(Washington, DC) – Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led a group of members of Congress in a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Schumer requesting the repeal of the medical device tax before the end of the year. The medical device tax is a 2.3% excise tax on the price of taxable medical devices sold in the U.S., including X-ray machines, hospital beds, and MRI machines.

“My constituents sent me here to work across the aisle on issues that matter to them and their families. Repealing the medical device tax would do just that: improve the quality of health care, encourage innovation, and support economic growth in our community,” said Congresswoman Fletcher. “I hope that Congressional leadership will take action on this bipartisan issue to support the medical community and its patients.”

The medical device tax, which was implemented as part of the Affordable Care Act, has been suspended since 2016 and the current suspension expires on December 31, 2019. If re-imposed, the tax would result in a decline of 21,390 full-time equivalent jobs in the medical device industry and a reduction in gross domestic product (GDP) of $1.7 billion. The tax also deters innovation, keeping the industry from developing new devices to improve the quality of care for patients.

“We support repeal of the medical device tax because Americans and patients everywhere who rely upon these innovative technologies will ultimately suffer the burdens if this tax goes back into effect. The House and Senate must act as soon as possible. We owe it to our constituents to act, and we look forward to working with you to accomplish this goal,” the members wrote.

The letter was signed by Representatives Cindy Axne (IA-03), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Angie Craig (MN-02), Joe Cunningham (SC-01), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Kendra Horn (OK-05), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02), Susie Lee (NV-03), Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), Ben McAdams (UT-04), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Dean Phillips (MN-03), Katie Porter (CA-45), Harley Rouda (CA-48), Kim Schrier (WA-08), Lori Trahan (MA-03), and Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02).

Read the full letter here.