Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader Schumer and Minority
Leader McCarthy:
On behalf of the over six hundred innovators, patient groups, physicians, hospitals, venture
capitalists and other stakeholders signed below representing millions of patients and hundreds of
thousands medical technology jobs, we respectfully request that Congress prioritize repeal of the
medical device excise tax before it causes any more harm to the innovation ecosystem. While the
tax was in place from 2013 through 2015, thousands of good paying jobs were lost, research and
development projects were abandoned and patients were denied new treatments. The Senate and
House have both previously passed repeal legislation with strong bipartisan majorities, and now
is the time to put an end to this punishing policy before the current suspension expires on
December 31, 2019.
As you know, the medical device industry is a unique American success story, both for
patients and our economy. The U.S. is the world leader in manufacturing lifesaving and lifeenhancing treatments, and the industry is an important engine for economic growth. The industry
employs more than 400,000 workers nationwide, generates approximately $25 billion in payroll,
pays out salaries that are 40 percent more than the national average ($58,000 vs.$42,000) and
invests nearly $10 billion in research and development (R&D) annually. The industry is fueled
by innovative companies, the majority of which are small businesses with 80 percent of
companies having fewer than 50 employees and 98 percent with fewer than 500 employees.
Read full letter here
