Speech #910243807

We Americans like to contemplate our Government as leading the way in matters concerning the welfare of individuals. It therefore comes as a shocking disappointment of disillusion when we observe the Federal Government trailing exceedingly far behind private employers and a substantial number of the States and cities in respect to health benefits for its employees. For the Congress of the United States this package of employee benefits for noncitizens in the Canal Zone is a small matter without impact on the Federal budget. But for approximately 12.000 individuals and their families. it is a matter of extremely great magnitude. Noncitizen employees have constituted the bulk of our Government work force in the Canal Zone during the digging of the Panama Canal and since its opening in 1914. They have performed their duties loyally and well for the United States. For many years it has been a matter of extremely intense irritation on the part of the Panamanians and the Government that we have denied to those noncitizen employees many of the benefits of employment accorded Federal employees who are U.S. citizens. Such unequal treatment is in direct contravention of repeated promises of equality which have been made by our Government to the Republic of Panama and represents a constant source of antiU.S. feeling among Panamanians. The United States has accepted an international commitment to provide equal pay and retirement benefits to noncitizen employees in accord with that received by U.S. citizen employees. Yet it still has not made available fringe benefits such as health and life insurance. It is interesting to note that the Panama Canal Company. the largest employer of noncitizens in the Canal Zone has continually made recommendations for the extension of the health benefits coverage to all of their employees. The continuation of soaring spacebound increases in daily hospital charges and doctors fees has raised the premium that an individual has to pay to receive coverage to the level that many of the -workers cannot afford coverage. This then puts them and their families in a welfare position when illness occurs.