01/03/1980
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu...
"The strategic value of the canal lies in its use."
"I intend to make further reductions in the next fiscal year."
"This means that for the fiscal year which began on October 1, 1977, and which will end on September 30, 1978, new commitments... will not exceed $8.6 billion."
"We do not own the Panama Canal Zone. We have never had sovereignty over it."