[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [House] [Page 8495] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]THE POLICY OF NOT USING FOOD AS A WEAPON IS GOOD POLICY (Mr. NETHERCUTT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, there is no more fundamental need of human beings than the need for food and medicine. For years, our country has had a policy of imposing unilateral economic sanctions on nations of the world with which we disagree, nations like Iran and Libya and North Korea and many others. If one is a farmer in America, this policy has hurt American agricultural exports, especially if other nations of the world do not impose such sanctions and are free to trade with such enemy nations. Earlier this year, I introduced H.R. 212, a bill which lifts sanctions on food and medicine so that we can sell our commodities to these nations, subject to the President reinstating those sanctions if doing so is in the national security interest. Last week, the President, by administrative order, lifted sanctions on food and medicine to Iran, Libya and Sudan. This can result in the likely sale of $500 million in wheat sales to American agriculture. The policy of not using food as a weapon is good policy, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 212. ____________________