Dwight D. Eisenhower photo

Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Authorizing a Conveyance of Property to Panama.

August 30, 1957

I DERIVE personal satisfaction in approving H. R. 6709 which authorizes the United States to fulfill certain of its obligations to the Republic of Panama pursuant to the terms of the Treaty of 1955 between the United States and Panama.

This bill authorizes and directs the Secretary of State and the Panama Canal Company to convey to Panama various lands and improvements which are no longer needed by this Government. The formal transfer of the property to Panama, and the signing of a protocol relating thereto, will take place within the immediate future.

I have already approved the bill providing an appropriation of $750,000 for work preliminary to the construction of a high-level bridge over the Pacific end of the Panama Canal at Balboa, Canal Zone. Work may now proceed on this bridge which will join more closely the eastern and western parts of Panama, and also constitute eventually an important link in the Pan American highway system.

These two bills, in addition to enabling the United States to honor its treaty commitments with Panama, once again demonstrate the friendship and esteem the United States has always held for the Republic of Panama.

Note: As enacted, H. R. 6709 is Public Law 85-223 (71 Stat. 509). For the appropriation bill referred to in the third paragraph, see Public Law 85-170 (71 Stat. 427).

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Authorizing a Conveyance of Property to Panama. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/233514

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