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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 161 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 161

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need 
for free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in the Bolivarian 
         Republic of Venezuela without threats or intimidation.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 2009

Mr. Mack submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need 
for free, democratic, transparent, and fair elections in the Bolivarian 
         Republic of Venezuela without threats or intimidation.

Whereas the Venezuelan Constitution provides that the President of Venezuela is 
        limited to two six-year terms;
Whereas subsequent to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's election in 2006, he 
        immediately called for an end to presidential term limits so that he 
        could run again;
Whereas Chavez has repeatedly undertaken efforts to extend his rule by 
        overturning term limits;
Whereas, on December 2, 2007, the Government of Venezuela held a constitutional 
        referendum on repealing presidential term limits and suspending certain 
        constitutional rights;
Whereas the 2007 referendum backed by Chavez was definitively defeated by the 
        people of Venezuela;
Whereas Chavez chose to ignore the mandate of the Venezuelan people and 
        instituted many of the provisions defeated in the 2007 referendum via 
        presidential decree;
Whereas Venezuela's November 2008 municipal elections were preceded by several 
        measures by Chavez to thwart the opposition, such as attacks on property 
        rights, threats against the media and the freedom of the press, and 
        threats to strip future funding if opposition gubernatorial candidates 
        were elected;
Whereas Chavez fulfilled these threats when opposition leader, Antonio Ledezma, 
        won the Caracas mayorship by revoking Ledezma's authority over the 
        8,000-member police force, Caracas' 18-hospital health system, and 1,200 
        sports and recreation facilities;
Whereas, in November 2008, Chavez once again proposed a constitutional amendment 
        that removes presidential term limits, thereby allowing him to rule 
        Venezuela until at least 2019;
Whereas the constitutional referendum will be held on February 15, 2009;
Whereas Chavez has increased his rhetoric against university students who have 
        organized protests ahead of the February referendum and has used the 
        threat of ``civil war'' if he loses the vote;
Whereas the United States is committed to promoting freedom, security, 
        prosperity, democracy, and the rule of law;
Whereas the Charter of the Organization of American States, of which the 
        Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a member state, stipulates that 
        ``[t]he peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their 
        governments have an obligation to promote and defend it'';
Whereas democracy requires a system of political parties and organizations, the 
        separation of powers, the independence of the branches of government, 
        respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, a 
        free and independent press, and the guarantee of periodic, free, and 
        fair elections;
Whereas Venezuela was once a thriving democracy with a vibrant free market 
        system;
Whereas under Chavez, the Venezuelan economy has experienced substantial 
        problems and currently has the highest inflation in Latin America and is 
        experiencing shortages of basic food staples;
Whereas in the years since Chavez first took office, he has taken deliberate 
        steps to eliminate freedoms and launch his ``Bolivarian Revolution'';
Whereas Chavez continues to pursue close ties with state sponsors of terrorism 
        and international terrorist groups;
Whereas international human rights organizations have consistently condemned 
        Chavez's efforts to weaken democratic institutions and human rights 
        guarantees in Venezuela;
Whereas Chavez unilaterally increased the size of the Venezuelan Supreme Court 
        and appointed numerous pro-Chavez judges in clear contravention of the 
        principles of democracy and separation of powers; and
Whereas Chavez has packed the National Election Council with pro-Chavez 
        directors who are not able to guarantee a fair and transparent vote: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls for free and fair elections in the Bolivarian 
        Republic of Venezuela, conducted in accordance with the 
        standards of responsible nations and free from interference, 
        threats, and intimidation;
            (2) supports the efforts of the people of Venezuela and its 
        democratic civil society to create the necessary conditions for 
        free and fair elections;
            (3) strongly condemns the recent actions of Hugo Chavez as 
        detrimental to democracy and a violation of the Charter of the 
        Organization of American States;
            (4) affirms its strong opposition to all political elements 
        that continue to subvert democracy in Venezuela; and
            (5) urges the Secretary of State to use all means at the 
        disposal of the United States to promote free, democratic, 
        transparent, and fair elections in Venezuela.
                                 <all>
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