Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said Senate Democrats may be able to compromise on repealing the medical device tax despite the fact that the Senate voted down a House continuing resolution Monday that repealed the tax.
When asked on CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday if the Senate would vote against any hit to Obamacare, Mr. Durbin said that Congress may be able to find some common ground, though the Senate will not accept delaying or defunding Obamacare.
“We can work on something on the medical device tax as long as we replace the revenue,” he said.
The tax is expected to raise $3.2 billion a year.
Despite the brief suggestion of a compromise, he also said the Senate would not go to conference with the House until the government was no longer shut down, meaning the House would need to pass some sort of short-term spending bill before conversations continued.
The government shutdown last night at midnight when Congress could not reach an agreement on how to fund the government, in what Mr. Durbin called “conduct unbefitting a responsible Congress.” On the show, he said he hopes the shutdown will be over before the end of the day Tuesday.
SEE ALSO: Government shutdown begins as gridlocked Congress gives up
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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