Summary: Since the signing of the Panama Canal and neutrality treaties, GAO has analyzed issues related to such questions as: will the proposed Panama Canal Commission be financially self-sufficient, what treaty-related costs can be anticipated, and what will be the impact on Canal toll rates. Financial viability of the proposed Commission will depend on treaty-implementing legislation. The legislation should deal with such issues as: the form of organization the proposed Commission should take and who will audit it, assuring an orderly transfer of property and continued efficient operation of functions, resolving Panama's $8.4 million debt for past services, relating payments for public services to costs and assuring quality of services, how to treat the annual $10 million contingent payment in financial and toll setting plans, whether the Canal organization should be relieved of its obligation to pay interest on U.S. investments, whether the United States should attempt to recoup its investment through accelerated depreciation charges, the magnitude of other treaty-related costs for personnel terminations and relocation; whether toll revenues will be sufficient to cover costs, and who will bear the burden of increased toll rates.
