[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MEDICAL DEVICE TAX

  (Mr. ALTMIRE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ALTMIRE. Mr. Speaker, in 15 days, a misguided tax on America's 
medical device industry is scheduled to go into effect. The $30 billion 
medical device tax will negatively impact an industry that employs over 
400,000 people in America, including many in my congressional district, 
and one industry in the country that has a net surplus with foreign 
trade.
  In June, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation to repeal this 
ill-advised tax policy. Now, 18 Democratic Senators have sent a letter 
to Majority Leader Reid asking to delay the medical device tax before 
it can take effect at the start of the new year, providing that there 
is broad bipartisan and bicameral support to do away with the tax.
  With just 2 weeks to go until the tax is scheduled to take effect, 
the medical technology industry has received little guidance about how 
to comply with the tax, causing significant uncertainty and confusion.
  As discussions on the fiscal cliff and our Nation's economic future 
progress, a delay in the implementation of the medical device tax 
should strongly be considered.

                          ____________________