1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax Act of 2018 or as the SWEET Act . 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 prevalence 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 disproportionately 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 overweight has also increased dramatically in recent decades. 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 Nation’s young people, aged 2–19 years, has not changed significantly since 2004 and remains at about 17 percent—equaling 12.5 million children and adolescents. (3) There are significant racial and age disparities in obesity prevalence among children and adolescents. 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 nationally, or approximately 5 to 10 percent of all