In the snail race to end the government shutdown, House Republicans have proposed a new bill, which among other things, would delay the medical device excise tax for two years. The current proposal in the Senate doesn’t mention amending, much less repealing, the medical device excise tax.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told the Washington Post the new bill should tempt Senate Democrats, as it echoes many of the deadlines they suggest in their own bill–funding government agencies until Jan. 15 and raising the debt ceiling until Feb. 7. (Glad to know both parties are working together to shove problems off into 2014.) Like the Senate’s plan, it also would require stricter income verification.
The major differences? The House suggests a two-year device tax repeal and getting rid of the employer healthcare contribution for White House officials and members of Congress.
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But without the device tax, where will that $30 billion for Obamacare come from? What will fill the gap?
Now it’s a matter of which passes first and how far either party will bend in order not to be the last one holding the shutdown hot potato.
