Mass. Congressional Democrats Don't Want to Work With Republicans on Repealing Medical Device Tax Despite Sharing Position

Because politics

Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation have campaigned against the new federal tax on medical devices, agreeing with industry executives that it hurts the Bay State economy by costing device manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Some Republicans also are demanding repeal of the tax — but they are making it a condition of ending the government shutdown.

And therein lies the problem. Despite having the ingredients for a bipartisan deal on a pet cause, Massachusetts lawmakers are not interested. To join ranks with Republicans would mean breaking ranks with President Obama, who has repeatedly opposed tying the funding of government to any other legislation.