PANA Act

To establish a Venezuela Restoration Fund, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preserving Accountability for National Assets Act of 2021 PANA Act 2. Venezuela Restoration Fund (a) Establishment There is established in the United States Treasury a fund, to be known as the Venezuela Restoration Fund (b) Uses Amounts in the Fund— (1) shall be available to the Secretary of State only for the purposes described in paragraph (2), without fiscal year limitation or need for subsequent appropriation; (2) shall be used only for the purposes of— (A) strengthening democratic governance and institutions, including the democratically elected National Assembly of Venezuela; (B) defending internationally recognized human rights for the people of Venezuela, including support for efforts to document crimes against humanity and violations of human rights; (C) supporting the efforts of independent media outlets to broadcast, distribute, and share information beyond the limited channels made available by the Maduro regime; and (D) combatting corruption and improving the transparency and accountability of institutions that are part of the Maduro regime; (3) may support governmental and nongovernmental parties in advancing the purposes described in paragraph (2); and (4) shall be allocated in a manner complementary to existing United States foreign assistance, diplomacy, and anti-corruption activities. (c) Funding Beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of any funds or assets forfeited to the United States by an individual or entity connected to the regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the funds or assets will be deposited in the Venezuela Restoration Fund established under subsection (a). (d) Report on deposit of funds Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes an accounting of the amount and sources of funds that have been deposited into the Venezuela Restoration Fund established under subsection (a) during the preceding 90-day period. (e) Notification on expenditure of funds Upon expenditure of funds from the Venezuela Restoration Fund established under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a summary of the obligation, amounts, and expenditure of such funds. (f) Appropriate congressional committees defined In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

Summary: Preserving Accountability for National Assets Act of 2021 or the PANA Act This bill establishes the Venezuela Restoration Fund to strengthen democratic governance and institutions, defend human rights, support independent media outlets, and combat corruption and improve transparency in Venezuela. Any funds or assets forfeited to the United States by an individual or entity connected to the regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela will be deposited into this fund.