§3793 Interest on investments

Summary

The United States must calculate interest on its investment in the Panama Canal as shown in the Panama Canal Company’s books at the close of business the day before October 1, 1979. The Treasury Secretary picks the interest rate. The investment figure does not include any interest that accrued while the Canal was being built. The amount is increased by spending from the Panama Canal Revolving Fund and by property moved into the Commission. It is reduced by money put into the Revolving Fund, property given to Panama on or after October 1, 1979, and property the Commission gives to other U.S. agencies. The Office of Management and Budget decides how much transferred property is worth. It must consider cost, earning power or usable value, and allow for wear, obsolescence, and similar decreases. When possible, the value should leave out any part tied to national defense. The Panama Canal Commission must pay the calculated interest to the U.S. Treasury, and those payments go into the Treasury’s general fund.