As Americans Face Higher Energy Prices, Leader Schumer & Senator Schiff Demand Independent Audit Of Trump Admin’s Secretive Plan For Handling Venezuela Oil Money That Is Ripe For Corruption And Exploitation
Washington, D.C – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the Venezuela Oil Proceeds Transparency Act, which would direct the Comptroller General of the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an independent audit of the Trump administration’s secretive financial arrangement using offshore accounts to disperse Venezuelan oil revenue.
At a time when American families are struggling to pay their energy bills as Trump drives up costs and slashes clean energy jobs, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) are introducing legislation to direct an independent audit of the Trump Administration’s dubious scheme to hide its Venezuelan oil transactions in offshore accounts. The Senators are calling for transparency and are seeking to use the legislation to force the administration to shutter their offshore accounts and conduct these activities using traditional US institutions in the light of day and with congressional oversight. Without these critical protections, the Trump administration’s arrangement using foreign bank accounts is ripe for corruption and exploitation.
“Trump claimed to be “America first.” But, it’s clear he is – and will always be – “Trump first.” Energy costs have soared for American families over the past year. Rather than provide real relief, President Trump has been waging a war against clean energy that is driving up costs and killing jobs, and now he’s concocting a scheme in secrecy that paves the way for self-enrichment and corruption using Venezuelan oil,” said Leader Schumer. “The American people deserve to know what’s happening with the money received from these Venezuelan oil payments and where – and to whom – they are going. There is no reason that Trump should be circumventing the US banking system and lining the pockets of his Big Oil Buddies rather than driving down costs for hardworking Americans.”
“For months, the Trump administration claimed that its military operations in the Caribbean were about stopping drugs, but the objective is now abundantly clear: this was about seizing Venezuela’s oil and lining the pockets of the oil industry,” said Senator Schiff. “The President wants to control an unaccountable fund with the proceeds, parked in an off-shore bank. The American people deserve to know more about this scheme and where the money is going. This independent audit would help deliver answers.”
Last month, President Trump announced that the US will be taking over the sale of Venezuelan oil, indicating the U.S. will market and sell Venezuelan oil and deposit proceeds into “U.S.-controlled” offshore accounts. It was later revealed that proceeds from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil and oil products is being placed in bank accounts in Qatar. The administration says it plans to control the dispersal of funds from these accounts to make payments to the Venezuelan regime for the purposes of “increasing oil production, economic opportunity, and the daily quality of life for the Venezuelan people.” Secretary Rubio, during testimony at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, admitted that an audit process for this arrangement has not been finalized yet. In short, this means there is no oversight of how the money is used once it leaves the Qatari account. Additionally, as part of this arrangement, the Treasury Department is selectively rolling back sanctions to enable the transport and sale of Venezuelan crude and oil products to global markets, and it is issuing new licenses for certain companies to import and export Venezuelan oil.
Schumer continued, “To be clear – rather than expanding domestic energy production to bring down costs for the American people – the Trump administration appears to be focused on using offshore accounts to help Venezuela sell its oil to make Trump’s Big Oil donors even more money.”
This isn’t the first time the Senators have called for action. On January 21st, Senate Democrats, including Leader Schumer and Senator Schiff, sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles calling for strict guardrails and transparency to prevent corruption and profiteering from the extraction, processing, or sale of Venezuelan oil or any of the operations or services in support of the U.S. military operation in Venezuela. Unfortunately, the administration has ignored any request for accountability.
Specifically, the Venezuela Oil Proceeds Transparency Act would:
1. Direct the Comptroller General of the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) – often called the “congressional watchdog” – to conduct an independent, objective, fact-based audit of the US-Venezuela energy deal to apply sunlight to this unprecedented financial arrangement to protect Americans from ever rising energy costs at the hands of Trump.
2. Ensure transparency around the activities of the Departments of State, Energy, and Treasury in implementing the deal – as well as any contractors or other entities involved in moving these offshore funds.
3. Require GAO to initiate the audit within 30 days and to provide an interim briefing on its findings soon after the audit is completed.
4. Require GAO to formally report its findings to Congress within 90 days of completing its work. The GAO’s report would include a detailed description of its findings and conclusions regarding the administration’s offshore oil arrangement, and to make recommendations for legislative action.
5. Require the Comptroller General to immediately alert Congress if the Trump Administration unreasonably delays or denies GAO’s access to information necessary for the audit.
The full text of the legislation can be seen here.
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