Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012

Floor Speech

Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my thoughts about the tax on medical devices.

The House voted on H.R. 436, the Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012. This bill would have repealed the 2.3 percent tax on medical devices that was instituted to pay for the Affordable Care Act. While I did not support H.R. 436, I recognize that medical device makers are at the forefront of innovation and that Federal legislation should support those efforts. I am concerned about the impact that the medical device tax will have on American jobs. Particularly during these difficult economic times, I believe we must do everything we can to encourage, not stifle, job creation.

I believe the Affordable Care Act will provide critical health care coverage to millions of Americans, and I also believe that paying for it responsibly is important. I did not support H.R. 436 because I do not believe that Americans already struggling to afford the cost of healthcare coverage should bear the burden of eliminating this tax. Moreover, I believe we should refrain from making significant changes to the funding structure of the Affordable Care Act until the Supreme Court has rendered its decision on the constitutionality of the law. At that time, the House should revisit repealing the medical device tax with an offset that protects American families while being fiscally responsible.

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