Expressing profound concern about the ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, urging the release of political prisoners, and calling for respect of constitutional and democratic processes.
Latest action · Sep 27, 2016 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Progress
Where this resolution reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried. A simple resolution is the business of one chamber alone: it is not sent to the other chamber or to the President, and does not become law.
- IntroducedSep 8, 2016
- Agreed to in HouseSep 27, 2016
Summary
Expresses concern about: (1) widespread shortages of essential medicines and basic food products faced by the people of Venezuela and urges President Maduro to permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance; and (2) the Venezuelan executive's lack of respect for the principle of separation of powers, its overreliance on emergency decree powers, and its threat to judicial independence. Expresses support for meaningful efforts towards a dialogue that leads to respect for Venezuela's constitutional mechanisms and resolves the country's political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis.
Calls on: (1) the government of Venezuela to immediately release all political prisoners, including U.S. citizens, to provide protections for freedom of expression and assembly, and to respect internationally recognized human rights; and (2) such government and security forces to respect the Constitution of Venezuela, including constitutional provisions that provide Venezuelan citizens with the right to peacefully pursue a fair and timely recall referendum for their president this year.
Stresses the urgency of strengthening the rule of law and increasing efforts to combat impunity and public corruption in Venezuela.
Affirms the support of the House of Representatives for OAS Secretary General Almagro's invocation of Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and urges the OAS Permanent Council, which represents all of the organization's member states, to undertake a collective assessment of the constitutional and democratic order in Venezuela.
Urges the President of the United States to provide full support for OAS efforts in favor of constitutional and democratic solutions to the political impasse, and to instruct appropriate federal agencies to hold officials of the Venezuelan government accountable for violations of U.S. law and abuses of internationally recognized human rights.
Urges the President to continue to stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people by urging the Maduro government to:
- hold a fair and free recall referendum by the end of this calendar year;
- release all political prisoners, including U.S. citizens, from prison;
- adhere to democratic principles; and
- permit the delivery of emergency food and medicine.
Cosponsors 26
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Sep 8, 2016 to Sep 21, 2016, with 21 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Alan Grayson | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| R-FL | Carlos Curbelo | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| R-CA | Edward R. Royce | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-NY | Eliot L. Engel | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| R-FL | Gus M. Bilirakis | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| R-FL | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| R-SC | Jeff Duncan | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-TX | Joaquin Castro | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| D-FL | Lois Frankel | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
| R-FL | Mario Diaz-Balart | Original | Sep 8, 2016 |
Actions 8
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Sep 27, 2016Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged. (consideration: CR H5947-5949)
- Sep 27, 2016Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged.(consideration: CR H5947-5949)
- Sep 27, 2016Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Sep 27, 2016Ms. Ros-Lehtinen asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.
- Sep 27, 2016On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection. (text: CR H5947-5948)
Amendments 2
Amendments offered to this resolution.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HAmdt 1435 | Amendment strikes all after the resolving clause and inserts a complete new text. | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R-FL | On agreeing to the Ros-Lehtinen amendment (A001) Agreed to without objection. |
| HAmdt 1436 | Amendment strikes the preamble and inserts a complete new text. | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R-FL | On agreeing to the Ros-Lehtinen amendment (A002) Agreed to without objection. |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| SRES 537 | A resolution expressing profound concern about the ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, urging the release of political prisoners, and calling for respect of constitutional and democratic processes. | Identical bill | Dec 7, 2016 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.
- Detention of persons
- Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Food assistance and relief
- Foreign aid and international relief
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Human rights
- International Affairs
- International organizations and cooperation
- Judicial procedure and administration
- Latin America
- Protest and dissent
- Rule of law and government transparency
- Sovereignty, recognition, national governance and status
- Venezuela
- World health
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Sep 27, 2016Engrossed in House
- Sep 8, 2016Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this resolution on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.