News release from Congressman Marlin Stutzman:
Stutzman Votes to Protect Jobs from Medical Device Tax
House votes to repeal President Obama’s tax hike(Washington, D.C., June 7, 2012) – Today, Congressman Marlin Stutzman (IN-03), an original co-sponsor of legislation to repeal the medical device tax, issued the following statement on the passage of the Health Care Cost Reduction Act.
“After forty months of unemployment above eight percent, Americans want Washington to focus on jobs and pro-growth policies,” said Stutzman. “That’s exactly why I’ve worked to repeal this new 2.3% tax on medical device sales. Washington’s insatiable appetite for taxes is targeting an industry that creates high paying jobs and offers invaluable medical advances. My district is home to the ‘Orthopedic Capital of the World’ in Warsaw, Indiana. Over 20,000 Hoosiers are employed by the medical device industry and this tax could eliminate over 2,000 of those jobs. Washington has an opportunity to do the right thing for patients and job creators by repealing this tax. The House has acted. It’s time for the Senate to do the responsible thing and protect these jobs.”
In order to pay for President Obama’s health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act included a 2.3% tax on medical device sales. This tax threatens 10% of the industry’s jobs, including over 2,000 jobs in Indiana. Warsaw, Indiana is home to three of the world’s top five orthopedic manufacturers and a full third of the global market. Hoosiers in this emerging sector manufacture artificial knees, hips, and spine products.
On October 24, 2011, Congressman Stutzman hosted a congressional field forum on the tax and its impact on Indiana. Stutzman and members of the Indiana delegation were joined by Congressmen Brett Guthrie (KY-2) and Erik Paulsen (MN-3) to hear from industry representatives and patients alike.
Congressman Stutzman represents the 3rd Congressional District of Indiana and serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Committee on the Budget and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity. Indiana’s 3rd District contains all of DeKalb, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Noble, Steuben, and Whitley counties, as well as parts of Allen and Elkhart counties. Website.