Palm Coast Times

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability passed the bipartisan Banning Operations and Leases with Illegitimate Venezuelan Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act. The legislation was introduced by U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz (FL-06) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).

The BOLIVAR Act aims to complement existing sanctions by prohibiting the U.S. government from contracting with any entity that has business operations with the government of Nicolas Maduro, or any successor government of Venezuela not recognized as legitimate by the United States.

“Venezuela is in crisis due to the authoritarian rule and Marxist policies of Nicolas Maduro,” said Waltz. “The regime has tampered with the recent Presidential election, falsely declaring victory. As we speak, thousands of Venezuelans have been arrested for speaking out against this injustice and the legitimate President-elect of Venezuela has been exiled to Spain. The United States must demonstrate solidarity with the brave democratic opposition in Venezuela as they try to chart a new way forward, and we should deny the Maduro regime any resources it can use to continue its oppression of the Venezuelan people and cause such disruption in the entire hemisphere.”

“Doing business with a criminal and murderous Maduro regime will only prolong the pain inflicted on the Venezuelan people,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “American taxpayer money should never further the reign of this narco-terrorist, directly or indirectly. Banning U.S. government agency contracts with anyone who does business with Maduro will stifle his support network, and send another clear message that America will not tolerate this oppressive government, or a leader who subverts his people and steals an election.”

Section 890 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act prohibited the Pentagon from entering into contracts with companies that also have contracts with any Venezuelan government entity under Maduro’s control. The BOLIVAR Act would extend these contracting restrictions to all federal agencies. In FY23, DoD executed over 36 million contracts, which accounted for 60% of all government contracts. Considering overlap between contractors working with DoD and other agencies, BOLIVAR would cover those remaining contractors not working with DoD.

There are waivers for contracts related to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief among other exemptions. Similar legislation passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate during the 117th Congress before it adjourned.

The full text of the bill can be found here.

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