Disapproving the President's Proposal to Take An Action Relating to the Application of Certain Sanctions with Respect to the Russian Federation

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, it has been an interesting start to this new Congress 2 weeks ago today, I believe--almost 2 weeks ago, this week. We are in a shutdown, and then we had a vote here a few minutes ago to disapprove of a decision made by the administration.

A lot of people would look at that, and they would say that is a sign of weakness and division. Most certainly, I don't like this shutdown. I hope we can figure a way out of it quickly. A lot of people who had nothing to do with it are being hurt. My feelings about that are strong as well. I don't think what the President is requesting is unreasonable, but the reason we have a shutdown is because, at the end of the day, everyone involved--no matter how long and how strongly they disagree--is willing to live by the Constitution, and the Constitution says, the only way you can fund the government is if the House and the Senate pass a spending bill and the President signs it into law.

Likewise, we had a vote a few minutes ago about a decision made by the administration to delist a Russian company after some changes were made to the ownership structure. You may disagree with it or agree with it, but the bottom line is, that the reason the vote happened is we passed a law that said within 30 days of it being enacted, the Congress could act to disapprove. That is the way our constitutional system works.

So despite our sharp disagreements, despite our arguments, despite what appears outwardly to the country and many in the world as a sign of division and weakness, the result may not be anything we support--or maybe it is--but at its core, let's remind ourselves that the reason this is happening is because everyone involved, no matter how much they appear to dislike each other or how much they disagree, they are willing to live within the letter and the law of the Constitution of the United States of America. Venezuela

Imagine an alternative for a moment. Imagine if the President, frustrated by Congress's continuing unwillingness to fund one of his priorities on border security, frustrated by a decision in Congress to disapprove of a decision he made regarding sanctions, decided not only was he going to ignore Congress, but he was going to stop paying them, he was going to jail its Members, and he was going to create an alternative Congress, which he handpicked and controlled.

That sounds farfetched. That sounds clearly unconstitutional, but there are parts of this world where those kinds of things are happening, and one of them is in our hemisphere. What I have just described to you is exactly what has happened in the nation of Venezuela beginning as early as 2013.

What has happened there is that the supposed President--actual dictator--of the country, frustrated that the democratically elected national assembly would not support his initiatives to control the country, decided to create an alternative--what they call a constituent assembly--an alternative congress. They no longer pay the national assembly members at all. They have no staffing; they have no budget; they are hardly allowed to meet; and several of them have been jailed.

As part of this process of replacing the national assembly or at least ignoring them and giving no force of law to what they vote on and creating this alternative national assembly called the constituent assembly, completely outside their Constitution, with no basis in law-- that entity, that organism, called for an election, a new election for President. It was a snap election designed to not allow the opposition to organize in time, an election in which they control all the television stations, in which people had to show an ID card in order to vote, and that ID card also happened to be the card that got your family food and medicine--the limited amounts people are getting--not a fair election in any way.

The result is, last May, Maduro ``wins'' this ``fraudulent'' election, and the first day of the term of this fraudulent Presidency was last week.

Rightfully, the President of the United States, along with leaders from multiple other countries--including Colombia, Brazil, Canada, and dozens of countries around the world--have said Maduro is an illegitimate President under the Constitution of Venezuela: The election you held isn't free and fair. The election you held was authorized by an organism that is not recognized under the Constitution. You are not the real President. You are a fraud, and the only reason why you are in office is because you are threatening to jail or kill the people who are willing to raise this point against you.

The administration went further, and they said the national assembly of Venezuela is the only constitutionally, democratically elected government in the country.

The statements we have made in the last week are entirely rooted in the rule of law and entirely rooted in the Venezuelan Constitution, and they are not unilateral actions. These statements have been supported by other countries in the region, including Venezuela's neighbors.

If, in fact, we are basing our public policy on the Constitution of Venezuela, there is one more provision we cannot ignore; that is, a provision in the Constitution that says that when there is a vacancy in the Presidency and the Vice Presidency, the President of Venezuela is the President of the national assembly.

We have a similar line of secession in the United States. In the absence of the President or the Vice President, the Speaker of the House automatically becomes the President of the United States. They might have a swearing-in ceremony, but by law that absence triggers the Presidency of the Speaker of the House--third in the line, followed by No. 4 in line, the President pro tempore of the Senate.

They have a similar outline in Venezuela under their Constitution. So it stands to reason that if our policy is that Maduro and his Vice President are illegitimate because they were elected in an extra- constitutional, fraudulent election, then clearly the Presidency of Venezuela is vacant. And if we are rooting our support for the National Assembly as the only constitutionally and legitimately elected body in the country, then we must respect the fact that that Constitution automatically passes the title of ``President'' to the President of the National Assembly.

What I come to the floor today to ask is that the administration-- hopefully in concert with Brazil and Canada and Columbia and other countries around the world--simply recognize what the Venezuelan Constitution clearly lays out. There is no President in Venezuela right now that has been democratically elected, and via their own Constitution, the current President of Venezuela, pending a new election, is Juan Guaido, the President of the National Assembly.

This is entirely rooted, as I said, in rule of law and under the Venezuelan Constitution. It doesn't even require Mr. Guaido to assume the office; it automatically is bestowed upon him. It is a critical thing for us to do in order to begin to build a better future for Venezuela, along with our partners in the region.

I think the next actions that should be followed after that happens is that Mr. Guaido name a cabinet and name leaders to run the military.

From the perspective of the United States, since we have recognized the legitimate Presidency of the National Assembly's President, pending a new election, I think the time has come to expel the Maduro-appointed Ambassadors and allow the new constitutional President to appoint replacements.

The frozen assets of the Venezuelan Government should be put at the disposal of legitimate government so they can use them to conduct a free and fair election and also use them to begin to rebuild the country.

The opportunity exists now to work with the new President, pending the new election, to begin laying out plans to deliver humanitarian aid right now, along with our partners in the region in the world, but also to help put together a package of assistance to help Venezuela rebuild a country decimated by the current dictatorship.

These are bold moves, but they are entirely rooted in the rule of law, entirely justified under the Venezuelan Constitution, and will be clear evidence that we will not stand by idly as democracy in the region is wiped out by this growing trend around the world of authoritarians assuming the vestiges of democracy--holding elections that aren't real elections, having parliamentary bodies that aren't real--in essence, dressing the part of democrats but behaving like dictators.

I strongly urge this administration publicly--and I have done so privately--to move quickly to recognize the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, as the interim President of that country pending a transition to a new, free and fair election, and I hope this is an action we will take in concert with our partners in the region who recognize the exact same thing.

There is a window of opportunity here to shine the light of freedom and liberty through our actions, and I hope we move expeditiously in pursuit of that goal. And to the Venezuelan people--that they may know that we are standing with them, that we have been given a concrete opportunity to defend their aspirations for freedom and a better future but also to defend their Constitution.

To military officers in Venezuela who swore to uphold and defend their Constitution, now is the opportunity for you to abandon the current direction of the country and assume your responsibility that you have sworn to uphold, and that is the constitutional provisions of that country.

I believe with all my heart and I have every reason to believe without any doubt that this administration and this government, along with this Congress, stand ready to work hand in hand with the people of Venezuela to restore a rightful democracy and empower that country to head in the right direction. I urge the administration to move quickly to take the first step on our part to facilitate that. It is, as I said, the last, best chance we have before it potentially becomes too late and the dark cloud of tyranny settles upon Venezuela the way it has over Cuba and increasingly over Nicaragua now for over two generations.

I urge the President and his administration to do what only they are empowered to do under our Constitution; that is, recognize the rightful heads of state of other nations.

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