Sec. 7. Support for international election observation missions and democratic civil society in venezuela
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Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall work— with the Organization of American States to ensure credible international observation that contributes to free, fair, and transparent democratic electoral processes in Venezuela; and directly, or through nongovernmental organizations— to defend internationally recognized human rights for the people of Venezuela; to support the efforts of independent media outlets to broadcast, distribute, and share information beyond the limited channels made available by the Government of Venezuela; to facilitate open and uncensored access to the Internet for the people of Venezuela; and to combat corruption and improve the transparency and accountability of institutions that are part of the Government of Venezuela.
The Secretary of State, acting through the United States Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States, should advocate and build diplomatic support for sending an election observation mission to Venezuela to ensure that democratic electoral processes are organized and carried out in a free, fair, and transparent manner. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities described in subsection
(a)to— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate ; the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives . There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State for fiscal year 2018— $500,000 to carry out the activities set forth in subsection (a)(1); and $9,500,000 to carry out the activities set forth in subsection (a)(2). Except as provided in subparagraph (B), amounts appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph
(1)may not be obligated until 15 days after the date on which the President has provided notice of intent to obligate such funds to the committees listed in subsection (c). The Secretary of State may waive the notification requirement under subparagraph
(A)if the President determines that such requirement would pose a substantial risk to human health or welfare. If a waiver is invoked under clause (i), the Secretary of State shall notify the committees listed in subsection
(c)of the intention to obligate funds under this section as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days after taking the action to which such notification requirement was applicable in the context of the circumstances necessitating such waiver. Upon a request from one of the committees listed in subsection (c), the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall brief the committee on the progress made in implementing the strategy submitted under subsection (c).