Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR232 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. RES. 232
5	5	Calling on the Government of Panama to expel officials and interests of
6	6	the People’s Republic of China and terminate Chinese management of
7	7	key Panamanian ports.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	MARCH21, 2025
10	10	Mr. A
11	11	RRINGTON(for himself and Mr. BURCHETT) submitted the following
12	12	resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
13	13	RESOLUTION
14	14	Calling on the Government of Panama to expel officials and
15	15	interests of the People’s Republic of China and terminate
16	16	Chinese management of key Panamanian ports.
17	17	Whereas the strategic location of the Panama Canal is vital
18	18	to global trade and the security of the Western Hemi-
19	19	sphere;
20	20	Whereas Panamanians and Americans have invested signifi-
21	21	cantly to secure the sovereignty, stability, and prosperity
22	22	of Panama, including the construction, defense, and
23	23	transfer of the Panama Canal, ensuring it remains a crit-
24	24	ical asset for global commerce;
25	25	Whereas the construction of the Panama Canal by the United
26	26	States required more than a decade of work (1904–
27	27	1914), involved tens of thousands of workers, and cost
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30	30	•HRES 232 IH
31	31	approximately $375,000,000, equivalent to more than
32	32	$10,000,000,000 in 2025, with thousands of workers los-
33	33	ing their lives due to disease and hazardous conditions;
34	34	Whereas the defense and operation of the Panama Canal dur-
35	35	ing the 20th century further demonstrated the United
36	36	States commitment, at significant financial and human
37	37	cost, to maintaining the vital global trade route;
38	38	Whereas the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality
39	39	and Operation of the Panama Canal, signed at Wash-
40	40	ington September 7, 1977 (commonly referred to as the
41	41	‘‘Neutrality Treaty’’), prohibits actions that undermine
42	42	the canal’s neutrality or threaten United States security
43	43	interests and grants the United States the right to act,
44	44	unilaterally if necessary, to defend the canal’s neutrality
45	45	and ensure its operational security;
46	46	Whereas the Neutrality Treaty obligates Panama and the
47	47	United States to act against any threat to the neutrality
48	48	or peaceful operation of the Panama Canal, including
49	49	undue foreign control over its infrastructure or manage-
50	50	ment;
51	51	Whereas when President Carter ratified the Neutrality Trea-
52	52	ty, President Carter accepted a legally binding condition
53	53	to the Treaty, adopted by the United States Senate, es-
54	54	tablishing an independent right of the United States to
55	55	intervene militarily, consistent with United States con-
56	56	stitutional processes, to reopen or restore the operations
57	57	of the Panama Canal, as the United States deems nec-
58	58	essary, to ensure the canal remains open, neutral, secure,
59	59	and accessible;
60	60	Whereas the People’s Republic of China, through state-owned
61	61	enterprises and Chinese government-affiliated private en-
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64	64	•HRES 232 IH
65	65	tities, has expanded its influence with key infrastructure
66	66	projects and ports around the world, including in Pan-
67	67	ama, raising concerns about undue leverage and potential
68	68	threats to free and fair navigation and trade;
69	69	Whereas the People’s Republic of China Belt and Road Ini-
70	70	tiative fosters economic dependence and exerts outsized
71	71	geopolitical influence through its investments;
72	72	Whereas Panama joined the Belt and Road Initiative in De-
73	73	cember 2018;
74	74	Whereas the involvement of Chinese government-affiliated en-
75	75	terprises in the construction, management, and mainte-
76	76	nance of other critical infrastructure, such as a proposed
77	77	fourth bridge spanning the Panama Canal, calls into
78	78	question the ability of Panama and the United States to
79	79	defend the canal’s neutrality and ensure its operational
80	80	security;
81	81	Whereas two major ports in Panama, the ports of Balboa and
82	82	Cristobal, are currently managed by Chinese-affiliated en-
83	83	tities, such as Hutchison Ports, a Hong Kong-based op-
84	84	erator with significant ties to China’s economic and polit-
85	85	ical ecosystem, threatening the sovereignty of Panama
86	86	and the security of the Western Hemisphere;
87	87	Whereas the involvement of officials from the People’s Re-
88	88	public of China and entities that are subject to the Na-
89	89	tional Security Law of the People’s Republic of China
90	90	and similar laws in Panamanian ports and infrastructure
91	91	compromises international security and disrupts critical
92	92	trade routes;
93	93	Whereas the People’s Republic of China’s control over por-
94	94	tions of the infrastructure of the Panama Canal poses a
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97	97	•HRES 232 IH
98	98	direct threat to the national security and strategic inter-
99	99	ests of the United States;
100	100	Whereas allowing foreign exploitation of Panama’s ports and
101	101	infrastructure undermines the sacrifices made to secure
102	102	Panama’s independence and the shared values between
103	103	Panama and the United States; and
104	104	Whereas the United States and Panama have a long history
105	105	of partnership and shared commitment to democratic
106	106	governance, sovereignty, and the rule of law: Now, there-
107	107	fore, be it
108	108	Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
109	109	(1) expresses profound concern about the pres-2
110	110	ence and influence of the People’s Republic of China 3
111	111	in Panamanian ports and infrastructure, particularly 4
112	112	in facilities of strategic significance such as the 5
113	113	ports of Balboa and Cristobal; 6
114	114	(2) calls upon the Government of Panama to— 7
115	115	(A) reaffirm its commitment to the ‘‘per-8
116	116	manent neutrality’’ of the Panama Canal as de-9
117	117	fined by the Neutrality Treaty by seeking man-10
118	118	agement structures that ensure unbiased, equi-11
119	119	table access for vessels of all nations; 12
120	120	(B) review and terminate agreements al-13
121	121	lowing Chinese state-owned enterprises or 14
122	122	China-based so-called private entities to manage 15
123	123	strategic infrastructure, including the ports of 16
124	124	Balboa and Cristobal; 17
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127	127	•HRES 232 IH
128	128	(C) expel all officials from the People’s Re-1
129	129	public of China operating within Panamanian 2
130	130	ports and other critical infrastructure projects; 3
131	131	and 4
132	132	(D) reaffirm its commitment to maintain-5
133	133	ing the sovereignty of Panama and protecting 6
134	134	the security of the Western Hemisphere by 7
135	135	seeking partnerships that align with democratic 8
136	136	values and mutual respect; 9
137	137	(3) urges the Government of the United States 10
138	138	to— 11
139	139	(A) leverage provisions in the Neutrality 12
140	140	Treaty, including Condition (1), to monitor and 13
141	141	address threats to the neutrality of the Panama 14
142	142	Canal, acting decisively to counter undue for-15
143	143	eign influence; 16
144	144	(B) provide technical, financial, and stra-17
145	145	tegic support to Panama as it seeks to assert 18
146	146	sovereignty over its critical infrastructure and 19
147	147	reduce its dependence on entities affiliated with 20
148	148	the People’s Republic of China; 21
149	149	(C) strengthen collaboration with Panama 22
150	150	and other allies in the region to promote trans-23
151	151	parent and sustainable investments in infra-24
152	152	structure projects; 25
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155	155	•HRES 232 IH
156	156	(D) establish a framework to restore oper-1
157	157	ational control of the Panama Canal to a col-2
158	158	laborative partnership between the United 3
159	159	States and Panama, which should honor the 4
160	160	spirit of the Neutrality Treaty, respect Pan-5
161	161	ama’s sovereignty, and incorporate United 6
162	162	States expertise and resources to benefit both 7
163	163	nations; 8
164	164	(E) offer significant United States invest-9
165	165	ments to modernize Panama’s canal infrastruc-10
166	166	ture and provide alternatives to Chinese-funded 11
167	167	projects; and 12
168	168	(F) develop a joint United States-Panama 13
169	169	task force to oversee canal security and oper-14
170	170	ations, enhancing regional security and ensur-15
171	171	ing freedom of navigation; 16
172	172	(4) encourages Panama and other regional and 17
173	173	global allies to monitor and counter efforts by au-18
174	174	thoritarian regimes to exploit economic 19
175	175	vulnerabilities to gain strategic leverage in the West-20
176	176	ern Hemisphere; and 21
177	177	(5) directs that the Secretary of the Senate 22
178	178	transmit a copy of this resolution to the President 23
179	179	of the United States, the Secretary of State, the 24
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182	182	•HRES 232 IH
183	183	President of Panama, and the National Assembly of 1
184	184	Panama. 2
185	185	Æ
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