LD2495 1 2 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 51 Offered February 13, 1974 3 Expressing the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia relative to the Hay-Bunau-Varilla 6 Patrons-Messrs. Barnes, Campbell, Manns, Willey, Hopkins, 7 8 Aldhizer, Buchanan, Canada, Burruss, Truban, Anderson, 9 10 11 12 Referred to the Committee on Rules Whereas, in nineteen hundred and three, the United States of 13 America was granted sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone in 14 perpetuity; and 15 Whereas, the Panama Canal is essential to the defense and na16 tional security of the United States of America; and 17 Whereas, the Panama Canal is of vital importance to the econ18 omy and interoceanic commerce of the United States of America 19 and the remainder of the free world; and 20 Whereas, valuable exports from Virginia go through the Pan 21 ama Canal to distant reaches of the globe; and 22 Whereas, under the sovereign control of the United States of 23 America, the Panama Canal has provided uninterrupted peacetime 24 transit to all nations; and 25 Whereas, the traditionally unstable nature of Panamanian polit26 ics and government poses an implicit threat to the security of the in27 terests of the United States of America served by the Panama Ca28 nal; and 29 Whereas, the Republic of Panama possesses neither the 30 technical and managerial expertise to effectively operate and main31 tain the Canal nor the capability to meet the growing demands 32 placed upon the Canal; and 33 Whereas, the Canal represents a five billion dollar investment 34 on the part of the people of the United States of America; now, 35 therefore, be it 36 Resolved by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, 37 That the General Assembly of Virginia requests that the Congress of 1 the United States reject any encroachment upon the sovereignty of 2 the United States of America over the Panama Canal and insist that 3 the terms of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 as subsequently 4 amended be adhered to and retained; and 5 Be it further resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate send copies 6 of this resolution to Richard M. Nixon, President of the United 7 States; Gerald R. Ford, Vice President of the United States; Henry 8 A. Kissinger, Secretary of State; Carl Albert, Speaker of the House; 9 J. William Fulbright, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Commit10 tee; and to each member of the Virginia Delegation to the Congress 11 of the United States. Senator CANADA. I would like to express my strong opposition to the ratification of these treaties. It would have a disastrous effect on the economy of Virginia. We bought the land. We paid for it. We bought the canal with a lot of American lives. Now under the proposed treaties they want us to give it away and to give them approximately $60 million a year to take it. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, it does not make sense to me. But in addition to that we are talking about a lot of jobs in Virginia. One of the most important things that I can do as a State senator is to try to protect the jobs of the people in my State. We're not only talking about jobs today, but we're talking about jobs for our children and grandchildren. We certainly do not want to do anything to hamper their future. The proposed treaty ratification would have a disastrous effect on our State and on the jobs of Virginia and many thousands of people involved. The coal miners who are of vital concern to me, and others, would be tremendously affected because most coal miners, especially if they have some age on them, are trained to be coal miners and it would take a lot of training to find new employment for them, plus the fact that the whole southwestern part of Virginia depends on coal and coal miners. We would have a real depression on our hands. I hope that this will be taken into consideration by this committee and by the entire Senate. So much is said about our having to give into the pressures which are being alleged that exist from the Panamanian Government. If you will recall back in 1967 and 1968 under the Johnson administration the same arguments were put forth. At that time there was a proposed treaty, it's my understanding, that President Johnson was going to work on. But because of the outery of the public sentiment against this, nothing happened. I hope we will not yield to the pressure. I think that we have seen people lose a lot of confidence in our Government. They seem to think that we give too much away to foreign countries. Here is a canal that we built. Here is a canal that we paid for. I think we paid for it four times probably. Now they want us to give it away and give them $60 million a year to take it, and we know the tolls are going up. So it would have not only the effect of giving away an asset, a valuable asset of this country. We are giving them money to take it and then we would say "OK, we know the tolls are going to go up." That will hurt us too. Jobs are affected also. I hope my testimony will be of some value to you and the Members of the Senate. I would like to say once again that I am very grateful on behalf of the people of the great Commonwealth of Virginia for having the opportunity to appear before this distinguished subcommittee. I shall be happy to respond to any questions that you might have. I hope that my remarks will be made part of the record. Senator ALLEN. Yes; your entire statement will be made a part of the record. [Material follows:] PANAMA CANAL TREATY HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEPARATION OF POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-FIFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION STATEMENT OF VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR A. JOSEPH CANADA: The Potential Impact of Ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties on the Economy and People of the Commonwealth of Virginia October 13, 1977 Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of the Sub committee on Separation of Powers: I am grateful for this opportunity to speak to you today about a matter of great economic significance to the citizens of the United States and in particular, the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia the ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties. The Treaties have become a major issue to the people of the State of Virginia. My purpose in coming here today is to alert you and the Members of the U. S. Senate to the fact that these treaties would seriously injure the economy of Virginia if they are approved. My office has been in close consultation with the major government agencies and businesses that would be affected by the ratification of the treaties as well as various business and labor leaders throughout the Old Dominion. These include the Virginia Port Authority, the Association of American Railroads, the Virginia Coal Association, Maritime Terminals, Inc., and the Norfolk and 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 |
