FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 29, 1996
CONTACT: Dana Hagerty 202/225-2165
WASHINGTON, DC -- "Attempts to kill the U.S. sugar program failed in the House last night, thus providing for the continued protection of the U.S. domestic sugar market against unfair world pricing," said Congressman Collin C. Peterson (DFL-7th District) after the vote yesterday on the Miller/Schumer amendment.
"Proponents of the amendment kept referring to the sugar program as a farm subsidy. That is completely false," Peterson said. "The sugar program is a no-net cost to the government. In fact, in generates approximately $30 million a year in revenues to the U.S. Treasury.
"However, the real debate on the sugar program is regarding trade," Peterson said. "When we passed the GATT agreement, which I opposed, we gave away many of our abilities to negotiate agricultural trade. Why would we do that again, with an amendment that was drafted the night before the vote, and before anyone could really study what is in the amendment?
"If this amendment had passed, the sugar program would have been put at the mercy of the erratic, highly subsidized world sugar market. This move would have jeopardized the jobs of hundreds of thousands of American workers; many of those jobs here in Minnesota.
"I'd like to thank the farmers throughout Minnesota whose efforts have helped us to defeat this disastrous amendment."