Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 93.djvu/510

 93 STAT. 478

Report to Congress.

PUBLIC LAW 96-70—SEPT. 27, 1979 (2) No funds may be appropriated to or for the use of the Commission for any fiscal year in excess of (A) the amount of revenues deposited in the Panama Canal Commission Fund during such fiscal year, as such amount is estimated by the Secretary of Defense and certified by the Comptroller General of the United States at the time the budget request for the Commission for such fiscal year is submitted to the Congress, plus (B) the amount of revenues deposited in such Fund prior to such fiscal year and remaining unexpended at the beginning of such fiscal year. Not later than thirty days after the end of such fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the Congress the actual amount of revenues deposited in the Panama Canal Commission Fund during such fiscal year. (d) The Commission may, to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts, enter into contracts in order to carry out its functions. (e)(1) It is the sense of the Congress that the additional costs resulting from implementation of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and related agreements should be kept to the absolute minimum level. To this end, the Congress declares that the direct appropriated costs of implementation to be borne by the taxpayers over the life of such Treaty should be kept to a level no greater than the March 1979 estimate of those costs ($870,700,000) presented to the Congress by the executive branch during consideration of this Act by the Congress, less personnel retirement costs of $205,000,000, which were subtracted and charged to tolls, therefore resulting in the net taxpayer cost of approximately $665,700,000, plus appropriate adjustment for inflation. (2) It is further the sense of the Congress that the actual costs of implementation be consistent with the obligations of the United States to operate the Panama Canal safely and efficiently and keep it secure. EMERGENCY FUND

Panama Canal Emergency Fund. 22 USC 3713. Appropriation authorization.

Withdrawals.

SEC. 1303. (a) On the effective date of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish and thereafter shall maintain in the Treasury a fund to be known as the "Panama Canal Emergency Fund". There are authorized to be appropriated for deposit in such Fund (1) for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1979, $40,000,000, and (2) for any fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 1980, such additional sums as may be specifically authorized by law for such fiscal year. (b) The Commission may make withdrawals from the Panama Canal Emergency Fund by check in order to defray emergency expenses and to insure the continuous, efficient, and safe operation of the Panama Canal, if funds appropriated for the operation and maintenance of the Canal are insufficient for such purposes. Any withdrawal from such Fund to cover increased costs attributable to unprogrammed increases in traffic may not be made in amounts greater than the revenues from such increased traffic. Such Fund shall not be available for payments to Panama under Article XIII of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977. Any withdrawal from such fund or expenditure made under this subsection shall be reported forthwith by the Commission to the Congress and to the Office of Management and Budget.

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