Emerson Reports Progress from NATO HQ
Washington DC - U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today reported results in her efforts to expand the role of Southern Missouri agricultural products. Emerson is on a congressional delegation mission to the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Belgium.
A major topic of conversations between Emerson and NATO officials has been the inconsistent policy governing international shipments of food to Iraq. Thailand and Vietnam chose not to participate in the Coalition Provisional
Authority, yet continue to make up the bulk of Iraq's rice imports.
"Food policy should follow reconstruction policy and, given that Iraq will import a million tons of rice per year in the near future, this is an issue of fairness to the American people who bore the burden of liberating Iraq from Saddam Hussein. I'm glad to report we have been able to successfully communicate that idea to the other member nations of NATO," Emerson said.
"The CPA policy for food tenders should be consistent with the CPA reconstruction policy and restrict contracts to countries that have sacrificed and invested in the Coalition effort to free Iraq," Emerson wrote last week in a letter, signed by seven Senators and 14 Representatives from rice-producing states, to National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice.
"I have also been encouraging our allies in NATO to contribute to the rebuilding of a peaceable, stable, and secure nation. Food aid, good government, and an end to violence are our immediate goals for Iraq. The more support we have from our allies, the faster we will be able to accomplish these objectives and bring our troops home," Emerson said.