On the recordMarch 25, 2019
I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Sires) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney). Nicolas Maduro is an illegitimate president. As a result of his brutal dictatorship, the Venezuelan people are suffering in one of the worst humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere. Without basic food and medicine, people are starving and dying. As many as 3.4 million Venezuelans have left the country and migrated to neighboring countries, which are having immense difficulty absorbing such high volumes of migrants. My bill would help alleviate the pain of the Venezuelan people by providing humanitarian assistance in accordance with established international humanitarian principles to those within the country and in the region. It gives Congress the authority to provide as much funding as is necessary to address the crisis in both 2020 and 2021, with no less than $150 million for each year. It also requires the State Department and USAID to show the American people the most effective way to coordinate with nongovernmental and international organizations operating throughout the region, and the bill also requires the administration to submit a report to Congress assessing the impact of U.S. humanitarian assistance. Maduro has proven that he is willing to let his own people suffer and die rather than accept international aid. It is not enough to provide USAID with the funds for this aid.…
