119-s261

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 261 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 261

 To immediately halt investment by United States persons in the energy 
sector of Venezuela until the legitimate results of the July 28, 2024, 
 election are respected.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 27, 2025

 Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To immediately halt investment by United States persons in the energy 
sector of Venezuela until the legitimate results of the July 28, 2024, 
 election are respected.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Halt All United States Investments 
in Venezuela's Energy Sector Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress makes the following findings:

    (1) On July 28, 2024, more than 10,000,000 citizens of 
 Venezuela voted in a presidential election in which 
 meticulously documented and publicized data from credible 
 election monitors clearly and convincingly showed that 
 opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received more than two-
 thirds of the votes against the regime of Nicolas Maduro.

    (2) The Maduro regime has refused to respect the 
 overwhelming choice of the people of Venezuela and subsequently 
 arrested and abused thousands of innocent citizens of 
 Venezuela, including children, for peaceful political 
 participation.

    (3) Despite overwhelming evidence that Edmundo Gonzalez won 
 a decisive victory to be Venezuela's next president, the Maduro 
 regime ignored the results of the election and the law of 
 Venezuela by forcibly refusing to allow Gonzalez to be sworn in 
 on Venezuela's January 10, 2025, inauguration day.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON INVESTMENT BY UNITED STATES PERSONS IN ENERGY 
 SECTOR OF VENEZUELA UNTIL THE LEGITIMATE RESULTS OF THE 
 JULY 28, 2024, ELECTION ARE RESPECTED.

    (a) Prohibition.--

    (1) In general.--Beginning on the date of the enactment of 
 this Act, the following transactions are prohibited:
        (A) Any petroleum-related transaction allowed--
            (i) as a result of the Partial Agreement on 
 the Promotion of Political Rights and Electoral 
 Guarantees for All, agreed to by the regime of 
 Nicolas Maduro and the political opposition in 
 Venezuela in October 2023 (commonly known as 
 the ``Barbados Agreement''); or
            (ii) pursuant to a license issued after 
 entry into that agreement relating to 
 petroleum-related transactions with Venezuela.
        (B) Any transaction allowed under General License 
 No. 41 or General License No. 8M of the Office of 
 Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the 
 Treasury on the day before such date of enactment.

    (2) Applicability.--The prohibitions under paragraph

    (1) shall apply to the extent provided by law and regulations, 
 orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to 
 this section.

    (b) National Security Waiver.--The President may waive the 
prohibitions under subsection

    (a) if the President--

    (1) determines that the waiver is in the national security 
 interests of the United States; and

    (2) submits in writing to the appropriate congressional 
 committees a report, which may include a classified annex, on 
 that determination and the reasons for the determination.
            (c) Implementation; Penalties.--

    (1) Implementation.--
        (A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in 
 consultation with the Secretary of State, may take such 
 actions, including prescribing regulations, as are 
 necessary to implement this section.
        (B) IEEPA authorities.--For purposes of 
 implementing this section, the Secretary of the 
 Treasury may exercise the authorities provided to the 
 President under sections 203 and 205 of the 
 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
 1702 and 1704).

    (2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
 violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of 
 subsection

    (a) or any regulation, license, directive, or order 
 issued to carry out that subsection shall be subject to the 
 penalties set forth in subsections

    (b) and
            (c) of 

section 206 
 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
 1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful 
 act described in subsection

    (a) of that section.
            (d) Responsibility of Other Agencies.--All agencies of the United 
States Government shall take all appropriate measures within their 
authority to carry out the provisions of this section.

    (e) Termination of Prohibition.--The prohibitions under subsection

    (a) shall terminate on the date on which the President submits to 
Congress a determination that the regime of Nicolas Maduro has 
recognized the July 28, 2024, electoral victory of Edmundo Gonzalez and 
relinquished power to the legitimately democratically elected 
government in Venezuela or to a transitional government that includes 
and is agreed to by the legitimately elected political opposition in 
Venezuela.

    (f) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
        (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
 Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
 Senate; and
        (B) the Committee on Financial Services and the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
 Representatives.

    (2) United states person.--The term ``United States 
 person'' means--
        (A) a United States citizen or alien lawfully 
 admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
        (B) any entity organized under the laws of the 
 United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
 States (including a foreign branch of any such entity); 
 and
            (C) any person physically located in the United 
 States.
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