Engel and South Florida Democrats Set Out Legislative Agenda on Venezuela

Washington—The House Committee on Foreign Affairs today released a video featuring Chairman Eliot L. Engel and his colleagues from South Florida—Representatives Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Donna Shalala, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz—on the illegitimacy of Nicolas Maduro’s new term and the lawmakers’ plans to introduce new legislation supporting the Venezuelan people in the coming weeks.

The video can be found here.

Chairman Engel said, “As the new Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I will waste no time in focusing the attention of our Congress on the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela created by Nicolas Maduro and his cronies. Today, I join the Lima Group and leaders in the international community in not recognizing the legitimacy of Mr. Maduro’s new term. Venezuela’s National Assembly is the only existing democratic institution in the country, and I look forward to working with my counterparts in the Assembly and throughout the Americas towards the common goal of a better future for all Venezuelans both inside and outside of the country.”

He added, “I thank Congresswomen Mucarsel-Powell, Shalala and Wasserman Schultz for their quick leadership in addressing the crisis in Venezuela through innovative, new legislation, and I look forward to working with them to hold Mr. Maduro accountable in the weeks and months ahead.”

In the video, the South Florida members state their plans to introduce the following bills in the coming weeks:

• The Venezuela Humanitarian Assistance Act of 2019 (Rep. Mucarsel-Powell);
• The Venezuela Arms Restriction Act (Rep. Shalala); and
• The Venezuela – Russia Threat Mitigation Act (Rep. Wasserman Schultz).

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