The Portsmouth Herald - Shaheen Blasts 'Sweet Deal' for Sugar Industry

News Article

By Charles McMahon

On a day when many across the country took to the streets for trick-or-treating, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., outlined her bipartisan effort to end federal sugar support programs that could have a major impact on what consumers pay for candy.

Shaheen was originally expected to tour Granite State Candy Shoppe in Concord on Monday to talk about her bill, the Stop Unfair Giveaways and Restrictions (SUGAR) Act.

The visit was canceled due to power outages, but Shaheen spoke with the Portsmouth Herald via telephone about her efforts to phase out government sugar price supports that she said keep U.S. sugar prices artificially high, harming consumers and businesses.

Shaheen said ending federal sugar price supports would put money back in the pockets of consumers. She is leading the bipartisan effort with U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. She said the legislation is timely because, this Halloween, families paid high prices for the candy they buy for trick-or-treaters. The high prices are due to what she called "an outdated sugar policy that benefits the sugar industry at the expense of consumers and businesses."

"For every job that we save with these sugar supports, we lose three jobs in business that use the sugar," Shaheen said.

A historical look at the issue shows the United States has a long history of protection and support for its sugar industry.

The Sugar Acts of 1934, 1937 and 1948 required the U.S. Department of Agriculture to estimate domestic sugar consumption and divide this market by assigning quotas to U.S. growers and foreign countries. These acts also authorized payments to growers when needed as an incentive to limit production, and levied excise taxes on sugar processed and refined in the United States.

This type of sugar program expired in 1974. For the next seven years, the U.S. market was relatively open to foreign sugar imports, with mandatory price support provided only in 1977 and 1978, and discretionary support in 1979.

Congress reinstated mandatory price support for sugar in the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 and the Food Security Act of 1985. Subsequently, the 1990 farm bill, the 1993 budget reconciliation bill, and the 1996, 2002 and 2008 farm bills extended sugar program authority with some changes.

Current law authorizes the sugar program through the 2012 crops for sugar beets and sugarcane.

Shaheen said she hopes her fellow lawmakers will not allow the supports to continue.

"I want to urge my colleagues to support the Sugar Act and get rid of this unnecessary program that is costing consumers $4 billion a year," she said. "We need to stop sugar's sweet deal."

Under the current program, Shaheen said, consumers are paying almost twice the world market price for sugar.

Although she was unable to visit the Concord candy store Monday, Shaheen said the small business is a prime example of how past programs are plaguing the current practice of doing business in America. "Granite State Candy is one of the kinds of businesses that are being hurt by the sugar subsidy," she said. "The owner has told us the high cost has kept him from hiring and expanding."

Shaheen said she heard similar stories last year while visiting the Lindt & Sprungli facility in Stratham.

"They are also having to absorb many of the high sugar prices in order to keep their prices competitive," she said.

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