,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bfa ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #bg1 #bjbe,mr4 ,durbin introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 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 #bh1 #bjbd1 election are respected4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,halt ,all ,united ,states ,investments in ,venezuela's ,energy ,sector ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,on ,july #bh1 #bjbd1 more than #aj1jjj1jjj 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 ,maduro4 7#b7 ,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 ,venezuela1 including children1 for peaceful political participation4 7#c7 ,despite overwhelming evidence that ,edmundo ,gonzalez won a decisive victory to be ,venezuela's next president1 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 #aj1 #bjbe1 inauguration day4 #c4 ,prohibition on investment by ,united ,states persons in energy sector of ,venezuela until the legitimate results of the ,july #bh1 #bjbd1 election are respected 7a7 ,prohibition 7#a7 ,in general ,beginning on the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the following transactions are prohibited3 7,a7 ,any petroleum-related transaction allowed-- 7i7 as a result of the ,partial ,agreement on the ,promotion of ,political ,rights and ,electoral ,guarantees for ,all1 agreed to by the regime of ,nicolas ,maduro and the political opposition in ,venezuela in ,october #bjbc 7commonly known as the ,barbados ,agreement72 or 7ii7 pursuant to a license issued after entry into that agreement relating to petroleum-related transactions with ,venezuela4 7,b7 ,any transaction allowed under ,general ,license ,no4 #da or ,general ,license ,no4 #h,m of the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control of the ,department of the ,treasury on the day before such date of enactment4 7#b7 ,applicability ,the prohibitions under paragraph 7#a7 shall apply to the extent provided by law and regulations1 orders1 directives1 or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this section4 7b7 ,national security waiver ,the ,president may waive the prohibitions under subsection 7a7 if the ,president-- 7#a7 determines that the waiver is in the national security interests of the ,united ,states2 and 7#b7 submits in writing to the appropriate congressional committees a report1 which may include a classified annex1 on that determination and the reasons for the determination4 7c7 ,implementation2 penalties 7#a7 ,implementation 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,state1 may take such actions1 including prescribing regulations1 as are necessary to implement this section4 7,b7 ,,ieepa authorities ,for purposes of implementing this section1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury may exercise the authorities provided to the ,president under sections #bjc and #bje of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb and #agjd74 7#b7 ,penalties ,a person that violates1 attempts to violate1 conspires to violate1 or causes a violation of subsection 7a7 or any regulation1 license1 directive1 or order issued to carry out that subsection shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections 7b7 and 7c7 of section #bjf of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agje7 to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 7a7 of that section4 7d7 ,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 section4 7e7 ,termination of prohibition ,the prohibitions under subsection 7a7 shall terminate on the date on which the ,president submits to ,congress a determination that the regime of ,nicolas ,maduro has recognized the ,july #bh1 #bjbd1 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 ,venezuela4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,financial ,services and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,united states person ,the term ,united ,states person means-- 7,a7 a ,united ,states citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the ,united ,states2 7,b7 any entity organized under the laws of the ,united ,states or any jurisdiction within the ,united ,states 7including a foreign branch of any such entity72 and 7,c7 any person physically located in the ,united ,states4