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 This argument, however, has been shown to be false.
 The canal provides an essential link between the naval forces in the Atlantic -and the Pacific oceans. With the exception -of our 13 aircraft carriers, all of the Navy ships now in the active fleet are able to transit the canal. In a crisis, ships and supplies can be quickly transferred from one ocean to the other, thus allowing a smaller Navy than -would otherwise be necessary.
 History has clearly recorded how relatively quickly we -were able to move elements of the Atlantic naval fleet to the Pacific after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
 Moreover, this quick -transfer capability was of critical importance to the United States in the more recent past.
 During the Cuban missile crisis, substantial military forces -were transferred from the Pacific to the Atlantic in preparation for an invasion of Cuba. Their presence in the waters surrounding Cuba undoubtedly contributed to the successful outcome of that crisis.
 The canal was also important during the Vietnam conflict with over 33 percent of the supplies for our forces passing throuTgh it.
 Today, the canal continues to play an important part in U.S. military plans.
 For example, in the event of a crisis in NATO Europe, American plans call for the transfer of a substantial number of U.S. Navy ships through the canal to strengthen the Atlantic fleet.
 If access to the canal were denied to U.S. Navy vessels, the alternative route around Cape Horn involve an additional 8,000-mile journey taking 3 to 4 weeks and simultaneously would consume a great deal of fuel.
 Emphasizing this military importance, Adm. James Holloway, Chief of Naval Operations, testified before the Senate Armed Services -Committee just last month that the canal "is absolutely essential to the war plans of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Defense Establishment* * "
 Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also emphasized the critical military importance of the Panama Canal in his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
 I might say parenthetically that Admiral'Moorer is the only person in our Nation's history to serve as commander in chief of both our Pacific fleet and our Atlantic fleet.
 Admiral Moorer said this:
 There is no feasible war plan for the United States, taking into account our reduced forces and extended commitments, that does not assume that the Panama Canal will be available for full-time priority use.
 The canal is also important to the United States economically, -with an average of about 70 percent of all cargo sent through the canal either originating in or bound for U.S. ports.
 Without the canal, according to a Department of Commerce report issued in May 1975, there would be:
 A 71-percent increase in the average annual consumption of
 f uel by carriers of U.S. foreign trade;
 A 31-day increase in average shipping time;
 A $932 million increase in the yearly total delivered price of
 all exports, which would price our f arm products out of Pacific
 markets; and