December 4, 2025
Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
To prohibit the unauthorized use of United States Armed Forces in hostilities with respect to Venezuela.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Prohibition on use of United States Armed Forces to conduct hostilities with respect to Venezuela
(a) Prohibition
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available for the Department of Defense, or for any other department or agency of the United States Government, may be used to conduct hostilities with respect to Venezuela, except—
(1)
pursuant to a specific statutory authorization enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(2)
pursuant to a congressional authorization consistent with section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541(c)).
(b) Rules of construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the United States from—
(1)
acting to defend itself or its citizens from an armed attack or the threat of an imminent armed attack;
(2)
acting to defend the United States Armed Forces or United States personnel from an armed attack;
(3)
conducting lawful counternarcotics operations that do not constitute hostilities; or
(4)
providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela.
(c) Hostilities defined
In this section, the term hostilities means any situation involving any use of lethal or potentially lethal force by United States forces, whether such force is deployed remotely and irrespective of the intermittency thereof.
(d) Relation to the War Powers Resolution
Nothing in this section supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.).