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.