the Old Dominion. These include the Virginia Port Authority, the Association of American Railroads, the Virginia Coal Association, Maritime Terminals, Inc., and the Norfolk & Western Railroad. The information gathered from these sources leaves no doubt in my mind that treaty ratification could have a strongly detrimental economic impact on the Commonwealth of Virginia, and, I am certain, on the entire country. Let me also emphasize that the Panama Canal issue has been a matter of grave concern to the Virginians I have encountered in my travels across the State. Virginians, I am proud to say, have a long and honorable tradition as staunch defenders of America's freedom and security. 67 PERCENT OF VIRGINIANS OPPOSE TREATIES No better examples of this exist than Virginia's two distinguished members of the U.S. Senate, William L. Scott and Harry F. Byrd, Jr. In line with this tradition is the fact that the subject of the canal treaties is up front on the minds of many of our voters, both for economic and national security reasons. In fact, a very recent poll shows that 67 percent of Virginia's voters are opposed to the ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties. One of the principal concerns of Virginians regarding treaty ratification is the grave impact ratification would have on Virginia's economy. There are three major industry areas that would be affected by ratification-shipping in the Hampton Roads ports, coal mining in the southwest, and freight railroads that transport the coal from the mines to the docks. Obviously a change for the worse in the economic status of one or more of these industries could produce a rippling effect on the State's entire economy. One, if we are denied access; and, two, if the toll would go up. If we are denied access we know that the ships would have to travel an additional 8,000 miles which would take approximately 30 days. The average size ship costs approximately $12,000 a day to sail it. If you multiply this times 30 which is extra time that would be involved, it amounts to $360.000 per shipment. The Panamanian Government is near bankruptcy and needs money desperately. I know that this year 39 percent of their budget was for interest payments on their debts. While the tolls are going up-the news media has indicated it will go up according to the recent discussions about 25 or 30 percent. Gov. Harold Crawford of the Canal Zone testified to this committee that the plans are made to have the tolls go up. The cost will be passed on to the ports and to the people of Virginia. Tolls increases since 1974 will be 49.5 percent under the existing agreements. The Panama Canal Company has indicated that the tolls will go up as much as 46 percent on top of the 49.5 percent that they will go up anyway. This would amount to almost a 100-percent increase since 1974. According to a State Department document entitled "Environmental Impact on the New Panama Canal Treaties" dated August 1977, adverse environmental effects cannot be avoided. The 50-percent increase in tolls would result in unavoidable effects and loss from unemployment. This comes from the Carter administration's own State Department. We have approximately $8 billion worth of cargo which goes through the Port of Hampton Roads each year. Of that amount, $2 billion goes through the Panama Canal or approximately 25 percent. There are approximately 356,000 jobs that depend on our ports; 114,000 depend on cargo transportation. So 25,000 jobs depend on the canal access at reasonable toll rates. Each job represents not only one person but a family, sometimes one or two or many children. So the entire Tidewater area would be adversely affected if these treaties are ratified. Let's take the coal mining industry, for example, for a moment. My grandfather was a coal miner for 34 years. So I think I know something about coal mining. There are approximately 17,000 coal miners in our State. Seventy percent of all of the cargo that goes through the Port of Hampton Roads is coal. In 1976, to show you how delicate the balance in world trade, Japan which is the chief recipient of our coal exports found because of freight rates according to the Virginia Port Authority, that they could buy coal cheaper at another place. We had a 9-percent drop in metallurgical coal in Virginia in 1976. This drop was projected according to port authority for 1977 to go to 18 percent. If the tolls go up an additional 30 or 35 percent it will have a disastrous effect on the coal industry. It would have the ripple effect of hurting the railroad industry and many other supplemental jobs that are related. The entire southwest depends on coal mining. If the canal were closed it would plunge the southwest and probably most of our State into a deep depression. The railroad industry would be vitally affected. There are approximately 15,000 railroad workers in Virginia; 10,000 of them work for the Norfolk & Western Railroad whose primary activity is to transport coal. This is not political rhetoric. These are facts. This is not something new that we have just been talking about. On May 26, 1976, the Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners meeting in Norfolk passed a resolution expressing their concern over the future of the Panama Canal and the new proposed toll increases at that time. They indicated that we had to protect the canal in order to protect shipping. They requested that the proposed toll rate not be enacted because they felt as though it would have an adverse effect on the economy and on the economy of the entire State. On August 4 of this year the Virginia Port Authority Executive Committee drafted a resolution to submit to the board of directors expressing strong concern over the need to protect the continued use of the Panama Canal for free world shipping. The Virginia General Assembly has thought about this question and on February 13, 1974, over 3%1⁄2 years ago, I, along with some other senators in the Virginia General Assembly, introduced Senate Joint Resolution 51 which was adopted by the Virginia General Assembly with overwhelming bipartisan support. This expressed our concern over any encroachments upon the sovereignty of the Panama Canal. We felt as though the treaty of 1903 should be kept intact and no modifications should be made. I have attached a copy of the resolutions that are mentioned in my statement. I ask they be included, Mr. Chairman, in the record. [The material follows:] RESOLUTION 76-9 A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER THE FUTURE WHEREAS, much attention has been given to efforts attributed to the United States' Department of State to renegotiate the position of the United States with respect to the Panama Canal; and WHEREAS, the Panama Canal is one of the Major maritime gateways of the world serving some 14,000 ships a year of which some 8,000 visit and serve United States' ports, with well over 500 of these ships carrying some 12,400,000 tons of cargo from and to Virginia's ports via the Panama Canal in 1975; and WHEREAS, the Panama Canal permits the United States to maintain its naval responsibilities with fewer ships; and WHEREAS, the Congress should establish the policy necessary to guide any renegotiations of the Treaty with Panama; and WHEREAS, the continued availability of the Canal to the United States and its allies at tolls competitive with alternate methods of cargo movement is essential. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Board of Commissioners of the Virginia Port Authority in regular meeting assembled at Norfolk, Virginia, this 26th day of May, 1976, as follows: 2. The Virginia Port Authority additionally requests ATTEST: -2 to the detriment of the ports of the Commonwealth Debbie Miley Debbie Miley, Deputy Clerk Gward Edward R. English, Chairman "VIRGINIAN PILOT" Oct. 5, 1977 Port Panel Registers Concern on Canal Use HARRISONBURG (AP)-The Virginia Port Authori ty's Executive Committer drafted a resolution Tuesday expressing what a spokesman called "strong concern over the need to protect the continued use of the Panama Canal by Free World shipping." The committee spokesman, Dick Culbreath, said the resolution will be submitted to the VPA Board of Commissioners at its Oct. 12 meeting in Richmond. A copy also will be sent to members of Virginia's congressional delegation to inform them, Culbreath said, that reasonable toll rates must be maintained so Virginia ports may stay competitive with ports on the West Coast. Last year, Culbreath said, Virginia ports handled 10.7 million tons of cargo valued at $1.6 billion, which passed through the Panama Canal. Virginia's industries, agricultural products, and coal mines contributed about 2.1 million tons of cargo valued at $320 million that used the canal, he said. Higher rates for cargo passing through the canal, Culbreath said, would directly affect 22,500 port dependrats and port-related jobs in the state, and additional losses could be felt in the $100 million spent annually to handle the cargo and the $8 million generated in direct taxes to the state. |
