Bob Corker Blocking Venezuela Sanctions Bill -- Bipartisan bill to sanction human rights abusers stalled -- By Adam Kredo, The Washington Free Beacon

Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) is said to be standing in the way of a bipartisan bill aimed at sanctioning human rights abusers in Venezuela, where anti-government protesters have come under violent attack by supporters of its socialist government.

The bipartisan bill introduced in March by Sens. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) and Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) would impose sanctions on those responsible for violently targeting Venezuela’s anti-government protesters who are seeking to depose Socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The bill had been sent last month to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Menendez serves as chairman.

However, Corker is currently obstructing Menendez from adding the bill to the committee’s mark-up agenda, effectively delaying any action on it and preventing it from moving forward, according to Senate insiders familiar with the situation.

Rubio hinted that the bill was hitting delays during a recent interview on the Hugh Hewitt radio show.

Asked by Hewitt how the sanctions legislation is proceeding, Rubio responded, “We’ve kind of been tied up a little bit in the Foreign Relations Committee.”

Rubio noted that some senators may be experiencing “sanction fatigue,” a reference to the pitched battle earlier this year to impose new sanctions on Iran.


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