,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #dad  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february 
#bg1 #bjah ,mr4 ,durbin 7for himself1   
,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,van 
,hollen1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,nelson1 ,mr4
 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 
,kaine1 and ,mr4 ,sanders7 submitted the
 following resolution2 which was        
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,relations  ,,resolution  ,condemning   
the continued undemocratic measures by  
the ,government of ,venezuela to        
undermine the independence of democratic
 institutions and calling for a free and
 fair electoral process4  ,whereas      
,venezuelan ,president ,nicols ,maduro  
continues to take measures to           
consolidate an authoritarian government 
and undermine the independence of       
democratic institutions in the country2 
,whereas the ,government of ,peru1 as   
host of the upcoming ,summit of the     
,americas1 has indicated that ,president
 ,nicols ,maduro is not welcome to      

attend because of his failure to uphold 
the region's shared commitment to       
strengthening democracy and improving   
citizens' well-being2 ,whereas          
,venezuela's ,national ,electoral       
,council 7,,cne7 unilaterally called for
 a presidential election on ,april #bb1 
#bjah1 despite the absence of an        
agreement between the ,government of    
,venezuela and the political opposition 
on the conditions necessary for the     
electoral process2 ,whereas1 on         
,february #ac1 #bjah1 the ,ministers of 
,foreign ,affairs of ,argentina1        
,brazil1 ,canada1 ,chile1 ,colombia1    
,costa ,rica1 ,guatemala1 ,guyana1      
,honduras1 ,mexico1 ,panama1 ,paraguay1 
,peru1 and ,saint ,lucia1 rejected the  
decision of the ,government of          
,venezuela to hold elections on ,april  
#bb2 ,whereas these #ad ,foreign        
,ministers stated that elections would  
not be considered legitimate if the     
elections do not--  7#a7 permit the     
participation of all ,venezuelan        

citizens and political parties2  7#b7   
include observation by credible         
international organizations2 and  7#c7  
meet recognized international standards2
 ,whereas despite these denunciations1  
on ,february #ba1 #bjah1 ,president     
,maduro stated that he wanted to hold   
elections for the ,national ,assembly1  
state legislative councils1 and         
municipal councils in conjunction with  
the presidential election scheduled for 
,april #bb2 ,whereas1 in ,january #bjah1
 ,venezuelan authorities banned the     
,democratic ,unity ,roundtable 7,,mud71 
the principal coalition of opposition   
parties1 and leading opposition         
political parties ,voluntad ,popular and
 ,primero ,justicia1 from participating 
in the presidential election2 ,whereas  
,venezuela's ,december #bjag municipal  
elections and ,october #bjag            
gubernatorial elections failed to meet  
recognized international standards2     
,whereas1 in ,july #bjag1 ,venezuela    
held fraudulent elections to install a  

,national ,constituent ,assembly1 a     
parallel legislature that               
undemocratically usurped the            
constitutional authorities vested in the
 country's democratically elected       
,national ,assembly2 ,whereas           
,smartmatic1 the company that           
manufactured the electronic voting      
technology1 confirmed that-- 7#a7 the   
result of the ,july #bjag ,national     
,constituent ,assembly election was     
manipulated2 and  7#b7 a change of more 
than #a1jjj1jjj votes occurred in the   
final tabulation2 ,whereas a global     
coalition of more than #dj countries    
have rejected the installation of       
,venezuela's ,national ,constituent     
,assembly and refused to recognize it as
 a legitimate institution2 ,whereas the 
collapse of democratic governance and   
the proliferation of political          
corruption1 criminal violence1 failed   
economic policies1 and hyperinflation   
have created a devastating humanitarian 
crisis in ,venezuela2 ,whereas the      

majority of ,venezuela's citizens lack  
access to essential medicines and basic 
food supplies2 ,whereas the precarious  
humanitarian conditions in ,venezuela   
have prompted hundreds of thousands of  
,venezuelan citizens to emigrate1 which 
is fueling a migration and refugee      
crisis in neighboring countries2        
,whereas1 the ,chief ,prosecutor of the 
,international ,criminal ,court has     
stated that the ,office of the          
,prosecutor will open a preliminary     
examination of the ,venezuelan          
,government's use of torture and        
excessive force against demonstrators   
and the arbitrary detention of thousands
 of anti-government protesters2 and     
,whereas1 despite the presence of       
international mediators1 the ,government
 of ,venezuela failed to credibly       
participate in negotiations with the    
country's political opposition in order 
to reach an agreement that would--  7#a7
 restore democracy2  7#b7 free political
 prisoners2  7#c7 facilitate the        

delivery of humanitarian aid2 and  7#d7 
establish conditions for legitimate     
democratic elections3 ,now1 therefore1  
be it  ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 calls on
 the ,government of ,venezuela to       
postpone the presidential election and  
any concurrent ,national ,assembly1     
state legislative council1 or municipal 
council elections scheduled for ,april  
#bb1 #bjah1 until--  7,a7 international 
and local election observers from       
credible organizations are allowed to   
observe the electoral process1 including
 the pre-election period1 and determine 
a legitimate process2  7,b7 the         
,national ,electoral ,council is led and
 staffed by nonpartisan members that    
have the confidence of contesting       
parties2  7,c7 opposition parties and   
candidates are free to peacefully       
compete in the election without threat  
of arrest1 harassment1 or retribution1  
including access to government          
controlled media2  7,d7 arrangements are
 made for all ,venezuelan voters1       

including those residing outside of     
,venezuela1 to be able to participate in
 the election2 and  7,e7 there is no    
implied or direct link between an       
individual's vote and the government    
food rations to which the individual is 
eligible and no record is retained of a 
voter's choice for any reason related to
 government benefits1 including         
retaliation2  7#b7 denounces as         
illegitimate any presidential election  
in ,venezuela that fails to meet the    
standards described in paragraph 7#a72  
7#c7 condemns the steps taken by        
,president ,maduro-- 7,a7 to consolidate
 an authoritarian government in         
,venezuela2 and  7,b7 to undermine the  
independence of democratic institutions 
such as the ,national ,assembly of      
,venezuela1 the ,supreme ,tribunal of   
,justice of ,venezuela1 and the         
,national ,electoral ,council of        
,venezuela2  7#d7 rejects the           
,venezuelan ,government's efforts to    
blame the country's economic1           

humanitarian1 and political crisis on   
other actors instead of recognizing that
 the crisis was caused by its own       
malfeasance and criminality2  7#e7 urges
 the ,government of ,venezuela-- 7,a7 to
 permit the unobstructed delivery of    
humanitarian assistance to the people of
 ,venezuela2 and  7,b7 to stop using    
food as a tool of political coercion2   
7#f7 condemns the ,government of        
,venezuela for failing to credibly      
participate in internationally mediated 
negotiations--  7,a7 to restore         
democracy2  7,b7 to free political      
prisoners2 and  7,c7 to permit the      
delivery of humanitarian assistance2    
7#g7 supports the decision of the       
,government of ,peru1 as host of the    
,eighth ,summit of the ,americas1 to not
 invite ,president ,maduro2 and  7#h7   
supports the efforts of the ,office of  
the ,prosecutor of the ,international   
,criminal ,court to examine the         
,venezuelan ,government's use of        
torture1 excessive force1 and arbitrary 

detentions against ,venezuelan citizens4