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

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 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 Maduro regime; and to combat corruption and improve the transparency and accountability of institutions that are part of the Maduro regime. 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. 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 2020, $17,500,000 to carry out the activities set forth in subsection (a). Amounts appropriated pursuant to 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.