Sec. 206. Support for international election observation and democratic civil society
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/bill/115/s/3486/is/section-206·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
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 of future elections in Venezuela that contributes to free, fair, and transparent democratic electoral processes; and shall work through nongovernmental organizations— to strengthen democratic governance and institutions, including the democratically elected National Assembly of Venezuela; to defend internationally recognized human rights for the people of Venezuela, including support for efforts to document crimes against humanity and violations of human rights; 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; 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 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, 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 2019— $500,000 to carry out the activities described in subsection (a)(1); and $14,500,000 to carry out the activities described in subsection (a)(2). Except as provided under 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 provides notice to the committees listed in subsection
(c)of intent to obligate such funds. 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 not later than 3 days after taking the action to which such notification requirement was applicable in the context of the circumstances necessitating such waiver.