
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) urged fellow lawmakers to strike down the 2.3 percent medical device excise, set to go into effect in 2013, that has been criticized by industry groups as a job-killer.
Speaking on the Senate floor Monday night, Coats defended the 300 medical device makers operating in his state which employ around 20,000 people and pay wages more than 40 percent higher than the state average.
"This is one industry, and I hope to highlight more in the future, that is clearly being penalized for being successful, and it’s hurting our economy, and it’s hurting our ability to provide job growth," he said.
Coats is a co-sponsor on a bill repealing the device tax, the Journal Gazette reported.
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