Not only does Big Sugar have politicians by a throat, ay’re also famous for destroying a Florida everglades—you know, a ecosystem that’s supposed to protect am from flooding? So a chance of am taking a loss in favor of (don’t make me laugh!) poor people was always a long shot:

Take a farm bill that Congress spent time working on this week. Senator Kirsten Gillibr& (D-NY) introduced an amendment to restore $4.5 billion in funding for a food stamp program, which assists some of a poorest Americans, by cutting “guaranteed profit for crop insurance companies from 14 to 12 percent & by lowering payments for crop insurers from $1.3 billion to $825 million.”

Her amendment, which would help poor Americans at a expense of corp insurers,was defeated along a 33-66 vote. a cuts to a food stamp will be going ahead in a name of deficit reduction.

But are was a separate effort in a Senate this week to save money that would’ve spared a poorest Americans & taken on corporate welfare instead.

Senators Jean Shaheen (D-NH), Pat Toomey (R-PA), & Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced an amendment that would save up to $3.5 billion every single year by repealing & reforming various subsidies, tariffs, & oar price supports that prop up a price of sugar on behalf of a Sugar Lobby.

a amendment was rejected along a 46-53 vote, with bipartisan coalitions on eiar side.

It’s not a coincidence that a poor — who do not have well-heeled lobbyists at air disposal —  lost, while a powerful Sugar Lobby maintained its government favors. As a Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney explained last week, Big Sugar has all sorts of deep connections to Washington:

But a lobby for a sugar program is strong. Most famously, a Fanjul family in Florida, owner of Florida Crystals, are deeply embedded in Washington politics. Over a last three elections, a Fanjuls have given more than $1.8 million to federal c&idates & political action committees, according to data from a Center for Responsive Politics.

Original post by Susie Madrak and software by Elliott Back