| Congressional Budget Office Projects $1 Billion in Red Ink
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Larry Graham, Chairman of the
Coalition for Sugar Reform and President and Chief Executive Office of the
Chocolate Manufacturers Association, said today, "New reports from
the Congressional Budget Office and The Commission on 21st Century
Production Agriculture predict a $1 billion tidal wave of red ink for the
American taxpayer and constitute a clarion call for significant reform of
the current sugar program."
"The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now projects the
sugar program will cost taxpayers an additional $1 billion during the next
ten years, an increase of $316 million during the last 12 months. This is
in addition to the $465 million paid in subsidies in 2000. Even at a time
when the federal government is running a huge surplus, this amount of
direct subsidy is indefensible. It is time for the new Administration and
the Congress to take a fresh look at this waste of money," he said.
A second report by The Commission on 21st Century Production
Agriculture, a congressionally chartered farm policy commission,
recognized the problems with the current program and the need for change.
The report underscores the need to seriously consider alternatives to the
current sugar program. It states:
"The Commission believes that serious consideration must be given
to developing an alternative to the current sugar program. The following
program options, individually or in combination, should be evaluated
within the context of a commitment to a continuation of our existing
international commitments on sugar imports: a marketing loan for sugar,
domestic marketing controls, domestic production controls, and some form
of direct payment to sugar producers."
"In recent years, sugar plantation owners and other producers have
argued that the current program should continue because there were no
direct costs to the Treasury. These two expert reports make it
overwhelmingly clear that the supposedly 'no-cost' sugar program sugar
program has become unaffordable for all of us -- consumers,
environmentalists, government watchdogs and the food industry,"
Graham concluded.
The Coalition for Sugar Reform is a group of 20 organizations and
associations whose objective is market-oriented reform for the U.S. sugar
program. Coalition members represent consumers, environmentalists, think
tanks, and advocates of fiscal responsibility, businesses and other
interests. A listing of Coalition members and other additional information
is available on the Coalition's website: http://www.sugar-reform.org
SOURCE Coalition for Sugar Reform |