II 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 37 

To promote democracy in Venezuela, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 8, 2025 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, 

Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. CASSIDY, and Mr. RICKETTS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To promote democracy in Venezuela, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Venezuela Advancing Liberty, Opportunity, and Rights 

6 Act of 2025’’ or the ‘‘VALOR Act of 2025’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 3. Appropriate congressional committees defined. 

TITLE I—DETERMINATIONS OF A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED 

GOVERNMENT IN VENEZUELA 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 37 IS

Sec. 101. Determinations of a democratically elected government in Venezuela. 

TITLE II—PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC CHANGE IN VENEZUELA 

Sec. 201. United States policy regarding participation of Venezuela in international financial institutions. 

Sec. 202. United States policy regarding participation of Venezuela in the Organization of American States. 

Sec. 203. Authorization of support for democratic and human rights groups 

and international observers. 

Sec. 204. Support for the people of Venezuela. 

TITLE III—SANCTIONS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Blocking international support for a nondemocratic government in 

Venezuela. 

Sec. 303. Financial sanctions with respect to debt instruments of Maduro regime. 

Sec. 304. Sanctions with respect to cryptocurrency and related technologies in 

Venezuela. 

Sec. 305. Blocking property of the Government of Venezuela. 

Sec. 306. Termination of sanctions. 

Sec. 307. Implementation; penalties. 

Sec. 308. Report on specific licenses that authorize transactions with sanctioned persons. 

Sec. 309. Report on foreign persons doing business with the Maduro regime. 

TITLE IV—ASSISTANCE TO A FREE AND INDEPENDENT 

VENEZUELA 

Sec. 401. Assistance for the people of Venezuela. 

Sec. 402. Report on trade and investment relations between the United States 

and Venezuela. 

TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Effect on lawful United States Government activities. 

Sec. 502. Exception relating to importation of goods. 

1 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 It is the policy of the United States— 

3 (1) to seek a peaceful transition to democracy 

4 in Venezuela through support for the people of Ven5 ezuela, and the use of the full range of diplomatic 

6 tools, including the careful application of sanctions 

7 directed at the regime of Nicolas Maduro and any 

8 nondemocratic successor government; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 37 IS

1 (2) to seek the cooperation of other democratic 

2 countries in supporting a transition described in 

3 paragraph (1); 

4 (3) to stop the evasion of United States sanc5 tions on the Maduro regime and to seek the speedy 

6 termination of any remaining military, security, or 

7 technical assistance, subsidies, or other forms of as8 sistance to the Maduro regime and any nondemo9 cratic successor government from the government of 

10 any other country, including the governments of the 

11 Republic of Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 

12 Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of 

13 China; 

14 (4) to maintain sanctions on the Maduro regime 

15 so long as it continues to refuse to move toward de16 mocratization and greater respect for internationally 

17 recognized human rights; and 

18 (5) to be prepared to reduce the sanctions im19 posed with respect to Venezuela in carefully cali20 brated ways in response to demonstrable progress 

21 toward democratization in Venezuela as described in 

22 paragraph (1). 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 37 IS

1 SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE2 FINED. 

3 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com4 mittees’’ means— 

5 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

6 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af7 fairs of the Senate; and 

8 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

9 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 

10 Representatives. 

11 TITLE I—DETERMINATIONS OF A 

12 DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED 

13 GOVERNMENT IN VENEZUELA 

14 SEC. 101. DETERMINATIONS OF A DEMOCRATICALLY 

15 ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN VENEZUELA. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon making a determination 

17 that a democratically elected government is in power in 

18 Venezuela, the President shall submit that determination 

19 to the appropriate congressional committees. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR DETERMINING A DEMO21 CRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT IS IN POWER IN

22 VENEZUELA.—For the purposes of making a determina23 tion under subsection (a), a democratically elected govern24 ment in Venezuela is a government that— 

25 (1) results from free and fair elections— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 37 IS

1 (A) conducted under the supervision of 

2 internationally recognized election observers; 

3 and 

4 (B) in which— 

5 (i) all qualified candidates were al6 lowed to participate; 

7 (ii) opposition parties were permitted 

8 ample time to organize and campaign for 

9 such elections; and 

10 (iii) all qualified candidates were per11 mitted full access to the media; 

12 (2) is making demonstrable progress in— 

13 (A) establishing an independent judiciary; 

14 (B) respecting internationally recognized 

15 human rights, basic civil liberties, and funda16 mental freedoms as set forth in the Universal 

17 Declaration of Human Rights, which was 

18 adopted unanimously by the United Nations 

19 General Assembly and supported by Venezuela; 

20 (C) allowing the establishment of inde21 pendent social, economic, and political associa22 tions; 

23 (D) effectively guaranteeing the rights of 

24 free speech and freedom of the press, including 

25 granting permits to privately owned media and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 37 IS

1 telecommunications companies to operate in 

2 Venezuela; and 

3 (E) assuring the right to private property; 

4 (3) does not include Nicolas Maduro or any 

5 persons— 

6 (A) with respect to which sanctions have 

7 been imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets 

8 Control; or 

9 (B) sought by the United States Depart10 ment of Justice; 

11 (4) has lifted the order of contempt issued by 

12 the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) 

13 on January 11, 2016, against the National Assembly 

14 convened on January 6, 2016, including by restoring 

15 all powers of the National Assembly and the immu16 nities for deputies; 

17 (5) has ceased to interfere with the functioning 

18 of all political parties and candidates, including by 

19 lifting all judicial interventions of political parties 

20 and restrictions on all presidential candidates; 

21 (6) has released all political prisoners and al22 lowed for investigations of Venezuelan prisons by ap23 propriate international human rights organizations; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 37 IS

1 (7) has dissolved the Colectivos and any state 

2 security and intelligence service credibly accused of 

3 committing gross violations of human rights; 

4 (8) is taking genuine efforts to extradite or oth5 erwise render to the United States all persons 

6 sought by the United States Department of Justice 

7 for crimes committed in the United States; 

8 (9) is not providing any support to any group, 

9 in any other country, that seeks the violent over10 throw of the government of that country; 

11 (10) has permitted the deployment throughout 

12 Venezuela of independent and unfettered inter13 national human rights monitors; and 

14 (11) has freed all hostages and illegally and 

15 wrongfully detained United States nationals. 

16 TITLE II—PROMOTING DEMO17 CRATIC CHANGE IN VEN18 EZUELA 

19 SEC. 201. UNITED STATES POLICY REGARDING PARTICIPA20 TION OF VENEZUELA IN INTERNATIONAL FI21 NANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

23 shall instruct the United States executive director of each 

24 international financial institution to use the voice and vote 

25 of the United States to oppose the seating of representaVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 31, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S37.IS S37

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 37 IS

1 tives of the regime of Nicolas Maduro or any nondemo2 cratic successor government as a member of that institu3 tion. 

4 (b) STEPS AFTER DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOV5 ERNMENT IN POWER.—On and after the date on which 

6 the President submits to the appropriate congressional 

7 committees a determination under section 101(a) that a 

8 democratically elected government is in power in Ven9 ezuela— 

10 (1) the President is encouraged to take steps to 

11 support the seating of representatives of the demo12 cratically elected government to represent Venezuela 

13 in each international financial institution; and 

14 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct 

15 the United States executive director of each inter16 national financial institution to oppose any assist17 ance from the institution to Venezuela that the 

18 United States Government does not assess contrib19 utes to a stable foundation for a democratically 

20 elected government in Venezuela. 

21 (c) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION DE22 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘international financial 

23 institution’’ means each of the following: 

24 (1) The International Monetary Fund. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 37 IS

1 (2) The International Bank for Reconstruction 

2 and Development. 

3 (3) The International Development Association. 

4 (4) The International Finance Corporation. 

5 (5) The Multilateral Investment Guarantee 

6 Agency. 

7 (6) The Inter-American Development Bank. 

8 SEC. 202. UNITED STATES POLICY REGARDING PARTICIPA9 TION OF VENEZUELA IN THE ORGANIZATION 

10 OF AMERICAN STATES. 

11 The President shall instruct the United States Per12 manent Representative to the Organization of American 

13 States to use the voice and vote of the United States to 

14 oppose any measure that would allow a nondemocratic 

15 government of Venezuela to participate in the Organiza16 tion of American States until the President submits to the 

17 appropriate congressional committees a determination 

18 under section 101(a) that a democratically elected govern19 ment is in power in Venezuela. 

20 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION OF SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC 

21 AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS AND INTER22 NATIONAL OBSERVERS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi24 sion of law (other than section 634A of the Foreign Assist25 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394–1) or any comparable 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 37 IS

1 notification requirement contained in any Act making ap2 propriations for the Department of State, foreign oper3 ations, and related programs), the President may provide 

4 assistance and other support for individuals and inde5 pendent nongovernmental organizations to support democ6 racy-building efforts in Venezuela, including as described 

7 in subsections (b) and (c). 

8 (b) ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES EMER9 GENCY FUND.— 

10 (1) FOR SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONALLY REC11 OGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREE AND FAIR

12 ELECTIONS.—The President shall take the necessary 

13 steps to encourage the Organization of American 

14 States to create a special emergency fund for the ex15 plicit purpose of deploying human rights observers 

16 and individuals and organizations engaged in elec17 tion support and election observation in Venezuela. 

18 (2) VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR FUND.— 

19 The President should provide not less than 

20 $5,000,000 of the voluntary contributions of the 

21 United States to the Organization of American 

22 States solely for the purposes of the special fund re23 ferred to in paragraph (1). 

24 (c) ACTION OF OTHER MEMBER STATES.—The 

25 President should instruct the United States Permanent 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 37 IS

1 Representative to the Organization of American States to 

2 encourage other member states of the Organization to join 

3 in calling for the Government of Venezuela to allow the 

4 immediate deployment of independent human rights mon5 itors of the Organization of American States throughout 

6 Venezuela and on-site visits to Venezuela by the Inter7 American Commission on Human Rights. 

8 (d) DENIAL OF FUNDS TO GOVERNMENT OF VEN9 EZUELA.—In implementing this section, the President 

10 shall take all necessary steps to ensure that no funds or 

11 other assistance is provided to a nondemocratic govern12 ment of Venezuela. 

13 SEC. 204. SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA. 

14 The President— 

15 (1) may, pursuant to General License 29 of the 

16 Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department 

17 of the Treasury, provide assistance through inde18 pendent nongovernmental organizations to support 

19 humanitarian projects in Venezuela— 

20 (A) to meet basic human needs; 

21 (B) to build democracy; 

22 (C) to provide education; 

23 (D) for non-commercial development 

24 projects; and 

25 (E) for environmental protection; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 37 IS

1 (2) shall establish safeguards to ensure that 

2 any assistance provided pursuant to paragraph (1) 

3 is— 

4 (A) not providing material benefit to the 

5 Maduro regime; and 

6 (B) used for the purposes for which it was 

7 intended and only for the use and benefit of the 

8 people of Venezuela. 

9 TITLE III—SANCTIONS 

10 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this title: 

12 (1) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part13 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora14 tion, group, subgroup, or organization. 

15 (2) GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA.—The term 

16 ‘‘Government of Venezuela’’ includes— 

17 (A) the state and Government of Ven18 ezuela; 

19 (B) any political subdivision, agency, or in20 strumentality thereof, including the Central 

21 Bank of Venezuela and Petroleos de Venezuela, 

22 S.A.; 

23 (C) any person owned or controlled, di24 rectly or indirectly, by an entity described in 

25 subparagraph (A) or (B); and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 37 IS

1 (D) any person that has acted or pur2 ported to act directly or indirectly for or on be3 half of an entity described in subparagraph (A) 

4 or (B), including as a member of the regime of 

5 Nicolas Maduro or any nondemocratic successor 

6 government in Venezuela. 

7 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in8 dividual or entity. 

9 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

10 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

11 (A) a United States citizen or alien law12 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

13 United States; 

14 (B) any entity organized under the laws of 

15 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

16 United States (including a foreign branch of 

17 any such entity); and 

18 (C) any person physically located in the 

19 United States. 

20 SEC. 302. BLOCKING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR A 

21 NONDEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN VEN22 EZUELA. 

23 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING VEN24 EZUELAN TRADING PARTNERS.—The President should 

25 encourage the governments of countries that conduct 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 37 IS

1 trade with Venezuela to restrict their trade and credit re2 lations with Venezuela in a manner consistent with the 

3 purposes of this Act. 

4 (b) SANCTIONS AGAINST COUNTRIES ASSISTING A

5 NONDEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN VENEZUELA.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose 

7 the following sanctions with respect to any country 

8 that provides assistance to the regime of Nicolas 

9 Maduro or any nondemocratic successor government 

10 in Venezuela: 

11 (A) The President may determine that the 

12 government of such country is not eligible for 

13 nonhumanitarian assistance under the Foreign 

14 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et 

15 seq.) or assistance or sales under the Arms Ex16 port Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.). 

17 (B) The President may determine that the 

18 country is not eligible, under any program, for 

19 forgiveness or reduction of debt owed to the 

20 United States Government. 

21 (2) TERMINATION.—The authority to impose 

22 sanctions under this section shall cease to apply at 

23 such time as the President submits to the appro24 priate congressional committees a determination 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 37 IS

1 under section 101(a) that a democratically elected 

2 government is in power in Venezuela. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ASSISTANCE TO VENEZUELA.—The term 

5 ‘‘assistance to Venezuela’’— 

6 (A) means assistance to or for the benefit 

7 of the Government of Venezuela that is pro8 vided by grant, concessional sale, guaranty, or 

9 insurance, or by any other means on terms 

10 more favorable than that generally available in 

11 the applicable market, whether in the form of 

12 a loan, lease, credit, or otherwise; 

13 (B) includes— 

14 (i) subsidies for exports to Venezuela; 

15 (ii) favorable tariff treatment of arti16 cles that are the growth, product, or manu17 facture of Venezuela; and 

18 (iii) an exchange, reduction, or for19 giveness of debt owed by the Government 

20 of Venezuela to a foreign country in return 

21 for a grant of an equity interest in a prop22 erty, investment, or operation of the Gov23 ernment of Venezuela (including any agen24 cy or instrumentality of the Government of 

25 Venezuela) or a national of Venezuela; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 37 IS

1 (C) does not include— 

2 (i) humanitarian assistance, including 

3 donations of food, made available to non4 governmental organizations or individuals 

5 in Venezuela; or 

6 (ii) exports of medicines or medical 

7 supplies, instruments, or equipment. 

8 (2) AGENCY OR INSTRUMENTALITY OF THE

9 GOVERNMENT OF VENEZUELA.—The term ‘‘agency 

10 or instrumentality of the Government of Venezuela’’ 

11 has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency or instru12 mentality of a foreign state’’ in section 1603(b) of 

13 title 28, United States Code, except that each ref14 erence in such section to ‘‘a foreign state’’ shall be 

15 deemed to be a reference to ‘‘the Government of 

16 Venezuela’’. 

17 SEC. 303. FINANCIAL SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO DEBT 

18 INSTRUMENTS OF MADURO REGIME. 

19 (a) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the 

21 enactment of this Act, all transactions by a United 

22 States person or within the United States that relate 

23 to, provide financing for, or otherwise deal in debt 

24 instruments issued by, for, or on behalf of Petroleos 

25 de Venezuela, S.A., or the regime of Nicolas Maduro 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•S 37 IS

1 or any nondemocratic successor government in Ven2 ezuela, are prohibited. 

3 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The prohibition under para4 graph (1) includes a prohibition on— 

5 (A) entering into any transaction in— 

6 (i) debt instruments with a maturity 

7 of more than 90 days issued by Petro ́leos 

8 de Venezuela, S.A., on or after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act; 

10 (ii) debt instruments with a maturity 

11 of more than 30 days or equity issued by 

12 the Maduro regime on or after such date 

13 of enactment, other than debt instruments 

14 issued by Petro ́leos de Venezuela, S.A., 

15 covered by clause (i); 

16 (iii) bonds issued by the Maduro re17 gime before such date of enactment; or 

18 (iv) dividend payments or other dis19 tributions of profits to the Maduro regime 

20 from any entity owned or controlled, di21 rectly or indirectly, by the Maduro regime; 

22 (B) the direct or indirect purchase of secu23 rities from the Maduro regime, other than— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•S 37 IS

1 (i) securities qualifying as debt instru2 ments issued by Petro ́leos de Venezuela, 

3 S.A., covered by subparagraph (A)(i); and 

4 (ii) securities qualifying as debt in5 struments issued by the Maduro regime 

6 covered by subparagraph (A)(ii); 

7 (C) purchasing any debt owed to the 

8 Maduro regime, including accounts receivable; 

9 (D) entering into any transaction related 

10 to any debt owed to the Maduro regime that is 

11 pledged as collateral after May 21, 2018, in12 cluding accounts receivable; 

13 (E) entering into any transaction involving 

14 the selling, transferring, assigning, or pledging 

15 as collateral by the Maduro regime of any eq16 uity interest in any entity in which the Maduro 

17 regime has a 50 percent or greater ownership 

18 interest; and 

19 (F) entering into any transaction that 

20 evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or 

21 avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to 

22 violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this 

23 subsection. 

24 (b) RULEMAKING.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•S 37 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas2 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may 

3 take such actions, including prescribing rules and 

4 regulations, as are necessary to implement this sec5 tion. 

6 (2) DELEGATION.—The Secretary of the Treas7 ury may redelegate the authority described in para8 graph (1) to other officers and agencies of the 

9 United States Government. 

10 (c) RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHER AGENCIES.—All 

11 agencies of the United States Government shall take all 

12 appropriate measures within their authority to carry out 

13 the provisions of this section. 

14 SEC. 304. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

15 CRYPTOCURRENCY AND RELATED TECH16 NOLOGIES IN VENEZUELA. 

17 (a) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act, the following transactions are 

20 prohibited: 

21 (A) Any transaction by a United States 

22 person or within the United States that relates 

23 to, provides financing for, or otherwise deals in 

24 any digital currency, digital coin, or digital 

25 token, that was issued by, for, or on behalf of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•S 37 IS

1 the regime of Nicolas Maduro or any nondemo2 cratic successor government. 

3 (B) Any transaction that evades or avoids, 

4 has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes 

5 a violation of, or attempts to violate the prohi6 bition under subparagraph (A). 

7 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The prohibitions under 

8 paragraph (1) shall apply— 

9 (A) to the extent provided by statutes, or 

10 in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses 

11 that may be issued pursuant to this section; 

12 and 

13 (B) notwithstanding any contract entered 

14 into or any license or permit granted before the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas18 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may 

19 take such actions, including prescribing rules and 

20 regulations, as are necessary to implement this sec21 tion. 

22 (2) DELEGATION.—The Secretary of the Treas23 ury may redelegate the authority described in para24 graph (1) to other officers and agencies of the 

25 United States Government. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•S 37 IS

1 (c) RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHER AGENCIES.—All 

2 agencies of the United States Government shall take all 

3 appropriate measures within their authority to carry out 

4 the provisions of this section. 

5 SEC. 305. BLOCKING PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF 

6 VENEZUELA. 

7 (a) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The President shall 

8 exercise all powers granted to the President by the Inter9 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 

10 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit 

11 all transactions in all property and interests in property 

12 of the Government of Venezuela and any person described 

13 in subsection (b) if such property and interests in property 

14 are in the United States, come within the United States, 

15 or are or come within the possession or control of a United 

16 States person. 

17 (b) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—A person described in 

18 this subsection is any person determined by the Secretary 

19 of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

20 State— 

21 (1) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or 

22 provided financial, material, or technological support 

23 for, or goods or services to or in support of, any per24 son the property and interests in property of which 

25 are blocked pursuant to subsection (a); or 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•S 37 IS

1 (2) to be owned or controlled by, or to have 

2 acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly 

3 or indirectly, any person the property and interests 

4 in property of which are blocked pursuant to sub5 section (a). 

6 (c) PROHIBITIONS ON EVASION.—Any transaction 

7 that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoid8 ing, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate, the prohi9 bition under subsection (a) is prohibited. 

10 (d) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) and the prohibi11 tion under subsection (c) shall apply— 

12 (1) to the extent provided by statutes, or in reg13 ulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be 

14 issued pursuant to this section; and 

15 (2) notwithstanding any contract entered into 

16 or any license or permit granted before the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act. 

18 (e) RULEMAKING.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas20 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may 

21 take such actions, including prescribing rules and 

22 regulations, as are necessary to implement this sec23 tion. 

24 (2) DELEGATION.—The Secretary of the Treas25 ury may redelegate the authority described in paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 31, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S37.IS S37

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•S 37 IS

1 graph (1) to other officers and agencies of the 

2 United States Government. 

3 (f) RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHER AGENCIES.—All 

4 agencies of the United States Government shall take all 

5 appropriate measures within their authority to carry out 

6 the provisions of this section. 

7 SEC. 306. TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon submitting to the appro9 priate congressional committees a determination under 

10 section 101(a) that a democratically elected government 

11 is in power in Venezuela, the President shall take steps 

12 to terminate the sanctions imposed under this title. 

13 (b) REVIEW OF TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.— 

14 (1) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Upon taking 

15 action under subsection (a) to terminate the sanc16 tions imposed under this title, the President shall— 

17 (A) immediately notify Congress of that 

18 action; and 

19 (B) submit to Congress, not less frequently 

20 than every 180 days thereafter for 3 years, a 

21 report on the progress being made by Venezuela 

22 toward the establishment of a democratically 

23 elected government. 

24 (2) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•S 37 IS

1 (A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL

2 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘joint 

3 resolution of disapproval’’ means a joint resolu4 tion, the sole matter after the resolving clause 

5 of which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress dis6 approves the action of the President under sec7 tion 306(a) of the Venezuela Advancing Lib8 erty, Opportunity, and Rights Act of 2025 to 

9 terminate the sanctions imposed under title III 

10 of that Act, notice of which was submitted to 

11 the Congress on llll.’’, with the blank 

12 space being filled with the date on which the 

13 President notified Congress with respect to the 

14 action under paragraph (1)(A). 

15 (B) EFFECT OF ENACTMENT.—An action 

16 taken by the President under subsection (a) 

17 shall cease to be effective upon the enactment 

18 of a joint resolution of disapproval with respect 

19 to that action. 

20 (C) REFERRAL TO COMMITTEES.— 

21 (i) SENATE.—A joint resolution of 

22 disapproval introduced in the Senate shall 

23 be referred to the Committee on Foreign 

24 Relations. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•S 37 IS

1 (ii) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—A 

2 joint resolution of disapproval introduced 

3 in the House of Representatives shall be 

4 referred to the Committee on Foreign Af5 fairs. 

6 (D) PROCEDURES.— 

7 (i) SENATE.—A joint resolution of 

8 disapproval shall be considered in the Sen9 ate in accordance with the provisions of 

10 section 601(b) of the International Secu11 rity Assistance and Arms Export Control 

12 Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–329; 90 Stat. 

13 765). 

14 (ii) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

15 For the purpose of expediting the consider16 ation and enactment of a joint resolution 

17 of disapproval, a motion to proceed to the 

18 consideration of such a resolution after it 

19 has been reported by the appropriate com20 mittee under subparagraph (C) shall be 

21 treated as highly privileged in the House of 

22 Representatives. 

23 (iii) LIMITATION.—Not more than one 

24 joint resolution of disapproval may be conVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 31, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S37.IS S37

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•S 37 IS

1 sidered in the Senate and the House of 

2 Representatives in— 

3 (I) the 180-day period beginning 

4 on the date on which the President 

5 notifies Congress under paragraph 

6 (1)(A) with respect to action taken 

7 under subsection (a); and 

8 (II) each 180-day period there9 after. 

10 (E) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTA11 TIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph is en12 acted by Congress— 

13 (i) as an exercise of the rulemaking 

14 power of the Senate and the House of Rep15 resentatives, respectively, and as such is 

16 deemed a part of the rules of each House, 

17 respectively, and supersedes other rules 

18 only to the extent that it is inconsistent 

19 with such rules; and 

20 (ii) with full recognition of the con21 stitutional right of either House to change 

22 the rules (so far as relating to the proce23 dure of that House) at any time, in the 

24 same manner, and to the same extent as in 

25 the case of any other rule of that House. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•S 37 IS

1 SEC. 307. IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES. 

2 (a) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

3 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex4 ercise all authorities provided to the President under 

5 sections 203 and 205 of the International Emer6 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 

7 1704) to carry out this title. 

8 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at9 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

10 violation of this title or any regulation, license, or 

11 order issued to carry out this title shall be subject 

12 to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) 

13 of section 206 of the International Emergency Eco14 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same ex15 tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de16 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

17 (3) WAIVER.—The President may waive the ap18 plication of sanctions under this title with respect to 

19 a foreign person if the President, not later than 10 

20 days before the waiver is to take effect, determines 

21 and certifies to the appropriate congressional com22 mittees that such a waiver is in the vital national se23 curity interest of the United States. The President 

24 shall submit with the certification a detailed jus25 tification explaining the reasons for the waiver. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•S 37 IS

1 SEC. 308. REPORT ON SPECIFIC LICENSES THAT AUTHOR2 IZE TRANSACTIONS WITH SANCTIONED PER3 SONS. 

4 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

7 every 180 days thereafter until the date that is 10 

8 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the 

10 Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate 

11 congressional committees a report that includes— 

12 (A) a list of specific licenses issued by the 

13 Secretary of the Treasury during the 180-day 

14 period preceding submission of the report that 

15 authorize any transaction with a person with 

16 respect to which sanctions have been imposed 

17 under section 303, 304, or 305; and 

18 (B)(i) in the case of the first report, an es19 timate of funds the Maduro regime has 

20 accessed as a result of licenses issued by the 

21 Office of Foreign Assets Control since January 

22 20, 2021; and 

23 (ii) in the case of any subsequent report, 

24 an estimate of the funds the Maduro regime 

25 has accessed as a result of such licenses issued 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
29 

•S 37 IS

1 during the 180-day period preceding submission 

2 of the report. 

3 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para4 graph (1) shall include, with respect to each entity 

5 that received a specific license described in that 

6 paragraph, the following information: 

7 (A) The name of the entity. 

8 (B) A brief description of the activity au9 thorized by the license. 

10 (C) A brief justification of why the Office 

11 of Foreign Assets Control granted the license. 

12 (b) SUBMISSION OF COPIES OF LICENSES ON RE13 QUEST.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall expedi14 tiously provide to the appropriate congressional commit15 tees a copy of any license identified in a report submitted 

16 under subsection (a) if an appropriate Member of Con17 gress requests a copy of that license not later than 60 

18 days after the report is submitted. 

19 (c) BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas21 ury shall, in each report required by subsection (a) 

22 and any submission under subsection (b), identify 

23 any proprietary information submitted by any pri24 vate sector representative and mark such informa25 tion as ‘‘business confidential information’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
30 

•S 37 IS

1 (2) TREATMENT AS TRADE SECRETS.—Busi2 ness confidential information described in paragraph 

3 (1) shall be considered to be a matter falling within 

4 the meaning of the exception for trade secrets and 

5 commercial or financial information under sub6 section (b)(4) of section 552 of title 5, United States 

7 Code, and shall be exempt from disclosure under 

8 such section without the express approval of the pri9 vate party. 

10 (3) FORM OF REPORT AND SUBMISSIONS.— 

11 Each report required by subsection (a) and any sub12 mission under subsection (b) shall be submitted in 

13 unclassified form, but may contain a classified 

14 annex. 

15 (d) SUNSET.—The section shall have no force or ef16 fect after the end of the 10-year period beginning on the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 309. REPORT ON FOREIGN PERSONS DOING BUSINESS 

19 WITH THE MADURO REGIME. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

22 with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall 

23 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re24 port that identifies any foreign person that— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
31 

•S 37 IS

1 (1) engages in or has engaged in a significant 

2 transaction or transactions, or any other dealings 

3 with, or has provided material support to or for— 

4 (A) the Government of Venezuela; 

5 (B) any person the President determines 

6 to be knowingly responsible for or complicit in, 

7 or responsible for ordering, controlling, or oth8 erwise directing, or to have participated in, di9 rectly or indirectly— 

10 (i) actions or policies that significantly 

11 undermine democratic processes or institu12 tions in Venezuela; 

13 (ii) significant acts of violence or con14 duct that constitute serious human rights 

15 abuse, including against persons involved 

16 in antigovernment protests in Venezuela on 

17 or after February 1, 2014; 

18 (iii) actions that prohibit, limit, or pe19 nalize the exercise of freedom of expression 

20 or peaceful assembly in Venezuela; or 

21 (iv) significant public corruption by 

22 senior officials within the Government of 

23 Venezuela; or 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
32 

•S 37 IS

1 (C) any entity that has, or whose members 

2 have, engaged in any activity described in sub3 paragraph (B); 

4 (2) operates in the mining, financial, energy, 

5 shipping, or shipbuilding sector of the economy of 

6 Venezuela; 

7 (3) operates in the ports, free trade zones, or 

8 special economic zones of Venezuela; 

9 (4) is owned or controlled by a foreign person 

10 described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3); or 

11 (5) has knowingly materially assisted, spon12 sored, or provided significant financial, material, or 

13 technological support for, or goods or services in 

14 support of, a foreign person described in paragraph 

15 (1), (2), or (3). 

16 TITLE IV—ASSISTANCE TO A 

17 FREE AND INDEPENDENT 

18 VENEZUELA 

19 SEC. 401. ASSISTANCE FOR THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA. 

20 (a) PLAN FOR PROVIDING ASSISTANCE.— 

21 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall de23 velop a plan for providing assistance to Ven24 ezuela under a democratically elected govern25 ment. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
33 

•S 37 IS

1 (B) STRATEGY FOR DISTRIBUTION.—The 

2 plan developed under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 include a strategy for distributing assistance 

4 under the plan. 

5 (2) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance to Ven6 ezuela under a democratically elected government 

7 provided pursuant to the plan developed under para8 graph (1) may include— 

9 (A) such food, medicine, medical supplies 

10 and equipment, and assistance to meet emer11 gency energy needs, as is necessary to meet the 

12 basic human needs of the people of Venezuela; 

13 (B) assistance under— 

14 (i) chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign 

15 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et 

16 seq.) (relating to development assistance); 

17 and 

18 (ii) chapter 4 of part II of that Act 

19 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.) (relating to the 

20 economic support fund); 

21 (C) assistance under the Food for Peace 

22 Act (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.); 

23 (D) financing, guarantees, and other forms 

24 of assistance provided by the Export-Import 

25 Bank of the United States; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
34 

•S 37 IS

1 (E) assistance provided by the Trade and 

2 Development Agency; and 

3 (F) Peace Corps programs. 

4 (3) DISTRIBUTION.—Assistance under the plan 

5 developed under paragraph (1) shall be provided 

6 through relevant United States Federal departments 

7 and agencies and nongovernmental organizations 

8 and private and voluntary organizations, whether 

9 within or outside the United States, including hu10 manitarian, educational, labor, and private sector or11 ganizations. 

12 (4) COMMUNICATION WITH PEOPLE OF VEN13 EZUELA.—The President shall take the necessary 

14 steps to communicate to the people of Venezuela the 

15 plan for assistance developed under paragraph (1). 

16 (5) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

18 President shall submit to the appropriate congres19 sional committees a report describing in detail the 

20 plan developed under paragraph (1). 

21 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN; REPORTS TO CON22 GRESS.— 

23 (1) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.—Upon submit24 ting to the appropriate congressional committees a 

25 determination under section 101(a) that a democratVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Jan 31, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S37.IS S37

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
35 

•S 37 IS

1 ically elected government is in power in Venezuela, 

2 the President shall commence the delivery and dis3 tribution of assistance to the democratically elected 

4 government under the plan developed under sub5 section (a). 

6 (2) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not 

7 later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, 

8 the President shall submit to the appropriate con9 gressional committees a report on the assistance 

10 provided under the plan developed under subsection 

11 (a), including— 

12 (A) a description of each type of assistance 

13 and the amounts expended for such assistance 

14 during the preceding fiscal year; and 

15 (B) a description of the assistance to be 

16 provided under the plan in the fiscal year in 

17 which the report is submitted. 

18 (c) COORDINATING OFFICIAL.—The Secretary of 

19 State shall designate a coordinating official of the Depart20 ment of State who shall be responsible for— 

21 (1) implementing the strategy for distributing 

22 assistance described in subsection (a)(1)(B); 

23 (2) ensuring the speedy and efficient distribu24 tion of such assistance; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
36 

•S 37 IS

1 (3) ensuring coordination among, and appro2 priate oversight by, the agencies of the United 

3 States that provide assistance described in sub4 section (a)(2), including resolving any disputes 

5 among such agencies. 

6 (d) REPROGRAMMING.—Any changes in the assist7 ance to be provided under the plan developed under sub8 section (a) may not be made unless the Secretary of State 

9 notifies the appropriate congressional committees at least 

10 15 days in advance in accordance with the procedures ap11 plicable to reprogramming notifications under section 

12 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

13 2394–1). 

14 (e) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Assistance may be pro15 vided under this section only if amounts are authorized 

16 to be appropriated, and are appropriated, to provide such 

17 assistance. 

18 (f) INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS.—The President shall 

19 take the necessary steps— 

20 (1) to seek to obtain the agreement of other 

21 countries and of international financial institutions 

22 and multilateral organizations to provide to a demo23 cratically elected government in Venezuela assistance 

24 comparable to that provided by the United States 

25 under this section; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
37 

•S 37 IS

1 (2) to work with such countries, institutions, 

2 and organizations to coordinate all such assistance 

3 programs. 

4 SEC. 402. REPORT ON TRADE AND INVESTMENT RELATIONS 

5 BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND VEN6 EZUELA. 

7 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Upon submitting to the 

8 appropriate congressional committees a determination 

9 under section 101(a) that a democratically elected govern10 ment is in power in Venezuela, the President shall submit 

11 to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

12 Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 

13 and the appropriate congressional committees a report 

14 that describes— 

15 (1) acts, policies, and practices that constitute 

16 significant barriers to, or distortions of, United 

17 States trade in goods or services or foreign direct in18 vestment with respect to Venezuela; and 

19 (2) policy objectives of the United States re20 garding trade relations with a democratically elected 

21 government in Venezuela, and the reasons for such 

22 objectives, including possible reciprocal extension of 

23 nondiscriminatory trade treatment (most-favored-na24 tion treatment). 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
38 

•S 37 IS

1 (b) CONSULTATION.—With respect to the policy ob2 jectives described in subsection (a), the President shall— 

3 (1) consult with the Committee on Ways and 

4 Means of the House of Representatives, the Com5 mittee on Finance of the Senate, and the appro6 priate congressional committees; and 

7 (2) seek advice from the appropriate advisory 

8 committees established under section 135 of the 

9 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155). 

10 TITLE V—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 501. EFFECT ON LAWFUL UNITED STATES GOVERN12 MENT ACTIVITIES. 

13 Nothing in this Act prohibits any lawfully authorized 

14 investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law 

15 enforcement agency, or of an intelligence agency, of the 

16 United States. 

17 SEC. 502. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 

18 GOODS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of this Act, the authorities and requirements to im21 pose sanctions under this Act shall not include the author22 ity or a requirement to impose sanctions on the importa23 tion of goods. 

24 (b) GOOD DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

25 ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or manmade substance, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
39 

•S 37 IS

1 material, supply or manufactured product, including in2 spection and test equipment, and excluding technical data. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB