions exceptions for humanitarian assistance. TITLE III—ADDRESSING REGIME COHESION Sec. 301. Classified report on declining cohesion inside the Venezuelan military and the Maduro regime. Sec. 302. Additional restrictions on visas. Sec. 303. Waiver for sanctioned officials that recognize the Interim President of Venezuela. TITLE IV—RESTORING DEMOCRACY AND ADDRESSING THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN VENEZUELA Sec. 401. Special Envoy for Venezuela and Task Force on Venezuela. Sec. 402. Support for the Lima Group. Sec. 403. Accountability for crimes against humanity. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1025 RS Sec. 404. Upholding the Organization of American States Inter-American Democratic Charter. Sec. 405. Support for international election observation and democratic civil so- ciety. TITLE V—SUPPORTING THE RECONSTRUCTION OF VENEZUELA Sec. 501. Engaging international financial institutions to advance the recon- struction of Venezuela’s economy and energy infrastructure. Sec. 502. Recovering assets stolen from the Venezuelan people. TITLE VI—RESTORING THE RULE OF LAW IN VENEZUELA Sec. 601. Developing and implementing a coordinated sanctions strategy with partners in the Western Hemisphere and the European Union. Sec. 602. Classified briefing on the involvement of Venezuelan officials in cor- ruption and illicit narcotics trafficking. Sec. 603. Sanctions on persons responsible for public corruption and under- mining democratic governance. Sec. 604. Public information about sanctioned officials. Sec. 605. Financial sanctions on Maduro regime debt. Sec. 606. Additional financial sanctions on Maduro regime debt. Sec. 607. Expanding kingpin sanctions on narcotics trafficking and money laundering. Sec. 608. Sanctions on the Maduro regime’s trade in gold. Sec. 609. Concerns over PDVSA transactions with Rosneft. Sec. 610. Classified briefing on activities of certain foreign governments and ac- tors in Venezuela. TITLE VII—CRYPTOCURRENCY SANCTIONS AND ENSURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF UNITED STATES SANCTIONS Sec. 701. Sanctions on Venezuela’s cryptocurrency and the provision of related technologies. Sec. 702. Report on the impact of cryptocurrencies on United States sanctions. TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 801. Congressional briefings. Sec. 802. Extension and termination of sanctions against Venezuela. SEC. 2. DEFINED TERM. 1 In this Act, the term ‘‘Maduro regime’’ means any 2 ministry, agency, political subdivision, or instrumentality 3 of the Government of Venezuela, including the Central 4 Bank of Venezuela and Petro´leos de Venezuela, S.A., any 5 branch of the Venezuelan armed forces, and any person 6 owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the 7 Government of Venezuela that remain under the control 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1025 RS of Nicola´s Maduro or the subsequent control of a person 1 that comes to power through any means other than— 2 (1) a free, fair, and transparent democratic 3 election that is monitored by credible international 4 observers; or 5 (2) the appointment by Venezuela’s democrat- 6 ically elected National Assembly of an Interim Presi- 7 dent with a mandate to convene elections described 8 in paragraph (1); and 9 (3) a negotiation process described in section 10 103. 11 TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR THE IN- 12 TERIM PRESIDENT OF VEN- 13 EZUELA AND RECOGNITION 14 OF THE VENEZUELAN NA- 15 TIONAL ASSEMBLY 16 SEC. 101. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF 17 THE INTERIM PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA. 18 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 19 ings: 20 (1) Venezuela’s electoral event on May 20, 21 2018, was characterized by widespread fraud and 22 did not comply with international standards for a 23 free, fair, and transparent electoral process. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1025 RS (2) Given the fraudulent nature of Venezuela’s 1 May 20, 2018, electoral event, Nicola´s Maduro’s ten- 2 ure as President of Venezuela ended on January 10, 3 2019. 4 (3) The National Assembly of Venezuela ap- 5 proved a resolution on January 15, 2019, that ter- 6 minated Nicola´s Maduro’s authority as the President 7 of Venezuela. 8 (4) On January 23, 2019, the President of the 9 National Assembly of Venezuela was sworn in as the 10 Interim President of Venezuela. 11 (5) The United States Government, the Govern- 12 ments of Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, 13 Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Can- 14 ada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, 15 Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ec- 16 uador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, 17 Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, 18 Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxem- 19 bourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Mo- 20 rocco, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Po- 21 land, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Swe- 22 den, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, 23 the Secretary General of the Organization of Amer- 24 ican States, and the European Parliament have all 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1025 RS recognized National Assembly President Juan 1 Guaido´ as the Interim President of Venezuela. 2 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 3 gress— 4 (1) to support the decisions by the United 5 States Government, more than 50 governments 6 around the world, the Secretary General of the Or- 7 ganization of American States, and the European 8 Parliament to recognize National Assembly Presi- 9 dent Juan Guaido´ as the Interim President of Ven- 10 ezuela; 11 (2) to encourage the Interim President of Ven- 12 ezuela to advance efforts to hold democratic presi- 13 dential elections in the shortest possible period; and 14 (3) that the Organization of American States, 15 with support from the United States Government 16 and partner governments, should provide diplomatic, 17 technical, and financial support for a new presi- 18 dential election in Venezuela that complies with 19 international standards for a free, fair, and trans- 20 parent electoral processes. 21 SEC. 102. RECOGNITION OF VENEZUELA’S DEMOCRAT- 22 ICALLY ELECTED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. 23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that Venezuela’s uni- 24 cameral National Assembly convened on January 6, 2016, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1025 RS following democratic elections that were held on December 1 6, 2015. 2 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 3 gress that— 4 (1) Venezuela’s democratically elected National 5 Assembly is the only national level democratic insti- 6 tution remaining in the country; and 7 (2) actions taken by the Maduro regime that re- 8 quire legislative approval, ratification, or concur- 9 rence, including the provision or refinancing of 10 debts, should only be recognized as legitimate by the 11 United States and the international community if 12 such legislative actions are authorized by the demo- 13 cratically elected National Assembly of the 14 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 15 (c) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 16 recognize the democratically elected National Assembly of 17 Venezuela as the only legitimate national legislative body 18 in Venezuela. 19 (d) ASSISTANCE TO VENEZUELA’S NATIONAL ASSEM- 20 BLY.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 21 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter- 22 national Development, shall prioritize efforts to provide 23 technical assistance to support the democratically elected 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1025 RS National Assembly of Venezuela in accordance with sec- 1 tion 406. 2 SEC. 103. ADVANCING A NEGOTIATED SOLUTION TO VEN- 3 EZUELA’S CRISIS. 4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 5 gress that— 6 (1) direct, credible negotiations led by the In- 7 terim President of Venezuela and members of Ven- 8 ezuela’s democratically elected National Assembly— 9 (A) are supported by stakeholders in the 10 international community that have recognized 11 the Interim President of Venezuela; 12 (B) include the input and interests of Ven- 13 ezuelan civil society; and 14 (C) represent the best opportunity to reach 15 a solution to the Venezuelan crisis that in- 16 cludes— 17 (i) holding a new presidential election 18 that complies with international standards 19 for a free, fair, and transparent electoral 20 process; 21 (ii) ending Nicola´s Maduro’s usurpa- 22 tion of presidential authorities; 23 (iii) restoring democracy and the rule 24 of law; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1025 RS (iv) freeing political prisoners; and 1 (v) facilitating the delivery of humani- 2 tarian aid; 3 (2) dialogue between the Maduro regime and 4 political opposition that commenced in October 5 2017, and were supported by the Governments of 6 Mexico, of Chile, of Bolivia, and of Nicaragua, did 7 not result in an agreement because the Maduro re- 8 gime failed to credibly participate in the process; 9 and 10 (3) negotiations between the Maduro regime 11 and political opposition that commenced in October 12 2016, and were supported by the Vatican, did not 13 result in an agreement because the Maduro regime 14 failed to credibly participate in the process. 15 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 16 support diplomatic engagement in order to advance a ne- 17 gotiated and peaceful solution to Venezuela’s political, eco- 18 nomic, and humanitarian crisis that is described in sub- 19 section (a)(1). 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1025 RS TITLE II—HUMANITARIAN 1 RELIEF FOR VENEZUELA 2 SEC. 201. HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR THE VENEZUELAN 3 PEOPLE. 4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 5 gress that— 6 (1) the United States Government should ex- 7 pand efforts to peacefully address Venezuela’s hu- 8 manitarian crisis; and 9 (2) humanitarian assistance— 10 (A) should be provided directly to the peo- 11 ple of Venezuela; and 12 (B) should not be passed through the con- 13 trol or distribution mechanisms of the Maduro 14 regime. 15 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi- 16 nation with the Administrator of the United States Agen- 17 cy for International Development, shall work through 18 international and nongovernmental organizations to pro- 19 vide humanitarian assistance to individuals and commu- 20 nities in Venezuela, including— 21 (1) public health commodities to Venezuelan 22 health facilities and services, including medicines on 23 the World Health Organization’s Model List of Es- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1025.RS S1025 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1025 RS sential Medicines and basic medical supplies and 1 equipment; 2 (2) the basic food commodities and nutritional 3 supplements needed to address growing malnutrition 4 and improve food security for the people of Ven- 5 ezuela, with a specific emphasis on the most vulner- 6 able populations; and 7 (3) technical assistance to ensure that health 8 and food commodities are appropriately selected, 9 procured, and distributed. 10 (c) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 13 retary of State, in coordination with the Adminis- 14 trator of the United States Agency for International 15 Development shall submit a strategy for carrying [Text truncated for display. 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