F. Sea-Level Canal-Pro-Con Colloquy
 (1) Senators Gravel, Laxalt, Church, Curtis, Sarbanes, Javits,
 Goldwater, Magnuson, Leahy, and McClure, March 1, 1978
 (5. 2605-18)
 Mfr. LAXALT. Does not the Senator think it is going to be a great source of concern to the Panamanians,,if they accept the conclusions. in these figures, that in the year 2000 they are going to have an asset that is only going to be 7 percent from the standpoint of utilization an d development of revenue?
 Mr. GRAVEL. I hope it would be a source of their concern. In fact, at the invitation of Mr. Torrijos, in December I went to Panama. I made myself available, in an auditorium, to essentially the tecimical intelligencia of the com-rmunity of Panama, primarily the aca demic comimunity at the University of Panama, plus the media. For 5 hours, after a presentation I made, I subjected myself to any interrogation and any question they wanted. So they are deeply concerned about this.
 Mr. LAXALT. Mr. President, will the Senator yield at that point?
 Mr. GRAVEL. I definitely want to make them concerned. I want to make the Americans concerned.
 We have just spent 10 days of debate, and we are debating the wrong thing. WVhat we'should be debating is how we -are going to remove this barrier, this growing barrier, that is growing at that alarming rate, so that we are effecting intelligent policy in the economic interests of our country, first and f oremost, and of course in the economic interests of the world.
 Mr.. LAXALT. If these figures are correct, -we are really imposing on the Panamanians, by virtue of the terms of this treaty, a gigantic financial white elephant; and it seems to me that that alone would be. grounds for rejecting these treaties, in the interest of equity and justice and compassion for the Panamanians, about which I have heard so much on the floor of the Senate. the past several days.
 Mr. GRAv-EL. Is the Senator from Nevada trying to make the point that if we ratify the treaties, this paints a bad picture financially?
 Mr. LAXALT. Precisely.
 Mr. GRAVEL. I should like to show the Senator from Nevada another' chart, if he will permit.
 Taking the work that was done by the commission in 1970, they projected revenues required to finance a sea level canal. I did not take the high levels and I did not take the low levels; I took the average levels. That is what this red line shows. It shows here in millions 'of dollars, $90 million in 1970, or almost $100 million there, going up into 1980, about $140 million. They projected that that income would be sufficient. The cost of the sea level canal then ws projected to be $2.8 billion; and they projected that that average income-mind you, (292)