[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 59 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 59

Urging the President to negotiate a new base rights agreement with the 
  Government of Panama in order for United States Armed Forces to be 
              stationed in Panama after December 31, 1999.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 14, 1999

Mr. Smith of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Helms) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Urging the President to negotiate a new base rights agreement with the 
  Government of Panama in order for United States Armed Forces to be 
              stationed in Panama after December 31, 1999.

Whereas the Panama Canal remains a vital economic and strategic asset to the 
        United States, its allies, and the world;
Whereas the United States has maintained a military presence in Panama since 
        Panama gained its independence in 1903, ensuring the protection of the 
        Canal and its unfettered operations;
Whereas the United States Armed Forces have depended upon the Panama Canal for 
        rapid transit in times of global conflict, including during World War 
        II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the 
        Persion Gulf War;
Whereas the 1977 Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the 
        Panama Canal provides that Panama and the United States have the joint 
        responsibility to ensure that the Panama Canal will remain open and 
        secure, and provides that each signatory, in accordance with their 
        constitutional processes, shall defend the Canal against any threat to 
        its neutrality and shall have the right to act against threats against 
        the peaceful transit of vessels through the Canal;
Whereas the Government of Panama, in the bilateral Protocol of Exchange of 
        instruments of ratification, agreed to consider negotiating future 
        arrangements or agreements to maintain military forces necessary to 
        fulfill the responsibility of both signatories to maintain the 
        neutrality of the Canal;
Whereas 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;
Whereas public opinion surveys in Panama consistently demonstrate that an 
        estimated 70 percent of the people of Panama support a continued United 
        States military presence in Panama;
Whereas Panama and the United States are both confronting growing problems with 
        illegal drug trafficking, money laundering, and narcoterrorism in the 
        Western Hemisphere, and those problems threaten peace and security in 
        the region;
Whereas facilities now utilized by the United States Armed Forces in Panama are 
        essential to the coordination of any counter-narcotic efforts in the 
        region;
Whereas the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a narco-trafficking 
        terrorist organization, is operating from Panamanian territory and poses 
        a risk to the security of Panama and to the stability of Latin America;
Whereas the former United States Ambassador to Panama and others have protested 
        the lack of transparency and the unorthodox bidding process in the 
        granting of leases for the port facilities at Balboa and Cristobal in 
        1997 during the Administration of former Panamanian President 
        Balladares; and
Whereas the passage of Panama Law Number 5 and the lease agreements for the port 
        facilities at Balboa and Cristobal, because of reputed affiliations 
        between the leaseholder and the People's Republic of China and the 
        People's Liberation Army, have created concern about the future security 
        of the Canal and its continued unfettered operations and the future 
        disposition of United States facilities in Panama: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the President should negotiate a new base rights 
        agreement with the newly inaugurated Government of Panama--
                    (A) to permit stationing of United States Armed 
                Forces in Panama beyond December 31, 1999; and
                    (B) to ensure that the Panama Canal remains open, 
                secure, and neutral, consistent with the Panama Canal 
                Treaty, the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality 
                and Operation of the Panama Canal, and the resolutions 
                of ratification thereto;
            (2) the President should ensure that United States military 
        facilities which could be utilized for stationing of United 
        States Armed Forces shall be fully maintained and secured if 
        the Government of Panama is willing to enter into good faith 
        negotiations for a continued United States military presence; 
        and
            (3) the President should consult with Congress throughout 
        the negotiations described in paragraph (1).
    Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this 
concurrent resolution to the President.
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