U.S. REP. JO ANN EMERSON APPLAUDS ANTI-EMBARGO ACT

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, voted with the majority of her House colleagues in passing a bill that would force the president to get congressional approval of agricultural embargoes.

"History shows that agricultural embargoes are not effective in changing behavior. Instead, agricultural embargoes hurt our prices, hurt our economy, and most of all, they hurt our farmers," Emerson said.

She said agriculture sanctions shouldn't be America's foreign policy weapon of choice.

The anti-embargo act requires the president to report to Congress within five days after taking action to restrict the exportation of any agricultural commodity under a contract prior to the embargo.

The bill requires Congress to accept or reject the embargo within 100 days after receiving the president's report.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, farmers and ranchers depend on exports for more than a third of all sales. Exports have accounted for more than a third of all U.S. economic growth.