[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3452 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3452

 To establish conditions on the payment of certain balances under the 
                       Panama Canal Act of 1979.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 1999

   Mr. Baker (for himself, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Stump, Mr. Traficant, Mr. 
  Hefley, Mr. Cooksey, Mr. Wamp, Mrs. Bono, Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage, Mr. 
  Bachus, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. 
  Cunningham, Mr. Tauzin, and Mr. Tancredo) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish conditions on the payment of certain balances under the 
                       Panama Canal Act of 1979.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Panama Canal Security Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The common interests of Panama and the United States 
        have produced close relations between the two nations and a 
        shared interest in protecting the Canal and its operations.
            (2) The United States helped secure the independence of the 
        Republic of Panama, built the Panama Canal at considerable cost 
        in blood and treasure, and has provided for its management, 
        operations, maintenance, improvement, and defense throughout 
        the 20th century, providing a vital service to the peaceful 
        commerce of all nations as well as substantial returns to the 
        national interests of both the United States and Panama.
            (3) The United States purchased the Panama Canal property 
        for $40,000,000 (approximately equal to $736,000,000 in 1999 
        dollars) and after 11 years of construction at a cost estimated 
        to exceed $387,000,000 (approximately equal to $6,500,000,000 
        in 1999 dollars), the Panama Canal was opened to the seafaring 
        world. Since the opening of the first gate in 1914 the United 
        States has invested well over an additional $3,000,000,000 in 
        Canal facilities and infrastructure.
            (4) The Panama Canal continues to play a vital role both in 
        international trade and in the national security of the United 
        States, reducing the distance by sea between New York and San 
        Francisco by some 8,000 miles, contributing critical strategic 
        mobility to naval forces of the United States and substantial 
        savings to maritime commerce.
            (5) The 50-mile long Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic 
        and Pacific Oceans, is a key strategic choke point in the 
        Western Hemisphere and is vital to the United States and 
        international economies and remains a strategic passage for 
        naval and commercial vessels.
            (6) Approximately one-third of the world's economy is said 
        to pass through the Canal each year-including 15 percent of all 
        United States trade. The United States Navy makes over 200 
        passages through the Canal annually. More than 15 percent of 
        goods entering or leaving the United States pass through the 
        canal, including 40 percent of United States grain exports. Oil 
        and oil products account for as much as 17 percent of canal 
        shipments. Approximately 670,000 barrels per day of oil and oil 
        products passed through the canal annually.
            (7) Occupation, damage or destruction of this crucial 
        waterway by a hostile power could be calamitous to the United 
        States in time of war or armed conflict and could be 
        devastating to the economy of the United States during times of 
        peace.
            (8) A continued United States military presence is critical 
        to the future stability in this region as well as the long-term 
        economic and security interests of the United States.
            (9) Absent any new base-rights agreement between the United 
        States Government and the Government of the Republic of Panama 
        allowing for a post-2000 United States military presence, 
        United States forces in Panama will be reduced to zero by 
        December 31, 1999, calling into question the ability of the 
        United States to continue to protect its interests in the 
        region.
            (10) In addition, article V of the Treaty Concerning the 
        Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, states 
        that only the Republic of Panama shall maintain military 
        forces, defense sites, and military installations in its 
        national territory after December 31, 1999. However, Panama 
        does not have an army, navy or air force, and the country's 
        national police units lack adequate training, manpower, and 
        equipment to deter heavily armed, hostile narco-terrorist 
        forces or to adequately defend the Canal against sabotage or 
        terrorism from internal or external threats.
            (11) Panama and the United States are both confronting 
        growing problems with illegal drug trafficking, money 
        laundering, and narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere, and 
        those problems threaten peace and security in the region. As 
        such, facilities now utilized by the United States Armed Forces 
        in Panama are essential to the coordination of any counter-
        narcotic efforts in the region.
            (12) The United States and its military forces have become 
        forced to conduct aerial reconnaissance missions and counter-
        narcotics training and operations from as far away as Oklahoma 
        City, since Howard Air Force Base was transferred to the 
        Government of Panama on November 1, 1999. It previously served 
        as the primary and vital United States military infrastructure 
        supporting assistance to Latin American nations combating drug 
        trafficking through detection, monitoring, and intelligence 
        collecting assets.
            (13) At the same time that the United States is withdrawing 
        from the region, the communist People's Republic of China is 
        making major political, economic, and intelligence inroads into 
        Latin America and the Caribbean, posing a long-term threat to 
        American security interests.
            (14) Maintaining a regional presence in the Panama region 
        is a national security priority for the United States.
            (15) The funds controlled by the Panama Canal Commission in 
        excess of current commitments are the property of the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. CONDITIONS ON PAYMENT OF CERTAIN BALANCES UNDER PANAMA CANAL 
              ACT OF 1979.

    Any accumulated unpaid balance referred to in section 1341(d) of 
the Panama Canal Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. 3751(d)) shall be payable only 
upon completion of an agreement that--
            (1) leases to the United States not less than 50 percent of 
        Howard Air Force Base in Panama, including a contiguous area 
        containing all runways, air traffic control facilities, and 
        adjacent hangars; and
            (2) grants to the United States the continuing authority to 
        ensure the proper disbursement and use of the balance paid.
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