[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 120 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9982-S9983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PANAMA NEW BASE RIGHTS NEGOTIATIONS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
turn to the immediate consideration of calendar No. 268, S. Con. Res. 
14.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 14) urging the 
     President to negotiate a new base rights agreement with 
     government of Panama to permit United States Armed Forces to 
     remain in Panama beyond December 31, 1999.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.


                           Amendment No. 5202

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for 
its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Tennessee [Mr. Frist], for Mr. Helms, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 5202.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       Beginning on page 3, line 3, strike all through the period 
     on page 4, line 3, and insert the following:
       (1) The President should negotiate a new base rights 
     agreement with the Government of Panama--
       (A) taking into account the foregoing findings; and
       (B) consulting with the Congress regarding any bilateral 
     negotiations that take place.

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I do hope the Senate will approve this 
resolution urging the President to negotiate an agreement with Panama 
to permit United States Armed Forces to maintain a presence in that 
country beyond the year 2000.
  The Panama Canal treaties state that unless we pursue an agreement 
with Panama, the United States military must complete the withdrawal of 
its forces from Panama by the date. Imagine, if you can, the U.S. flag 
coming down for the last time on December 31, 1999--ending a special 
and unique relationship that has lasted almost a century. This must not 
be allowed to happen.
  The Panama Canal treaties provide for a continued United States 
military presence--if both parties express an interest.

[[Page S9983]]

  I feel strongly that it is in the best interests of both the United 
States and Panama to maintain a United States military presence in 
Panama. United States forces in Panama help promote stable democracies 
throughout the region and serve as a critical component for United 
States counter-drug monitoring and interdiction efforts. Without 
question, United States forces offer the best protection for the Panama 
Canal. If the United States leaves, the canal will be left literally 
undefended.
  Although the United States is engaged in a drawdown of our forces, 
both overseas and in the United States, there are, nevertheless, more 
than 135,000 United States troops remaining in Europe and almost 
100,000 in the Pacific. By early 1998, fewer than 6,000 troops will 
remain in Panama--that is, basically 6,000 troops for the entire 
hemisphere. If total United States military withdrawal from Panama were 
to be allowed to happen, this nation will be left with no major 
military presence in the region.
  Mr. President, I have had a number of meetings with Panamanians. They 
want us to stay. Polls in Panama show that about 75 percent of 
Panamanians want the United States to maintain military forces there 
beyond the year 2000. It is time to negotiate a new base rights 
agreement. Congress should urge the President to negotiate a continued 
United States military presence in Panama. The House of Representatives 
approved this resolution in June 1995; and it was voted out of the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously in December 1995. Now is 
the time to pursue an agreement with Panama.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment 
be considered agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to 
the resolution appear at the appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 5202) was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con Res. 14), with its preamble, is as 
follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 14

       Whereas the Panama Canal is a vital strategic asset to the 
     United States, its allies, and the world;
       Whereas the Treaty on the Permanent Neutrality and 
     Operation of the Panama Canal signed on September 7, 1977, 
     provides that Panama and the United States have the 
     responsibility to assure that the Panama Canal will remain 
     open and secure;
       Whereas such Treaty also provides that each of the two 
     countries shall, in accordance with their respective 
     constitutional processes, defend the Canal against any threat 
     to the regime of neutrality, and consequently shall have the 
     right to act against any aggression or threat directed 
     against the Canal or against the peaceful transit of vessels 
     through the Canal;
       Whereas the United States instrument of ratification of 
     such Treaty includes specific language that the two countries 
     should consider negotiating future arrangements or agreements 
     to maintain military forces necessary to fulfill the 
     responsibility of the two countries of maintaining the 
     neutrality of the Canal after 1999;
       Whereas the Government of Panama, in the bilateral Protocol 
     of Exchange of instruments of ratification, expressly 
     ``agreed upon'' such arrangements or agreements;
       Whereas the Navy depends upon the Panama Canal for rapid 
     transit in times of emergency, as demonstrated during World 
     War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam conflict, the Cuban 
     Missile Crisis, and the Persian Gulf conflict;
       Whereas drug trafficking and money laundering has 
     proliferated in the Western Hemisphere since the Treaty on 
     the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal 
     was signed on September 7, 1977, and such trafficking and 
     laundering poses a grave threat to peace and security in the 
     region;
       Whereas certain facilities now utilized by the United 
     States Armed Forces in Panama are critical to combat the 
     trade in illegal drugs;
       Whereas the United States and Panama share common policy 
     goals such as strengthening democracy, expanding economic 
     trade, and combating illegal narcotics throughout Latin 
     America;
       Whereas the Government of Panama has dissolved its military 
     forces and has maintained only a civilian police organization 
     to defend the Panama Canal against aggression; and
       Whereas certain public opinion polls in Panama suggest that 
     many Panamanians desire a continued United States military 
     presence in Panama: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (1) the President should negotiate a new base rights 
     agreement with the Government of Panama--
       (A) taking into account the foregoing findings; and
       (B) consulting with the Congress regarding any bilateral 
     negotiations that take place.
       Sec. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy 
     of this concurrent resolution to the President.

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