IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 186
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding a continued United States
security presence in the Panama Canal Zone and a review of the contract
bidding process for the Balboa and Cristobal canal ports.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 17, 1999
Mr. ROHRABACHER (for himself, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. COOKSEY,
Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr.
HAYES, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mrs. EMERSON,
Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr.
MANZULLO, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. PETER-
SON of Minnesota, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. WICKER, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr.
SWEENEY, Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. TANCREDO, and Mr.
STEARNS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding a continued
United States security presence in the Panama Canal
Zone and a review of the contract bidding process for
the Balboa and Cristobal canal ports.
Whereas the 50-mile long Panama Canal, connecting the At-
lantic and Pacific Oceans, is a key strategic choke point
in the Western Hemisphere, is vital to United States and
international economies, and remains a strategic passage
for naval vessels;
•HCON 186 IH
Whereas the 1977 Carter-Torrijos Treaty transfers ownership
of the Panama Canal to the government of Panama and
requires all United States military forces to leave by De-
cember 31, 1999;
Whereas under the companion Treaty of Permanent Neu-
trality, which also becomes effective on December 31,
1999, the United States retains the right to protect and
defend the Canal beyond the year 2000;
Whereas narcotics-funded terrorist forces in Colombia have
spread their bases and logistical operations into southern
Panama;
Whereas 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 narcotics terrorist forces or to adequately
defend the Canal against sabotage or terrorism from in-
ternal or external threats;
Whereas the Russian Mafia, Chinese Triad criminal organiza-
tions, Cuban government entities, and certain groups
from the Middle East, all of whom who have been hostile
to the United States, are active in Panama, conducting
weapons smuggling, money laundering, and massive
counterfeiting and piracy of United States products and
intellectual property;
Whereas systematic smuggling of illegal aliens from the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China has been conducted with the in-
volvement of high-level Panamanian officials;
Whereas 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;
•HCON 186 IH
Whereas the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa com-
pany, which has close ties to the People’s Republic of
China and has served as a conduit for funding and ac-
quiring technology for the Chinese People’s Liberation
Army, has been granted a 25- to 50-year lease to control
the Balboa and Cristobal ports on the Atlantic and Pa-
cific ends of the Panama Canal; and
Whereas Hutchison Whampoa was awarded control of the
canal ports, despite better offers made by consortia that
included United States companies, through a contract
bidding process that was widely regarded as secretive,
corrupt, and unfair: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is a sense of the Congress that—
(1) the United States Government should re-
quest that the new government of Panama, under
the leadership of President Mireya Moscoso, nullify
the lease agreements for the Balboa and the Cris-
tobal port facilities on each end of the Panama
Canal and initiate a new bidding process that is both
transparent and fair;
(2) the United States Government should re-
quest that the new government of Panama inves-
tigate charges of corruption related to the granting
of the Panama Canal port leases by the previous
Balladares administration; and
(3) the United States Government should nego-
tiate security arrangements with the government of
•HCON 186 IH
Panama that will protect the canal and ensure the
territorial integrity of the Republic of Panama.
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