Reforming the sugar program in the nation's farm bill would make U.S. manufacturers more competitive and reduce prices for consumers, said U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), co-sponsor of an amendment to revamp the system.
The amendment, S. 345, did not seek to eliminate the program. Instead, it aimed to reform restrictions on imports as well as subsidies for sugar growers, along with other changes. But the Senate rejected the amendment by a 45-54 vote
Wednesday.
“We’ve
been hearing a lot of talk about the need to protect America’s sugar
farmers, but what we haven’t heard is that sugar remains the most
tightly controlled commodity market in this country,” Shaheen said during floor discussion in the Senate Wednesday. “We
currently have an outdated ... program that offers a sweet deal to a small
group of sugar growers and processors at the expense of too many other
American businesses and at the expense of American consumers.”
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