Six area GOP legislators try, again, to end impasse

Six Philadelphia-area Republicans have signed on to a plan to end the federal government shutdown, proposing a six-month spending bill that would repeal a tax opposed by many in both parties.

The bipartisan effort, led by Reps. Charles W. Dent, an Allentown Republican, and Ron Kind, a Wisconsin Democrat, was unveiled at a news conference Thursday attended by about 20 lawnmakers from both parties.

Democratic leaders quickly rejected the proposal, and it seems unlikely to solve the ongoing standoff.

The proposal would fund government operations for six months and repeal a 2.3 percent tax on medical-device makers that was part of President Obama's health-care law.

The tax has drawn the ire of Republicans and Democrats in Pennsylvania and other states with a sizable medical-device industry, which manufactures artificial joints, stents, pacemakers and more.

"There is a solution to this challenge and it's right in front of us," said Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), of Bucks County. "It's Democrats and Republicans coming together outside of the circles of leadership, and I think it deserves a shot."

Dent and Kind circulated a letter to build support among House members.

Local Republican Reps. Jim Gerlach, Pat Meehan, Jon Runyan, and Frank LoBiondo back the effort. Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.), who has also tried to roll back the tax, said the plan is "a constructive idea that should be considered seriously by both sides."

The House has previously passed a budget plan that included a repeal of the device tax, which is expected to raise $30 billion over 10 years. The Senate rejected the bill.

Unlike that proposal, this one offers a way to make up the lost revenue: It would extend a 2012 law that cut the amount employers paid into pension plans but raised their federal pension insurance premiums.

Critics of the tax say it hurts a growing industry. Supporters argue that it helps fund the health-care law, and that the companies paying a higher tax will benefit from the new patients who will acquire health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) called the plan "an act of desperation" according to the Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Even some Democrats who oppose the tax said they wouldn't back this bill under these circumstances. Democrats have insisted that the shutdown should not be used to extract concessions, fearing the precedent such negotiations would set.

"I don't think any of those things should be open to negotiation because the lesson that it teaches is that when you come up against a real crisis . . . you can make your wish list and get something," said Rep. Rob Andrews (D., N.J.), who has been critical of the tax. "I'm not in favor of any proposal that would reward this kind of behavior."

@JonathanTamari