,h4 ,,res4 #dhh  ,in the ,house of      
,representatives1 ,u4 ,s41  ,march #d1  
#bjad  ,,resolution  ,whereas the       
,united ,states ,government should      
support the rule of law1 and free and   
peaceful exercise of representative     
democracy in ,venezuela1 condemning     
violence and intimidation against the   
country's political opposition1 and     
calling for dialogue between all        
political actors in the country2        
,whereas1 on ,february #ab1 #bjad1 also 
known in ,venezuela as the ,national    
,youth ,day1 students began protesting  
in several cities ,venezuelan leader    
,nicolas ,maduro's inability to stem    
violent crime1 his undemocratic actions1
 and a rapidly deteriorating economy    
marked by high inflation and shortages  
of consumer goods2 ,whereas1 on         
,february #ab1 #bjad1 a judge issued an 
arrest warrant for ,leopoldo ,lpez1     
leader of the opposition party ,voluntad
 ,popular1 for unfounded allegations in 
connection with the student protests2   

,whereas1 on ,february #ag1 #bjad1 the  
,government of ,venezuela notified the  
,united ,states ,department of ,state   
that it had declared #c consular        
officers at the ,united ,states ,embassy
 in ,venezuela personae non gratae2     
,whereas over the last year1 the        
,government of ,venezuela has expelled a
 total of #h ,united ,states ,government
 officials from ,venezuela2 ,whereas1 on
 ,february #ah1 #bjad1 opposition leader
 ,leopoldo ,lopez turned himself in to  
,venezuelan authorities1 was arrested1  
and charged with criminal incitement1   
conspiracy1 arson1 and intent to damage 
property2 ,whereas ,leopoldo ,lopez is  
currently being held in a prison at a   
military facility2 ,whereas             
nongovernmental human rights            
organizations have alleged that the     
charges brought against ,venezuelan     
opposition leader ,leopoldo ,lpez appear
 to be a politically motivated attempt  
to silence dissent in the country2      
,whereas the ,venezuelan ,government has

 blocked users' online images as        
opposition groups marched through       
,caracas2 ,whereas the ,venezuelan      
people have been protesting economic1   
social1 and political concerns facing   
their country1 including corruption1    
rising inflation rates1 shortages of    
everyday products1 increasing crime     
rates1 and the erosion of human rights  
and respect for political dissent2      
,whereas1 on ,february #ai1 #bjad1      
,president ,barack ,obama criticized the
 ,venezuelan ,government for arresting  
protesters1 called for their release1   
and urged the government to focus on the
 8legitimate grievances of the          
,venezuelan people02 ,whereas1 as of    
,february #bf1 #bjad1 there have been   
#ad people killed1 over #ajj injured1   
and many persons unjustly detained in   
relation to pro-democracy demonstrations
 throughout ,venezuela2 ,whereas        
,venezuelan leader ,nicolas ,maduro     
threatened to expel the ,united ,states 
news network ,,cnn from ,venezuela and  

has taken off the air the ,colombian    
news channel ,,ntn #bd1 which transmits 
in ,venezuela1 after news outlets       
reported on the nation-wide protests2   
,whereas the ,inter-,american           
,commission on ,human ,rights released a
 statement on ,february #ad1 #bjad1     
which 8expresses its concern over the   
serious incidents of violence that have 
taken place in the context of protest   
demonstrations in ,venezuela1 as well as
 other complaints concerning acts of    
censorship against media outlets1       
attacks on organizations that defend    
human rights1 and acts of alleged       
political persecution02 and ,whereas as 
a member of the ,organization of        
,american ,states and signatory to the  
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter1  
the ,government of ,venezuela has agreed
 to abide by the principles of          
constitutional1 representative          
democracy1 which include free and fair  
elections and adherence to its own      
constitution3 ,now1 therefore1 be it    

,that the ,house of ,representatives--  
7#a7 supports the people of ,venezuela  
in their pursuit of freedom of          
expression and freedom of assembly to   
promote democratic principles in        
,venezuela2  7#b7 deplores acts which   
constitute a disregard for the rule of  
law1 the inexcusable violence           
perpetrated against opposition leaders  
and protesters in ,venezuela1 and the   
growing efforts to use politically      
motivated criminal charges to intimidate
 the country's political opposition2    
7#c7 urges responsible nations          
throughout the international community  
to stand in solidarity with the people  
of ,venezuela and to actively encourage 
a process of dialogue between the       
,government of ,venezuela and the       
political opposition to end the         
violence2  7#d7 urges the ,united       
,states ,department of ,state to work in
 concert with other countries in the    
,americas to take meaningful steps to   
ensure that basic fundamental freedoms  

in ,venezuela are in accordance with the
 ,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter  
and to strengthen the ability of the    
,organization of ,american ,states      
7,,oas7 to respond to the erosion of    
democratic norms and institutions in    
,venezuela2  7#e7 urges the             
,organization of ,american ,states and  
its ,inter-,american ,commission on     
,human ,rights to utilize its good      
offices and all mechanisms at its       
disposal to seek the most effective way 
to expeditiously end the violence in    
,venezuela in accordance with the       
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter2  
and  7#f7 supports efforts by           
international and multilateral          
organizations to urge the ,venezuelan   
,government to adopt measures to        
guarantee the rights to life1 humane    
treatment1 and security1 and the        
political freedoms of assembly1         
association1 and expression to all of   
the people of ,venezuela4  ,clerk4