Cook Medical Scraps Plans to Expand Production in USA Because of ObamaCare Tax: Looking to Go Overseas
When it comes to jobs Obama has proven to be the great destroyer.
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An Indiana company's decision to scrap expansion plans due to a looming tax on medical devices has renewed pressure on the Senate to consider a House-passed bill repealing the tax.
House Speaker John Boehner, in a written statement, urged the Senate to take up the bill "as soon as possible."
Companies in the medical device industry for months have been calling on Congress to strip the provision. Amid the complaints, though, several firms have already taken steps to cut back U.S. investment out of concern for the tax's impact.
Cook Medical, an Indiana-based medical equipment manufacturer, last week said it's nixing plans to open five new plants in the next five years -- claiming the tax will cost between $15 million and $30 million a year, cutting into money that would otherwise go toward expanding into new facilities in the Midwest.
"Unfortunately, we have had to shelve these expansion plans and look overseas for that," Allison Giles, vice president for federal affairs with the company, told FoxNews.com. "It's a huge amount for us."
She urged the Senate to take up the repeal bill, even if it has to wait for the post-election lame-duck session.
"We're hoping that members will look at this, not so much as a health care provision, but as a jobs provision," she said.
The Affordable Care Act imposed the 2.3 percent tax on medical devices beginning in 2013. It is projected to raise nearly $30 billion over the next decade -- the House voted to repeal it last month.
The Obama administration argues that claims the tax will shift jobs overseas are overblown.