Rep. Suzanne Bonamici attracts sugar money on Capitol Hill

Talk about a sweet tooth. The domestic sugar industry, which wants to continue receiving federal price supports, in recent weeks has been showering freshman Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore, with campaign cash.

In her latest campaign disclosure report, Bonamici reports receiving $12,000 in May and June from eight different sugar grower political action committees. That's on top of another $5,000 she had earlier received from the biggest of the sugar lobbies -- the American Crystal Sugar PAC.

That rivals the amount of sugar money received by Reps. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., who unlike Bonamici is on the House Agriculture Committee, and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., who is a member of the GOP leadership and represents many beet sugar farmers in eastern Oregon.

Schrader's picked up nearly $15,000 from sugar growers in this election cycle while Walden has received $12,000, according to Open Secrets.

So what's up with Bonamici? Her spokeswoman, Leah Nelson, said that the sugar growers did throw a fundraiser for Bonamici, but she said she wasn't sure how that came about.

"There have been a number of these (fundraisers) held for her" by different groups, said Nelson, adding:

"Raising money is just part of the process and Suzanne never lets political fundraising influence her legislative stances or actions."

It may be that the sugary reception from the likes of the American Sugar Cane League and the Great Lakes Sugarbeet Growers was a kind of Capitol Hill welcome for Bonamici, who took office in February after winning a special election.

No doubt she heard plenty from the growers about why the sugar support program should be intact in the new farm bill that is awaiting House action. In contrast, industries that use a lot of sweeteners -- like the soda companies -- say the sugar program unnecessarily drives up the price to consumers.

Lobbyists have been fighting over sugar price supports for decades. But the whole question of taxpayer aid to agriculture has been particularly fraught this year, given the big deficit and the record growth in farm income, The New York Times reports.(There are also deep divisions about whether to cut food stamp and school lunch programs, which are also in the farm bill.)

At this point, it's not clear when the House Republican leadership will bring the farm bill to the floor, and if the leadership will allow a floor vote on whether to remove sugar subsidies.

So what's Bonamici think?

"So far," said Nelson, "she hasn't taken a side."

source: oregonlive