[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E991]]



                      THE SUGAR PROGRAM REFORM ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 18, 1999

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today myself, Representative 
George Miller and more than 40 of our colleagues are introducing the 
Sugar Program Reform Act, a bill to phase out the sugar program by the 
end of 2002.
  The sugar program is the ``sugar daddy'' of corporate welfare. Why? 
Because most of the benefits of this program go to huge corporate sugar 
producers, not the typical family farmer.
  The sugar program's sole purpose is to prop up the price of sugar in 
the United States through a complex system of low-interest, nonrecourse 
loans and tight import restrictions. In fact, the price of sugar in the 
United States today is roughly four times as high as the price of sugar 
world wide.
  As a result, the sugar program imposes a ``sugar tax'' on consumers, 
forcing them to pay more than $1 billion in higher prices for food and 
sugar every year.
  It devastates the environment, particularly the fragile Everglades in 
my home State of Florida. Higher prices for sugar have encouraged more 
and more sugar production in the Everglades Agricultural Area, leading 
to high levels of phosphorus-laden agricultural runoff flowing into the 
Everglades, which has damaged the ecosystem.
  It has cost many Americans their jobs because it has restricted the 
supply of sugar that is available on the American market, resulting in 
the closure of a dozen sugar refineries across the country.
  Finally, it hampers our ability to expand trade opportunities for 
America's farmers. It is hypocritical for the United States to protect 
domestic sugar production while urging other countries to open their 
agricultural markets. America loses leverage in trade negotiations as a 
result.
  The sugar program is an archaic, unnecessary government handout to 
corporate sugar producers at the expense of consumers, workers, and the 
environment. It is truly deserving of reform.
  The Sugar Program Reform Act will do what the 1996 farm bill failed 
to accomplish. While the Farm bill began to phase out supports for 
nearly every farm commodity, sugar escaped without any meaningful 
reform. The Sugar Program Reform Act will gradually phase out the loans 
provided to sugar producers, and terminate them at the end of 2002. It 
will require that any loans provided to sugar producers must be repaid.
  Finally, it will require the government to ensure that there is an 
adequate supply of sugar on the United States market to help keep 
prices down.
  This legislation is good for consumers, good for the environment, 
good for American workers, and good for the economy.
  It is my hope that this legislation will be quickly considered by the 
House.

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