Expressing Sense of House Relating to Tariff-Rate Quotas for Raw Refined Sugar

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, I ask for support of my colleagues on a resolution in support of making a simple correction to the House-passed farm bill during the conference with the Senate.

The 2008 farm bill overreached in limiting the USDA's ability to allow sugar imports if there is a shortage in domestic supply. This misguided policy has resulted in extreme shortages and now surpluses, adding unnecessary volatility to the marketplace and creating uncertainty for our manufacturers. Because of these policies, we have been losing food manufacturing jobs at the rate of almost 10,000 per year. We cannot afford these job losses.

The district I represent in Illinois is home to a number of food manufacturers, including Jelly Belly, TruSweets Confectionery, Cornfields, Ford Gum, and Long Grove Confectionery. These companies employ hundreds of people and support hundreds of families in the 10th District. These are economic drivers of our community.

In addition to costing our manufacturers and workers, this policy is costing taxpayers.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Foxx). The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. PITTS. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. SCHNEIDER. Since July, this policy is estimated to have cost more than $250 million. Keep in mind that we were told this program would operate at zero cost.

The reform called for by this resolution would make a modest change to U.S. sugar policy while still maintaining a safety net for U.S. sugar farmers and processors.

Please join me in supporting this commonsense resolution. Express support for this reasonable reform.

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