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Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-110

§3715a Operation of Fund

Title 22 › CHAPTER 51 — PANAMA CANAL › SUBCHAPTER I — ADMINISTRATION AND REGULATIONS › Part 3 — Funds and Accounts › subpart i — funds › § 3715a

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Panama Canal Commission must make regular deposits into a special Fund beginning October 1, 1988. The Fund is to pay the estimated total cost of workers’ compensation and related payments under chapter 81 of title 5 for Commission employees (and predecessor agencies) injured or killed on or before December 31, 1999, except for claims the Secretary of Labor has already taken financial responsibility for. How much to deposit is set by regular cost studies done by hired experts and must reflect interest and expected cost-of-living increases under section 8146a, but not continuation-of-pay under section 8118. If the Secretary of Labor asks, the Secretary of the Treasury will invest Fund money in U.S. public debt securities and add any interest earned back into the Fund.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §3715a

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Deposits to Fund
The Panama Canal Commission shall make deposits on a regular basis to the Fund, beginning on October 1, 1988, to accumulate an amount sufficient to defray the estimated total cost of liability for the workers’ compensation benefits and other payments payable under chapter 81 of title 5 for the disability or death of employees of the Panama Canal Commission or any of its predecessor agencies on account of injuries sustained on or before December 31, 1999, except for those claims arising before, on, or after October 1, 1988, for which the Secretary of Labor has assumed fiscal responsibility.
(b)Calculation of amounts to be deposited
The amounts deposited under subsection (a) shall be based upon periodic actuarial studies conducted by experts or consultants whose services are procured by the Panama Canal Commission by contract. The amounts of such deposits shall take into consideration interest earnings in accordance with subsection (c) of this section and expected cost of living adjustments as provided in section 8146a of title 5, but not amounts payable by the Commission for continuation of pay pursuant to section 8118 of such title.
(c)Investment of amounts in Fund
The Secretary of the Treasury, upon the request of the Secretary of Labor, shall invest moneys in the Fund in public debt securities which shall bear interest at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturity. Such interest shall be credited to and form a part of the Fund.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was enacted as part of the Panama Canal Commission Compensation Fund Act of 1988, and not as part of the Panama Canal Act of 1979 which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1988, see section 10 of Pub. L. 100–705, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1988 Amendment note under section 3612 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 3715a

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110