03/29/06 Simpson forms House sugar caucus

Congressman Mike Simpson and the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, Minnesota's Collin Peterson have formed a sugar caucus. Simpson says they want to promote and maintain America's no-cost sugar program in the 2007 Farm Bill. SIMPSON "There is a feeling as we start to rewrite the ag bill this year so that next year it has to be implemented there's going to be an attempt as there always is but it will be stronger this year to try to eliminate the sugar program." Simpson says they have 13 members in the House caucus now with more expected to sign on. Simpson says it makes no sense to destroy the Idaho sugar beet industry by eliminating a program that costs the taxpayers nothing. SIMPSON "During the years when actually we didn't have a sugar program for a couple of years when it wasn't reinstituted the price of sugar in this country actually went up. I don't think you're going to see the price of sugar go down if we don't have a sugar program as some people have suggested." Simpson and Peterson tried to rally support for the defeat of CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement which they saw as a threat to the sugar beet industry in their respective states. Simpson says they're objective now is to inform all of Congress about the industry and what could happen to it if imported sugar floods the US market. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott