Dan Coats: “I rise to offer my support for the sugar reform amendment being offered on the farm bill by Senator Shaheen. This…”

“I rise to offer my support for the sugar reform amendment being offered on the farm bill by Senator Shaheen. This important amendment would begin a reform process that deals with a complicated and burdensome program that artificially raises sugar prices in the United States. For nearly three-quarters of a century now, American businesses and consumers have paid a premium price for sugar. This inflated price is due to a tangled web of price manipulation, stringent import quotas and tariffs. The net effect has been that Americans are paying as much as twice the world market base price for sugar. We all realize the amount of sugar that is used in a number of products across the United States, but let me bring this down specifically to what impact it has on some of the confectioners in my home State. Albanese Confectionary Group, Inc, is a renowned Indiana- based manufacturer of a number of products that use a lot of sugars, including chocolates and Gummi bears--they call it the World's Best Gummies--and a lot of other confections. Their estimate is that they would save $3 trillion annually if they were able to buy sugar at the world price. Lewis Bakeries, headquartered in Evansville, IN, is one of the few remaining independent bakeries in our State and in the Midwest and is the largest wholesale bakery we have. Artificially high prices for Lewis Bakeries contributes directly to higher food and beverage costs that weigh down family budgets.…”