By Allison Sherry and Jim Spencer Star Tribune staff writers
WASHINGTON – It took tens of millions of dollars in lobbying and campaign contributions, but in the end, Minnesota’s medical device companies got what they wanted out of Congress: the gutting of a sales tax they claimed was crippling them.
In the waning days before the Christmas recess, both chambers of Congress passed a two-year suspension of the 2.3 percent excise tax without finding a replacement for the lost revenue — a decision that would add roughly $29 billion to the national debt over 10 years if the suspension eventually leads to the tax’s permanent repeal. 
The state is second only to California in the number of people — some 35,000 — working in medical technology at more than 700 companies.