Phil Gingrey: “I thank the gentleman. No question about it, physicians are small businessmen and women. I do feel a little bit like a…”

“I thank the gentleman. No question about it, physicians are small businessmen and women. I do feel a little bit like a fish out of water with the economic competitors caucus. Most of my colleagues who have spoken here are, indeed, without question, small businessmen and women, and, in fact, of course, Representative Conaway from Texas is a CPA. But as Representative Shuster is saying, physicians are small businessmen and women. Even a small practice like the one I was in with the four or five OB/GYN doctors, we probably had 40 employees, nurses, front office people, lab people. Bill Shuster is absolutely right: we had to meet a payroll, we had to provide health insurance, we had to provide benefits. We had to worry about how we are going to have the money to expand and maybe bring in a new partner and grow the practice. My colleagues were talking about section 179 under the IRS Tax Code that under Republican leadership would increase the amount that could be deducted on capital improvements, bricks and mortar, putting in a new X-ray machine, whatever, from $25,000 to $100,000, and to allow that small businessman and -woman to write off an additional $300,000 worth of capital improvement, investment, job growth, over an accelerated period of time. That has, Mr. Speaker and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, without question, has stimulated this economy.”