The House of Representatives passed a bill repealing a 2.3% excise tax for medical devices, which would be levied on manufacturers and importers of surgical tools, artificial hips and knees, coronary devices and X-ray machines.
The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the excise tax would raise $29 billion over the next decade.
Although the vote was 270 to 146 in the House, critics believe the bill will not get through the Senate, which is mainly controlled by Democrats. President Barack Obama has also said he will veto the bill.
Scheduled to take effect in January, the excise tax on medical devices was imposed by Congress to help offset the cost of subsidizing insurance coverage for more than 30 million people in the US.
