The Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Republican lawmakers in Minnesota are focusing on new taxes in the federal health care law as they seek to bring a nationally charged issue into November's legislative elections.
The Republican-led House Taxes Committee held a hearing on the taxes Monday, with Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen as the star witness.
Paulsen is pushing to repeal a tax on the medical device industry and voted earlier this month to repeal the health care overhaul after the Supreme Court upheld most of the law.
He told the state legislative panel that the medical device tax will cost jobs in Minnesota and across the country, calling it a "ticking time bomb."
Democratic legislators on the panel instead focused on the law's attempt to cover more uninsured people.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)