(Washington, D.C.) – On Sunday, the House passed legislation to avoid a government shutdown by finding common ground with the Senate.  The House measure is a reasonable and responsible continuing resolution that delays ObamaCare for a year, repeals the medical device tax, and ensures our troops gets paid if the President and Senate Democrats force a government shutdown.

Rep. Bucshon released the following statement regarding the responsible plan passed by the House today:

“House Republicans believe this approach can and should find common ground with Senate Democrats and the White House,” said Bucshon. “Hoosiers have made it clear: they don’t want a government shutdown and they don’t want ObamaCare. This is a reasonable and fair solution. We grant families the same relief from the harmful effects of ObamaCare that the President gave big businesses, repeal the medical device tax, and ensure our troops gets paid if the President and Senate Democrats force a government shutdown. Now it is up to the Senate to do their work on behalf of the American people.”

THE MEDICAL DEVICE TAX:

The medical device tax is a 2.3% excise tax on the medical device industry that was included in ObamaCare to help pay for the law.  To date, the medical device tax has cost over 10,000 jobs that we know of and countless smaller, privately held companies have cut jobs and investments in research and development to deal with this onerous policy. 

Indiana is home to over 300 medical device companies, that support over 20,000 Hoosier jobs directly and 28,000 secondary jobs.

“This tax stifles innovation and growth in one of our nation’s most advancing sectors and has already caused companies here in Indiana, like Cook Medical Group, to put plans to expand their operation and create new jobs on hold,” said Bucshon. “Repeal has widespread, bipartisan support. There is no reason the Senate should not approve this measure.”

Boston Scientific Corporation in Spencer, Indiana announced plans to cut 2,400 positions while Cook Medical Inc. in Bloomington, Indianaput plans on hold to open five new plants here in the United States in the next five years.

The medical device industry was quick to support the House plan saying it will save jobs and protect critical medical innovation.

“Repeal of the medical device tax is critical for Indiana’s economy and to patients who benefit from advances in medical technology,” said Michael Mahoney, President and CEO at Boston Scientific Corporation. “On behalf of the 800 Boston Scientific employees in Spencer, IN we thank Congressman Larry Bucshon for his leadership in helping to repeal the medical device excise tax.”

“The hundreds of medical device companies of Indiana are grateful for the inclusion of the medical device tax (MDT) repeal in the Continuing Resolution.  Indiana is an international leader in medical device manufacturing, and the repeal of the medical device tax especially will allow the newer and smaller companies to continue the production of innovative life-saving and life-enhancing products,”stated Peggy Welch, the Indiana Medical Device Manufacturers Council Executive Director.  “The repeal will also help Indiana to retain and create quality, good-wage middle-class jobs.  The MDT repeal is a multi-layer win, and we are hopeful that this provision will continue its ride on the CR until the very end.” 

Repealing the medical device tax has received broad, bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. In fact, the Democrat-controlled Senate approved a bill to repeal the tax, in the non-binding budget resolution, 79-20 in March.  Just last year, 37 House Democrats joined their Republican colleagues repeal the tax in a bill (H.R. 436) that passed 270-146. (ABC News; 9/28/13) Bucshon was an original cosponsor of H.R. 436 and is an original cosponsor of H.R. 523 similar version introduced in February.

In a press conference earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) rightfully referred to this 2.3% excise tax on the medical device industry as a, “stupid tax.” Watch the video here - http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/harry-reid-calls-obamacare-medical-device-tax-stupid_757185.html.

As we begin the harvest season in Indiana, I wanted to share a piece of legislation from last session that did not get much attention but was extremely helpful throughout the state and particularly in our district.

As farmers start gathering their crops, we will begin to see an increased number of trucks on our roads, transporting those goods from city to city and state to state. Our district also sees a lot of truck traffic because we are home to Alcoa Warrick Operations – one of the largest aluminum smelting and fabricating facilities in the world as well as AK Steel – a producer of the widest sheet metal in North America.

This past session, I co-authored legislation to allow the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) or a local authority to grant permits for transporting overweight divisible loads. With a permit, these loads may begin using state highways but these provisions will only be temporary, allowing INDOT enough time to adopt a permanent rule. We wanted to take our time and make the best decisions on this matter without compromising our competitive edge in the meantime.

The need for such legislation came to our attention because our neighboring states, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio already allow overweight vehicles with distributed loads to operate on their roads. When we first began discussing this legislation in committee, a representative from the Agro Business Council explained that they had recently lost an economic development opportunity when an agricultural business decided to locate in Ohio instead of Indiana. They made that decision because they could get more grain per truckload through distributed load permitting.

What this meant was any truck coming into Indiana from those states had to off-load part of their cargo before entering. You can imagine the burden that might pose not only on their time but also their pocketbooks.

As a result of this bill, a fee for a permit consists of $20, plus $0.05 per equivalent single axle load mile. The permit fees generated from this bill will be placed in the State Highway Fund. This actually incentivizes trucks to distribute their loads because in doing so, they will pay a reduced permit fee. This greatly benefits the state as well because more divisible loads translate to less damage to our roads.

In July, I had the pleasure of visiting AK Steel where I was able to hear and see firsthand the impact this bill has had on their operations. For them, this was a green initiative.  It provides cost avoidance by allowing them to move multiple coils per load while also reducing their fuel consumption and emissions.

Indiana is the most manufacturing intensive state in the country. Given that, this legislation seemed like a no-brainer. It is imperative that we are able to compete both within and without the state and this bill does just that. In addition to this being an economic development issue, increased axles means better braking capacity, less road wear, less traffic and fewer emissions.

My goal in authoring this legislation was to make it as easy as possible to do business in our great state. When it comes to these issues, I believe that should always be our primary goal. As we work to attract new business to Indiana we must remember to do everything we can to keep the business we already have. Do you know of any impediments to business in Indiana that you’d like to see changed? If so, I want to hear about them! I can be reached via email at h75@iga.in.gov or by phone at 317-232-9674.