Mr.

Davis /4 Senator Berardi

S.ss._____

A BILL
To put an extra federal tax of eight percent on all sweetened beverages.
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This act may be cited as the Sugar Tax Act of 2015.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS
Congress hereby finds and declares that,
1) Low income children and adolescents are more likely to be obese than their higher income counterparts
2)In addition to increasing the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes,

obesity increases the risk of cancers of the breast (postmenopausal), endometrium (the lining of the uterus),
colon, kidney, and esophagus.
3) Childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug
abuse and smoking.
4) Obesity refers to an excess amount of body fat. It develops when the number of calories (energy) consumed in
food and beverages exceeds the number of calories that the body burns to function.
5) One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives.
6) In a sample of 5-to 17-year-olds, almost 60% of overweight children had at least one cardiovascular

disease CVD risk factor and 25% of overweight children had two or more CVD risk factors.
7) About 30% of children and adolescents aged 815 years in the United States misperceive their weight
status. Weight status misperception is more common among boys (32.3%) than girls (28.0%).
8) 37.9% (2013-2014) percent of adults age 20 years and over with obesity.
9) More than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be obese.
10) Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer,
some of the leading causes of preventable death.
11) 86 percent of American adults will be either overweight or obese by 2030.
12) Early obesity not only increases the likelihood of adult obesity, it also increases the risk of heart disease
in adulthood, as well as the prevalence of weight-related risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high
blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.
13) People who are obese or overweight also have smaller brains than lean people
14)The calories provided by sugar-sweetened beverages have little nutritional value and may not provide
the same feeling of fullness that solid food provides. As a result, total energy intake may increase which
can lead to unhealthy weight gain
SECTION 3. STATUTORY LANGUAGE
A)This Bill will be overseen and enforced by the Department of Health and Human Services. An extra federal tax of
eight percent on all sweetened beverages. A sweetened Beverage shall be defined as any drink with more than 20
grams of sugar per one serving. Thirty-five percent of the tax money collected from this bill will go to the funding
health and nutrition classes in high schools, thirty percent will go to funding school lunch programs in schools, thirty
percent will go to the edible school yard project in states the comply to the bill and five percent will go to funding the
Committee of Sugar.
B) Only states that comply by this bill will be granted the funds and only for the purposes previously mentioned. The
Committee of Sugar will be created in order to make sure the proper funds are going to the right places and to
enforce the tax.
C) This tax will go it to effect on January first of 2017 and will be reviewed on January first of 2025.