Joe Pitts: “For those of us in support of my amendment, I will divide 5 minutes under the control of Congressman Danny Davis, 5…”

“For those of us in support of my amendment, I will divide 5 minutes under the control of Congressman Danny Davis, 5 minutes on my side. I rise in support of my amendment, one that would reform our government's sugar program. For too long, we've seen these subsidies and market protections drive up costs on taxpayers, consumers, and businesses. Let me highlight some of the costs now: Consumers are paying an extra $3.5 billion a year to subsidize this policy. Taxpayers are set to foot a bill of $239 million over the next several years, according to the CBO. The CBO estimated our amendment would save $73 million. American workers are paying the price in job losses. Nearly 127,000 jobs were lost by sugar-using industries between 1997 and 2011. At risk are an additional 600,000 manufacturing jobs. My amendment would help get the price of sugar closer to the world price. It does so by reforming the sugar program, not repealing it. American sugar is still going to have its support program much the same as it did before the 2008 farm bill. We're simply returning to those policies in order to get a more competitive price, one that will help consumers, manufacturers, and even growers. Under the 2008 farm bill, refined sugar prices have averaged 68 percent more than under the 2002 farm bill.…”