[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              SUGAR REFORM

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, today, on Valentine's Day, millions of 
Americans will celebrate with a box of chocolates or candy. All told, 
consumers are expected to spend more than $1.5 billion on candy this 
holiday.
  What they don't know is that government sugar controls are making 
that heart-shaped box more expensive than it needs to be. What they 
don't know is that American companies are struggling to compete against 
foreign producers who pay half as much for sugar.
  Because of government price supports, marketing allotments, and 
import quotas, U.S. consumers and businesses pay almost double the 
average world market price for sugar. By some estimates, this could be 
costing us more than 20,000 jobs. Many of us have watched good jobs 
lost because the government guarantees the profits of a relatively 
small group of growers and producers.
  Reforming our sugar program isn't a partisan issue, which is why I've 
been proud to introduce H.R. 1385, the Free Market Sugar Act, with my 
friend from Chicago, Danny Davis.
  Maybe next Valentine's Day can be sweeter for American workers and 
consumers.

                          ____________________