On the recordSeptember 19, 2013
This hits very close to home. Because for every Zimmer or Biomet I visit in the State of Indiana, there have to be four or five small, fledgling businesses that aspire to become the next Zimmer or Biomet of the world. We're inhibiting, with this device tax, their future growth, their research efforts, and the lean years when they're just trying to get a product approved into market. With entrepreneurship at a 15-year low, we need to be doing everything conceivable to incentivize people to start businesses, to grow jobs, to increase personal incomes, which is exactly what this medical device sector has done in recent years. But it's all in jeopardy as a result of this surtax. I'm in the mood this evening to tell stories. So you have opened the door there, my good friend, Mr. Paulsen of Minnesota. So let me share with you another story about innovation in this sector. There was a young college student who dreamed one day of becoming a doctor. So he did very well in school and studied incredibly hard. When he graduated, the U.S. military came calling. He was brought into the service against his will--drafted--and served his time as a medical technician. He got married later and they had children and one thing led to another. They ended up moving to my hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. And so this once-aspiring doctor did what so many Americans decide to do: they didn't give up on their dreams.…





