Bill Summary
This legislation, called the "Prohibiting Oil Trade with Venezuela's Tyrant Act," aims to prevent the importation of all petroleum products from Venezuela into the United States. The President is given the authority to enforce this prohibition through civil or criminal penalties. The prohibition will only be lifted if the President, through the Secretary of State, certifies that free and fair elections have taken place in Venezuela and all political prisoners have been released. The appropriate congressional committees, including the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, will oversee the implementation of this legislation.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could affect individuals who rely on petroleum products from Venezuela, as they would no longer be able to import these products into the United States. This could lead to higher prices for these products and potentially impact their daily lives.
2. The prohibition on importation of Venezuelan petroleum products could also affect American businesses that rely on these products for their operations. They may have to find alternative sources for these products or face higher costs.
3. The termination clause of this bill could have a direct impact on the release of political prisoners in Venezuela. If the President certifies that all political prisoners have been released, the prohibition on importation of petroleum products would be lifted. This could potentially put pressure on the Venezuelan government to comply with this condition in order to resume trade with the United States.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7023 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7023
To prohibit the importation of petroleum products from Venezuela, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2022
Mr. C. Scott Franklin of Florida (for himself, Mr. Van Drew, Mrs. Bice
of Oklahoma, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Gimenez, Ms. Salazar, Mr.
Waltz, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Owens, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Dunn, Mr.
Burchett, Mr. Mast, Mr. LaTurner, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. Murphy of North
Carolina, Mr. Banks, Mr. Norman, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Donalds, Mr.
Steube, Mr. Carter of Georgia, and Mr. Hudson) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the importation of petroleum products from Venezuela, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Prohibiting Oil Trade with
Venezuela's Tyrant Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF VENEZUELAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTS.
(a) Prohibition.--The President shall prohibit the importation of
all petroleum products (as such term is defined in section 3 of the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6202)) originating from
Venezuela into the customs territory of the United States (as such term
is defined in General Note 2 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule).
(b) Penalties.--The President is authorized to use appropriate
authorities to impose such civil or criminal penalties as may be
necessary to enforce the prohibition under subsection (a).
(c) Termination.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall
terminate on the day after the date on which the President, acting
through the Secretary of State, certifies to the appropriate
congressional committees that--
(1) free and fair elections have taken place in Venezuela;
and
(2) all political prisoners held by Venezuela have been
released.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--For purposes of this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Energy and Commerce, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
(3) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
<all>