Dianne Feinstein: “I rise in support of Senator Gregg's amendment to delete the sugar program from this bill. Mr. President, California has…”

“I rise in support of Senator Gregg's amendment to delete the sugar program from this bill. Mr. President, California has not fared well under the current sugar program. Beet sugar production has declined markedly and the west coast's only cane sugar refinery, located in Crockett, CA, has suffered severe financial losses. As a result, California has lost several hundred sugar-related jobs in the past year alone. In November, I learned that the cane sugar refinery in California was forced to cease operation for a week because it ran out of sugar. I have since learned that the closing of this California refinery was not an isolated case and that other refineries in Baltimore, MD, and Brooklyn, NY, have been closed several times during the past year for the same reason--no sugar. Mr. President, the sugar program is complex. Under current law, the Secretary of Agriculture is required to provide price supports to growers through nonrecourse loans to processors, and to do so at no cost to the Federal Government. To accomplish this objective, the Secretary uses an elaborate supply management scheme that includes production and marketing allotments and strict import controls. As currently administered, the sugar program has caused serious financial stress on a major segment of the U.S. sugar industry.”