Key Vote Alert – “YES” on Sugar Reform Amendment (#925) to the Farm Bill (S. 954)

The Club for Growth urges all Senators to vote “YES” on the Toomey-Shaheen sugar reform amendment (#925) to the Senate farm bill (S. 954). Consideration of this amendment is expected this week or next week. The vote on this amendment will be included in the Club’s 2013 Congressional Scorecard.

The federal sugar program is a prime example of the federal government wrongly picking winners and losers in the private sector. It dislocates jobs, increases prices for consumers and businesses, and includes a protectionist quota that stifles freer trade.

While this amendment doesn’t call for the full elimination of the sugar program (the better solution), it does draw back some of the 2008 farm bill provisions that expanded the program. This includes the wasteful Feedstock Flexibility Program, harmful trade restrictions, and higher price support levels, among other things. We strongly support the passage of this amendment.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 113th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.