The move was as part of a broader package to revive tax breaks that expired at the end of last year. The tax package is popular with members of both parties, but it’s unclear if Republicans have the leverage needed to win a vote on device tax.
GOP lawmakers stopped short of saying they would oppose the total tax package without the medical device vote.
Last year, 79 senators, including 34 Democrats, backed a non-binding vote to end the tax. Since then, tax-repeal supporters have tried in various forms to attach repeal to other legislative vehicles, but with no success thus far.
“If it’s symbolic and largely non-consequential, then they’re willing to make the vote and go home and tell their constituents that they voted that way,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said of his Democratic colleagues who are from medtech-rich states and who have voiced support for device tax repeal. “But, you know, when it really matters, I think they’ll be running for tall grass.”
Democrats, however, control the Senate floor calendar and haven’t decided whether to allow a vote.
“I’m not sure this is the right time or the right vehicle,” said Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat who supports rescinding the tax.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, from Nevada, didn’t rule out a vote on the device tax but has been a staunch supporter of keeping the tax in place.