On the recordMay 17, 2018
Mr. Chairman, in closing, our government's current sugar program is a job killer. It ensures profits for the connected few at the expense of the many. It operates at a substantial cost to taxpayers, consumers, and businesses. It is rooted in supply management economics that were drafted nearly 90 years ago. Every other commodity program was subjected to reforms during the last farm bill except the sugar program. Economists, consumer groups, environmentalists, manufacturers, editorial boards, and groups on both the left and right of the idealogical spectrum have all endorsed the idea of substantially reforming this program. It is time to end Congress' codification of a special interest giveaway. It is time to modernize the sugar program. I ask my colleagues to support our amendment and the farm bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
