22 U.S.C. § 9731 — Support for international election observation and democratic civil society

(a) In general The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development— (1) must 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 (2) must work with nongovernmental organizations— (A) to strengthen democratic governance and institutions, including the democratically elected National Assembly of Venezuela; (B) 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; (C) to support the efforts of independent media outlets to broadcast, distribute, and share information beyond the limited channels made available by the Maduro regime; and (D) to combat corruption and improve the transparency and accountability of institutions that are part of the Maduro regime. (b) Engagement at the Organization of American States 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. (c) Briefing requirement no later than 180 days after December 20, 2019 , the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, must provide a briefing on the strategy to carry out the activities described in subsection (a) to— (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (d) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general Congress may provide to the Secretary of State for fiscal year 2020, $17,500,000 to carry out the activities listed in subsection (a). (2) Notification requirements Amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) are subject to the notification requirements applicable to expenditures from the Economic Support Fund under section 2346(c) of this title and from the Development Assistance Fund under section 2413(a) of this title , to the extent that such funds are expended.