Palm Coast Times

On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Banning Operations and Leases with Illegitimate Venezuelan Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act. This bipartisan legislation was introduced by U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz (FL-06) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).

The BOLIVAR Act is designed to enhance existing sanctions by preventing the U.S. government from engaging in contracts with entities that conduct business with Nicolas Maduro's government in Venezuela or any successor regime not recognized as legitimate by the United States.

Congressman Waltz emphasized the critical situation in Venezuela, stating, "Venezuela is in crisis due to the illegitimate, authoritarian rule and the Marxist policies of Nicolas Maduro and his Caracas cartel." He highlighted Maduro's disregard for democratic processes and called for continued sanctions against his regime. Waltz added, "This legislation sends a clear and powerful message to Maduro, as well as other dictators around the world, that there will be no appeasement."

Rep. Wasserman Schultz also voiced her support for the bill: "Over the last decade, I've fought for tough sanctions against the Maduro regime... But unless the U.S. divests from shady corporate interests that enable Maduro's corruption and election theft, we can't truly say we are committed to the Venezuelan people." She stressed that this legislation would cut off support networks for Maduro.

The BOLIVAR Act extends restrictions already applied to Pentagon contracts under Section 890 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to all federal government contracts. In FY23, over 36 million contracts were executed by DoD alone, representing 60% of all government contracts.

Exemptions exist within this legislation for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts. Similar measures passed unanimously in a previous session of Congress.