I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5279 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an excise tax 
on sugar-sweetened beverages, to dedicate the revenues from such tax 
to the prevention, treatment, and research of diet-related health condi-
tions in priority populations, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2014 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. MORAN, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose 
an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, to dedicate 
the revenues from such tax to the prevention, treatment, 
and research of diet-related health conditions in priority 
populations, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sugar-Sweetened Bev-
erages Tax Act of 2014’’ or as the ‘‘SWEET Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that: 
(1) The prevalence of obesity in the United 
States has increased dramatically over the past 30 
years. From the 1960s to the late 1970s, the preva-
lence was relatively constant, with about 15 percent 
of the population classified as obese. After the 
1970s, these rates began to climb. According to the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by 
2012 more than one-third (34.9 percent) of adults 
and 17 percent of youth in the United States were 
obese. Although no group has escaped the epidemic, 
low income people and communities of color are dis-
proportionately affected. In 2012, nearly half (47.8 
percent) of African-American adults were obese and 
42.5 percent of Hispanic adults were obese. 
(2) The percentage of children who are over-
weight has also increased dramatically in recent dec-
ades. After being relatively constant from the 1960s 
to the 1970s, the prevalence of overweight children 
has more than tripled among children between 6 and 
11 years of age and nearly quadrupled among those 
between 12 and 19 years of age. Despite significant 
public and private investment, childhood obesity 
rates remain high. Overall, obesity among our Na-
tion’s young people, aged 2–19 years, has not 
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changed significantly since 2004 and remains at 
about 17 percent—equaling 12.5 million children 
and adolescents. 
(3) There are significant racial and age dispari-
ties in obesity prevalence among children and adoles-
cents. In 2011–2012, obesity prevalence was higher 
among Hispanics (22.4 percent) and non-Hispanic 
black youth (20.2 percent) than non-Hispanic white 
youth (14.1 percent). The prevalence of obesity was 
lower in non-Hispanic Asian youth (8.6 percent) 
than in youth who were non-Hispanic white, non- 
Hispanic black, or Hispanic. 
(4) Overweight and obesity are responsible for 
an estimated $190 billion in health care costs na-
tionally, or approximately 5 to 10 percent of all 
medical spending—with over 20 percent of these 
costs paid publicly through the Medicare and Med-
icaid programs. The medical costs for people who 
are obese are dramatically higher ($2,741 per year) 
than those of normal weight. 
(5) The obesity epidemic is of particular con-
cern because obesity increases the risk of diabetes, 
heart disease, certain types of cancer, arthritis, asth-
ma, and breathing problems. Depending on their 
level of obesity, from 60 percent to over 80 percent 
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