Mr. President, I ask to be recognized for five minutes, as if in morning business.

My comments relate to the debate that took place earlier today on the McCain amendment.

As I listened to all the evils attributed to the sugar program during today's debate on the McCain amendment, I hardly recognized the tiny white crystals that sweeten my cereal each morning.

Sugar is an essential element of human nutrition. It's also one of the least expensive food items you will find in an American kitchen. When you go to a restaurant, there are only two or three things available at no charge and in unlimited quantity: water, sugar and salt. Despite these achievements, sugar is being abused and maligned on the Senate floor.

As I listen to the criticism of the sugar program, I think that some of my colleagues have lost sight of a basic fact that American consumers clearly understand: sugar is probably the best bargain you can find at the grocery store today. A pound of refined sugar costs 39 cents. American sugar farmers and the U.S. sugar program help make sugar affordable.

Consumers elsewhere around the globe do not enjoy the low prices we have in America. If you visit a grocery store in other industrialized nations you will get "sticker shock" when you pass the sugar display. In Tokyo, consumers pay nearly 90 cents for a pound of sugar, more than twice the U.S. price. In Europe, prices average 50 to 70 cents per pound. Obviously, sugar is no bargain in Europe and Japan.

On average, the retail price for a pound of sugar is 54 cents in developed countries — 38 percent more than the price in American supermarkets. Consumers in developing countries pay a significant premium for sugar. When they go to market, all they get is the same one-pound box of sugar as we do in America, but they pay substantially more for it — 38 percent more.

Thanks to a farm program that assures stable supplies at reasonable prices, sugar is a remarkable bargain for American consumers. U.S. consumers pay an average of 17 cents less per pound of sugar than their counterparts in other industrialized nations. Low U.S. prices save consumers $1.4 billion annually. That's why I say that the sugar program is a great deal for American consumers. Thanks to the sugar program, U.S. consumers enjoy a plentiful supply of sugar at bargain prices.

I thank my colleagues for rejecting this amendment. If Congress terminates the sugar program, not only will a dynamic part of the economy disappear from many rural areas, but consumers will also lose a reliable supply of high-quality, low-price sugar.