By Mario Diaz-Balart Our nation's seaports are significant drivers of economic growth, supporting 31 million jobs and generating almost $5.4 trillion in economic activity. In Florida, we are lucky to have some of the best and busiest ports in the country. Our seaports support almost 900,000 jobs and contribute $117.6 billion in economic value to the state. Products from all over the world come through Florida's ports before making it to the grocery stores or retail shops every one of us frequents. PortMiami is recognized as the Global Gateway of the Americas. It contributes $43 billion annually to our local economy while supporting more than 334,500 jobs. More than a million containers of cargo come through PortMiami each year, much of it containing fruits, vegetables and flowers from South America. When they are brought to the United States, they require fumigation to ensure that the products are safe. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) charges a fee for this fumigation. The fee covers the costs for USDA to monitor the fumigation treatments. Unfortunately, PortMiami has limited space and, consequently, usually fumigates in a trailer capable of holding only 20 pallets of commodity. In seaports with more land available, this fumigation is done all at once in warehouses capable of holding up to 2,400 pallets. Despite this vast discrepancy, in 2015 the USDA adopted the same fee for each individual treatment. That means that if import volumes were equal for Chilean grapes and Peruvian asparagus brought into Northeastern and Southeastern ports, the Southeast would pay $3.27 million compared to the Northeast paying only $21,868. Recognizing this issue and the impact it could have on PortMiami's competitiveness, I knew I had to find a solution. Since my time in the Florida Legislature, and now as a member of Congress, I have long fought for our state's seaports. In Congress, I have the privilege of serving as ranking member, and previously as chairman, of the Transportation Subcommittee of Appropriations. Our seaports typically compete for funds under large infrastructure programs administered under the Department of Transportation. They compete among transit agencies, airports, road and bridge projects, multimodal projects and many other sectors of our transportation system nationwide, making it difficult for them to actually obtain funding. That is why under the Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations bill, I created, for the first time ever, a dedicated pot of money specifically for seaports totaling $293 million. From this total, I set aside $93 million for the top 15 seaports in the country, with priority consideration given to ports in need of a fumigation facility, such as PortMiami. Friday, because of this funding, we get to celebrate the award of $44 million to help construct a 100,000 square foot state-of-the-art fumigation facility that will ensure PortMiami remains competitive and levels the playing field with other ports in the Northeast. Port Director Juan Kuryla, working with Aviation Director Lester Sola, has come up with an innovative idea to construct the facility at Miami International Airport. This partnership shows how local leaders work jointly to advance Miami-Dade County's priorities. This is how it's supposed to work. I commend and thank Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who continuously has recognized the value of investing in our community, for awarding this grant. She is a stalwart supporter of the nation's ports, and her public service is a benefit to every American. It is an honor to represent Southern Florida in Congress and to be in a position to get things done. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, represents Florida's 25th district in the U.S. Congress.

By: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ted Yoho Venezuela is experiencing a manmade political, economic and humanitarian crisis that is threatening the stability and security of the Western Hemisphere. Venezuela's continued deterioration is affecting our close ally Colombia and threatens to destabilize the entire region. The brutal regimes of Cuba, Russia, Iran and China already are present in Venezuela and are exacerbating the crisis at the expense of the Venezuelan people and U.S. national security interests. This crisis began under Hugo Chávez, who promised that socialism would bring an end to inequality and poverty. However, systematic corruption and socialist policies established by Chávez laid the foundation for the country's economic collapse and erosion of democratic institutions. Conditions have worsened dramatically under the rule of Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela has deteriorated from one of the most prosperous nations in South America to among the most impoverished, violent and corrupt. The International Monetary Fund predicts that inflation in Venezuela will reach upwards of 10 million percent in 2019. According to household surveys, the poverty rate reached 90 percent as of April 2019. Venezuela also ranked 168th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's 2018 Global Corruption Index. In addition, Venezuelans are living under a dictatorship that violently suppresses dissent and opposition. In May 2018, Maduro claimed re-election victory following a fraudulent and unconstitutional presidential election. The results were considered illegitimate by the United States and much of the international community because of the violent repression of protesters, lack of credible election monitoring and imprisonment of opposition leaders. The opposition-controlled, democratically elected National Assembly responded by declaring Maduro's re-election illegitimate and, in January 2019, appointed National Assembly President Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela until conditions for free and fair elections can be established in accordance with the Venezuelan Constitution; 54 countries have also recognized Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Guaidó has galvanized the support of the Venezuelan people and organized a series of anti-government protests calling for Maduro's dismissal and for the Venezuelan military to join him in a peaceful democratic transition. However, the Maduro regime has continued its onslaught of abuses and increased its reliance on transnational criminal groups and countries such as Cuba and Russia to counter U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan individuals and corrupt sectors of the Venezuelan economy. We applaud the Trump administration for recognizing the dire situation in Venezuela and taking the bold steps to hold the regime accountable for its actions. However, Venezuelans will continue to flee their homes at unprecedented levels until the regime steps down and the country can be rebuilt. The exodus of people leaving Venezuela is the largest population outflow in Latin America's history. The crisis not only harms Venezuelan citizens, it also destabilizes the entire region. Should we, the responsible nations of the Western Hemisphere and the world, let these atrocities worsen, we risk setting a precedent for tolerating the authoritarianism and oppression of current and future leaders in the region with dictatorial ambitions. It will take pressure from the United States and the increased support of the international community to bring this crisis to an end. To address this situation, we propose the following: - Call upon Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to invoke Article 99 in regard to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. It states that he can "bring to the attention of the Security Council, any matter, which, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security." - Urge the international community to maintain its support for Guaidó, the legitimate interim president and to ensure his safety and that of all opposition actors and civil society. - Urge our democratic partners in the international community to impose sanctions to hold corrupt Venezuelan operatives and human-rights abusers accountable for violating the rights and liberties of the Venezuelan people We must act swiftly and firmly to assure the restoration of peace and stability in the region -- and, ultimately, a free and democratic Venezuela.

Congress convened a joint session on January 6-7, 2021, to count electoral votes by state and confirm the results of the 2020 presidential election. Diaz-Balart voted against certifying the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania. The House rejected both objections by a vote of 121-303 for Arizona and 138-282 for Pennsylvania.