[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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