[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 85 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H3584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   OBAMACARE, MEDICAL DEVICE, MEDICINE CABINET TAX REPEALS, AND FSA 
                              IMPROVEMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Tennessee (Mrs. Black) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BLACK. Mr. Speaker, as one of the most outspoken opponents of 
ObamaCare, I hope that in the coming weeks the Supreme Court strikes 
down this disastrous piece of legislation. But the fact is no matter 
what the Supreme Court decides about ObamaCare, it does not change the 
reality that this law is horrible policy.
  In just 3 short years, ObamaCare has already resulted in fewer jobs, 
higher health care costs, and more debt. That's why I have voted more 
than a dozen times to either defund or repeal ObamaCare since being 
elected to Congress. For instance, last November, my legislation that 
closed a loophole in the health care law and saved taxpayers $13 
billion was signed into law.
  Today, the House will vote on legislation to repeal two of the 
ObamaCare law's most egregious job-killing taxes in this law: one, the 
medical device manufacturing tax; and, two, the medicine cabinet tax.
  According to the Joint Tax Committee, the medical device tax increase 
will take away $29 billion from job creators over the next decade. 
These higher costs will be passed along to consumers, like veterans 
with prosthetics and seniors with pacemakers and hip replacements.
  This bill will also repeal the medicine cabinet tax increase, which 
prevents owners of health savings accounts, or HSAs, or flexible 
spending accounts, FSAs, from using these accounts to purchase 
nonprescription, over-the-counter medications. ObamaCare's limitation 
on purchasing over-the-counter medications will result in longer wait 
times for those who truly need the care and will also drive up health 
care costs.
  In addition to repealing these disastrous tax hikes, the bill also 
improves the flexible spending accounts by allowing participants to get 
back unused FSA dollars, up to $500, as taxable wages in the subsequent 
year. Under current law, any unused balance goes back to the employer 
and is lost by the employee. This reform to the FSA accounts rewards, 
rather than penalizes, consumers for being healthy and saving their 
money.
  Before coming to Congress, I worked in health care as a registered 
nurse for more than 40 years. I have seen firsthand the problems and 
obstacles patients and health care providers face. But ObamaCare is 
only serving to exasperate the current problems and creates entirely 
new problems.
  Our health care system desperately needs market-based and patient-
centered reform, not a government takeover. It is critical that the 
House continue to fight against ObamaCare until either the Supreme 
Court overturns the law in its entirety or until we have willing 
partners in the Senate and in the White House.

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