HIAlogo Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Dean Heller (R-NV) reintroduced the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Bill on November 13, and they plan to work to ensure that the legislation is considered when Congress addresses tax reform, according to a report from the Hearing Industries Association (HIA), Washington, DC. The bipartisan bill is nearly identical to legislation introduced in the past, and it is similar to HR1317 that was introduced in the House of Representatives in February by Representatives Tom Latham (R-IA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). Both bills would provide a tax credit of $500 per device to people of all ages who need a hearing aid.

Senator Harkin has been a long-time champion of hearing health issues since joining the Senate in 1985, and Senator Heller has emerged as the new Republican champion in the Senate after Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) retired in December. The reintroduction effort was supported by joint teams from HIA and the Hearing Loss Association of America during Hearing on the Hill (HOTH) earlier this year, as well as by HOTH teams from the major hearing-related professional organizations, including the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and the International Hearing Society (IHS). For details on the legislation, and to contact your Senator to urge him/her to support the bill, visit www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org.

Source: HIA