On Thursday, the Florida delegation in the U.S. House rallied behind U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz’s, R-Fla., proposal to end government contracts with businesses working with the Maduro regime.
Waltz’s “Banning Operations and Leases with Illegitimate Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act” would “prohibit the head of an executive agency from entering into a contract for the procurement of goods or services with any person that has business operations with the Maduro regime.”
The Northeast Florida congressman weighed in on his proposal on Thursday.
“The U.S. must use every means necessary to strip any funding mechanisms that helps bolster the illegitimate and corrupt Maduro socialist regime,” said Waltz. “This bipartisan legislation sets the roadmap for other countries to follow in hopes of restoring freedom and prosperity for the people of Venezuela.”
The proposal is getting the support of several members of the Florida delegation including U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., Bill Posey, R-Fla., Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.
“Doing business with a criminal and murderous Maduro regime will only prolong the pain inflicted on the Venezuelan people,” said 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 not only stifle his support network, but it also sends another clear message that, just like the vast majority of global democracies, America will not tolerate this oppressive government.”
“I commend Rep. Waltz for building on his legislation from the previous Congress to protect U.S. national security interests by prohibiting U.S. contracts that enrich the Maduro dictatorship,” said Diaz-Balart. “We must continue to support the Venezuelan people by denying resources to their oppressors, oppressors who have engaged in narco-trafficking, corrupted Venezuela’s once democratic institutions, and perpetrated egregious human rights abuses including torture, imprisonment of political opponents, and murder. I strongly support this bipartisan effort to ensure that U.S. dollars are not used to sustain the anti-American, murderous regime in Venezuela.”
“The Maduro regime is a threat to the people of Venezuela, to stability in Latin America, and to U.S. national security interests,” said Murphy. “I am proud to support this bipartisan bill led by members of Florida’s congressional delegation because the United States should use every tool in its foreign policy toolbox to support the people of Venezuela and to weaken the cruel and anti-democratic Maduro regime.”
“As a journalist, I spent decades covering the countless crimes against humanity committed against the Venezuelan people and it’s abundantly clear that Nicolas Maduro’s illegitimate, murderous regime is in the business of power,” said Salazar. “We must not allow Maduro to line his pockets while the Venezuelan people starve. This legislation ensures that no American tax-payer dollars go to any company doing business with Nicolas Maduro’s criminal enterprise.”
“The socialists in Venezuela pose a grave threat to America’s interests across Latin America. Maduro’s regime is at the helm of training Marxists groups that seek to undermine and destabilize legitimate governments America counts as crucial partners and allies,” said Gimenez. “I am honored to join a broad, bipartisan group of colleagues to bolster our tools to combat Maduro’s influence in the hemisphere.”
Waltz successfully added a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to ensure the U.S. Defense Department did not offer contracts to companies working with the Maduro regime outside humanitarian or relief efforts. The new proposal would extend that policy to the rest of the federal government.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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[…] Además, hizo el desgastado llamado a que Estados Unidos debe utilizar todos los medios para eliminar cualquier mecanismo de financiación del “régimen de […]
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