Will the US Congress pass a 'Soda Tax' in 2009?

Calls to Tax Junk Food Gain Ground
August 23, 2009 | LA Times

Sin taxes" on cigarettes have turned out to be the most effective weapon in the campaign to reduce smoking. Why not try it on Flamin' Hot Cheetos, vanilla Coke and Twinkies? With increasing vigor, public health experts and think tanks are calling for extra taxes on foods and drinks that are heavy in calories and light on nutrition. New York Gov. David Paterson proposed an 18% soda tax last year as a budget-balancing measure, only to abandon it three months later in the face of stiff public opposition. Lawmakers in at least five other states have gone on the record in support of the idea.

Junk-food taxes are often mentioned as a way to help fund a restructuring of the healthcare system, though no one in Congress has endorsed them.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-junk-food-tax23-2009aug23,0,5244082.story

President Obama says 'sin tax' on sodas is food for thought
By David Saltonstall | New York Daily News | September 8th 2009

The President, in an interview with Men's Health magazine released yesterday, said he thought taxing soda and other sugary drinks is worth putting on the table as Congress debates health care reform. "It's an idea that we should be exploring," the president said. "There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that's been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else."

Obama is floating the idea seven months after a storm of protest forced poll-challenged Gov. Paterson to drop his plans for an 18% tax on soda and other sugary drinks. Despite that debacle, congressional lawmakers have considered soda taxes as one way to cover the cost of revamping the nation's health care system, estimated to eat up much as $1 trillion over the next decade.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/09/08/2009-09-08_president_obama_says_sin_tax_on_sodas_is_food_for_thought.html

Florida is considering a soda tax...wonder if it passes if other states will follow.

honestly if there gonna do this why dont they raise the tax on vehicles....i understand it will help america loose weight and what not but look at it this way....ford is ur bottle of water or nonsugary drink which ever u prefer...and say bmw or mercedez is ur coke.....if im gonna have to pay more to get the drink i really love it should be the same for everything else..u cant apply it to one aspect of life and not the rest when there all related