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21–545PDF 2016

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; AND THE NICARAGUA INVESTMENT CONDITIONALITY ACT (NICA) OF 2016

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H. Res. 851 and H.R. 5708

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

Serial No. 114–234

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP ON 

H. Res. 851, 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 ..................................................................................................... 2

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Res. 851 offered by the 

Honorable Jeff Duncan, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of South Carolina, and chairman, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere ................................................................................................................ 8

H.R. 5708, To oppose loans at international financial institutions for the 

Government of Nicaragua unless the Government of Nicaragua is taking 

effective steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections, and for other 

purposes ................................................................................................................ 15

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 5708 offered by the 

Honorable Albio Sires, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

New Jersey ........................................................................................................ 28

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 46

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 47

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 48

(1)

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; AND THE NICARAGUA INVESTMENT CONDITIONALITY ACT (NICA) OF 2016

Thursday, September 15, 2016

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in room 

2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Jeff Duncan (chairman 

of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. DUNCAN. The subcommittee will come to order. Pursuant to 

notice, we meet today to mark up two bipartisan measures and I 

think this is the first markup of this subcommittee since I have 

been the chairman, so kind of a momentous day. 

As members, we were notified previously to ensure that we can 

move expeditiously to our hearing. We will consider today’s items 

en bloc, and so without objection the following items provided to 

your offices earlier this week will be considered en bloc and considered as read: House Resolution 851, expressing profound concern 

about the ongoing political, economic, social, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and the Duncan Amendment 73 in the nature of 

a substitute to H.R. 851. Members will please note that two words 

have been stricken from page 3 per agreement with the majority 

and minority from the ANS that was previously circulated. We 

apologize for that. 

The second bill be H.R. 5708, the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act of 2016 and also the Sires Amendment No. 16 in the 

nature of a substitute, H.R. 5708. 

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Mr. DUNCAN. Without objection, all members may have 5 days to 

submit statements and materials for the record. I will now recognize myself to speak on today’s measures. 

As the co-sponsor of both pieces of legislation, I want to applaud 

the efforts of Representatives Wasserman Schultz and RosLehtinen for highlighting the U.S. congressional concerns about the 

events in Venezuela and Nicaragua and for their leadership on 

both of these bills. This subcommittee has held two hearings on 

Venezuela. And we will hold a hearing today on Nicaragua following up the markup. 

Ranking Member Sires and I have also worked closely together 

in our authoring a letter last month to the State Department and 

the Treasury Department. This letter was signed by over 30 Members of Congress and highlights the need to prioritize Venezuela. 

These two bills are very timely, given the deteriorating situations 

in both countries. 

We are all familiar with the humanitarian and political crisis in 

Venezuela right now. This week, a new study found that at least 

15 percent of Venezuelans are eating out of the trash. Almost 90 

percent of people fear running out of food. More than 1.7 million 

Venezuelans have fled to Colombia to buy food and medicines since 

the reopening of that border crossing last month. Further, although 

Venezuelan people have made their wishes known through protest 

after protest after protest for a recall referendum to be held this 

year, President Maduro has suppressed protesters chanting ‘‘We 

want food’’ and refused to hold the referendum this year. 

I strongly support H. Res. 851 and my amendment in the nature 

of a substitute highlights the continuing imprisonment of U.S. citiVerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:30 Nov 18, 2016 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\WORK\_WH\091516M\21545 SHIRL

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zens, Francisco Marquez and Josh Holt; recognizes that democracy 

is failing in Venezuela; and acknowledges the efforts of the former 

President of Spain, Panama, and the Dominican Republic in calling 

for a dialogue and efforts of 15 countries in the region calling for 

Venezuela to hold a recall referendum without delay. 

My amendment also urges President Obama to continue to stand 

in solidarity with the Venezuelan people by advocating that President Maduro hold a free and fair recall referendum by the end of 

this year; release all political prisoners, including U.S. citizens 

from prison; adhere to democratic principles; and permit the delivery of emergency food and medicine. 

In Nicaragua, the people will go to the polls on November 6th in 

an election where President Ortega is running for a consecutive 

third term. The opposition has been stripped of their leading candidates and the First Lady is on the Vice Presidential ballot, even 

though Nicaragua’s Constitution bars those related to the President from being a candidate. And Ortega has refused to allow 

international election observers. 

I am deeply concerned about the impacts of President Ortega’s 

consolidation of power and I fully support this legislation authorized by Representative Ros-Lehtinen. Since today, there appears to 

be no cost to Ortega for his actions undermining the democracy and 

the rule of law in the country in pursuit of his own interests. 

It is my hope that this legislation will support Nicaraguan people 

by encouraging Ortega to take steps to begin to show a respect for 

democracy, respect for free and fair elections, respect for the rule 

of law and respect for human rights in the country. 

So I will now recognize the ranking member for his comments on 

today’s measures. 

Mr. SIRES. Thank you to my good friend Chairman Duncan and 

Chairman Emeritus Ros-Lehtinen for their efforts in bringing attention to the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and 

to the authoritarian policies of Nicaraguan’s President, Daniel Ortega. 

I also want to thank my colleagues on the committee and the 

staff from both sides of the aisle who have worked hard to support 

the subcommittee’s efforts. We are here today to mark up two timely and bipartisan pieces of legislation, working to combat the constant, oppressive tactics of both Maduro and Ortega’s regime. 

The resolution before us, H. Res. 851, is in response to the deterioration of basic governance and the resulting humanitarian crisis 

currently taking place in Venezuela. Under Maduro’s government, 

millions of families, women, and children are suffering from severe 

shortages of essential medicines, fuel, and basic needs. It is frustrating to see the Venezuelan people suffer and struggle to find 

basic food items when Venezuela is home to one of the world’s largest oil reserves and has the potential to prosper. 

The crisis in Venezuela has also been exacerbated by widespread 

public corruption and the alarming level of violence in the country. 

On the corruption front, dozens of public officials are suspected of 

involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering. The U.S. 

Justice and Treasury Departments, as well as DEA, each have ongoing investigations involving Venezuela’s officials. 

42

Crime and violence have also reached alarming high levels. According to the U.N. Office on Drug and Crime, Caracas has one of 

the highest per capita homicide rates in the world at 120 murders 

per 100,000 citizens. Despite the massive shortages in basic essentials and the resulting violence, Maduro’s government refuses to 

allow humanitarian aid from the international community into the 

country. 

Maduro also has refused to release the more than 80 political 

prisoners held by his government. These include former Mayor 

Leopoldo Lopez and Daniel Ceballos and U.S. citizens Josh Holt 

and Francisco Marquez. In May of this year, the OAS invoked Article XX of the Inter-American Democratic Charter which called on 

the OAS to assess the situation in Venezuela proving that this is 

not a U.S. conspiracy as Venezuela falsely tries to claim, but an urgent concern to all of our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere. 

H. Res. 851 loudly and clearly voices concern of this Congress regarding the widespread shortages in Venezuela, urging the Maduro 

government to allow the delivery of international aid and support 

the current actions taking place in the OAS to restore true democracy to Venezuela. 

It is my sincere hope that the administration will aggressively 

support this resolution and instruct the appropriate Federal agencies to do all they can to hold Venezuela’s officials accountable for 

all the violations of U.S. laws and human rights. 

Regarding the authoritarian policies of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Nicaraguan Investment 

Conditionality Act. This legislation calls on the U.S. to oppose loans 

at international financial institutions for Nicaragua until the country takes effective steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections. 

Since coming to the Presidency a decade ago, Ortega has always 

seen a steady decline in political rights, civil rights, and civil liberties in Nicaragua. For example, in 2009, Ortega circumvented the 

legislation and had the Supreme Court packed with his supporters 

eliminate Presidential term limits. In 2011, he won election in an 

election widely deemed by international and domestic observers as 

fraudulent. These undemocratic tactics led to the Millennium Challenge Corporation ending its 5-year $175 million compact with the 

country. Along with its lack of political transparency, Ortega has 

also refused to demonstrate fiscal transparency. Since 2012, Nicaragua has not met any of the international standards for fiscal 

transparency. 

According to the State Department’s 2015 Fiscal Transparency 

Report, the Ortega administration did not publicly account for its 

assistance received from Venezuela, nor did it audit the majority 

of Nicaragua’s state-owned enterprises. Such fiscal lapses allow 

public corruption to thrive. 

It has long been the policy of the United States to support the 

rule of law, an independent judiciary, democracy, and free, fair, 

and transparent elections. 

I believe that H.R. 5708 will help bring these critical elements 

of freedom and democracy to Nicaragua. If signed into law, the 

NICA Act will mean that U.S. representatives at the International 

Financial Institution will oppose all loans or other utilization of 

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funds for Nicaragua unless and until the country takes effective 

steps to return to a more democratic system, including transparent 

elections, and greater respect for civil rights. 

Again, my thanks to all who have worked on this important piece 

of legislation. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 851 and H.R. 

5708. Thank you. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I thank the ranking member for his words and his 

help on this and his amendment. 

Do any other members seek recognition to speak on today’s business? 

Hearing no further request for recognition, the Chair will now 

move that the subcommittee favorably report the items considered 

en bloc to the full committee as amended. 

All those in favor say aye. 

All opposed no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it and the motion is 

approved and H.R. 5708 and House Resolution 851 are reported favorably to the full committee as amended. 

I want to thank our members and staff for all their assistance 

and cooperation on today’s markup and the subcommittee business 

meeting will stand adjourned and then we will move right into the 

hearing. So we will stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:38 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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