Miller And Miller Introduce Legislation Endorsed By Sugar Reform Coalition

Reps Dan Miller And George Miller today introduced legislation intended to reform the Federal sugar program. The bill is similar to HR 1850 introduced by Dan Miller in the last Congress, which gained 73 cosponsors but failed to make it out of committee. The legislation would gradually reduce the sugar program’s price support until it was eliminated in the year 2004. It would require that all loans made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to sugar producers must be repaid. Finally, it would assure an adequate supply of sugar to the U.S. market at prices no higher than the world price of sugar or the loan rate in effect for that year. The Coalition for Sugar Reform (CSR) , an “organization of 18 consumer, taxpayer advocacy, environmental and business groups” endorsed the legislation. Larry Graham, Chairman of the CSR Steering Committee and President of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, said that any reform of the sugar program “should contain four key parts: first, reform should secure adequate supplies for consumers, industrial users and cane refiners; second, reform should accommodate our present and future international trade obligations that provide market access for imports; third, reform should remove the current economic incentives for overproduction; and finally, reform should allow market prices to trade below support levels when market forces dictate.” The membership of the Coalition for Sugar Reform includes: American Bakers Association, Americans for Tax Reform, Chocolate Manufacturers Association, Citizens for a

Sound Economy, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers for World Trade, Citizens Against Government Waste, Everglades Trust, Friends of the Earth, Grocery Manufacturers of America, Independent Bakers Association, International Dairy Foods Association, National Audubon Society, National Confectioners Association, Taxpayers for Common Sense, United States Cane Sugar Refiners’ Association, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, and World Wildlife Fund.