Sec. 201. Humanitarian relief for the Venezuelan people
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It is the sense of Congress that— the United States Government should expand efforts to peacefully address Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis; and humanitarian assistance— should be provided directly to the people of Venezuela; and should not be passed through the control or distribution mechanisms of the Maduro regime. The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall work through international and nongovernmental organizations to provide humanitarian assistance to individuals and communities in Venezuela, including— public health commodities to Venezuelan health facilities and services, including medicines on the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines and basic medical supplies and equipment; the basic food commodities and nutritional supplements needed to address growing malnutrition and improve food security for the people of Venezuela, with a specific emphasis on the most vulnerable populations; and technical assistance to ensure that health and food commodities are appropriately selected, procured, and distributed.
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 for carrying out the activities described in subsection
(b)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 . The strategy required under paragraph
(1)shall be based on independent assessments of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, including assessments by nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations humanitarian agencies listed in section 204(a). There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 to carry out the activities set forth in subsection
(b)in accordance with this section. 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)(1) of the intent to obligate such funds. The Secretary of State may waive the requirement under subparagraph
(A)if the Secretary of State determines that such requirement would pose a substantial risk to human health or welfare. If a waiver is invoked under clause (i), the President shall notify the committees listed in subsection (c)(1) 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.