Congress voted before to repeal medical device tax

It's just that those earlier votes didn't count. Despite its unpopularity, both the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., vowed this week they would not let Republicans make the tax a bargaining chip in averting a government shutdown on Tuesday.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/09/28/3738962/congress-voted-before-to-repeal.html