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HR7998Referred to Committee

BRIDGE Act

Share:
Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-03-19
Introduced
0
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Wesley Bell
Wesley Bell
Democrat · MO · Representative
Votes with party: 97.9% (536 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/B001324

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (0)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

2026-03-19

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

  • House Committee on Ways and MeansReferred To · 2026-03-19

Previously

  • Ways and Means CommitteeReferred To · 2026-03-19

Plain-English Summary

The BRIDGE Act would likely create temporary tax relief or incentives to help businesses or individuals transition during a specific period, though the exact provisions depend on the bill's full text. Based on its referral to the House Ways and Means Committee, it probably addresses tax policy changes that could affect workers, employers, or specific industries. Without more details about which taxpayers or sectors it targets, the bill appears designed to provide a "bridge" of financial support during an economic transition or policy change.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Taxation

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7998 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7998 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and expand the work opportunity tax credit. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 19, 2026 Mr. Bell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend and expand the work opportunity tax credit. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Building Reentry and Inclusive Development for Greater Employment Act'' or the ``BRIDGE Act''. SEC. 2. EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT. (a) Extension of Credit.--Section 51(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``December 31, 2025'' and inserting ``December 31, 2030''. (b) Expansion of Credit.-- (1) Qualified ex-felon.--Section 51(d)(4) of such Code is amended to read as follows: ``(4) Qualified criminal justice-impacted individual.--The term `qualified criminal justice-impacted individual' means any individual who is certified by the designated local agency-- ``(A) as having been-- ``(i) convicted of a felony under any statute of the United States or any State, or ``(ii) incarcerated in any Federal, State, or local correctional institution, or placed on probation, for a period of at least 90 days, and ``(B) as having a hiring date which is not more than 3 years after-- ``(i) in the case of an individual to whom only clause (i) of subparagraph (A) applies, the last date on which such individual was so convicted or was released from prison, ``(ii) in the case of an individual to whom only clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) applies, the last date on which such individual was released from such incarceration or was discharged from such probation, and ``(iii) in the case of an individual to whom both clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) apply, the later of the dates specified in clauses (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph.''. (2) Qualified opportunity youth.--Section 51(d) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: ``(16) Qualified opportunity youth.--The term `qualified opportunity youth' means any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being an out-of-school youth (as defined in section 129(a)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act).''. (c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 51(d)(1) of such Code is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``qualified ex-felon'' and inserting ``qualified criminal justice-impacted individual'', (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``or'', (3) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``, or'', and (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ``(K) a qualified opportunity youth.''. (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall apply to individuals who begin work for the employer after the date of the enactment of this Act. (e) Administrative Provisions.-- (1) Regulations by secretary of the treasury.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c), including by implementing the recommendations described in subclauses (I) and (II) of paragraph (2)(B)(i). (2) Study by comptroller general.-- (A) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the efficiency of the administrative process through which employers may claim the credit determined under section 51(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of…
Show the remaining 112 wordsHide the remaining 112 words
1986. (B) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress and the Secretary of the Treasury a report on the study described in subparagraph (A), and such report shall include-- (i) recommendations for enhancing the efficiency of the administrative process referred to in such subparagraph, including by-- (I) improving interagency coordination and data collection procedures for purposes of carrying out such administrative process, and (II) consolidating and simplifying any informational requirements on employers claiming the credit determined under section 51(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and (ii) such other information as the Comptroller General determines appropriate. <all>
Open clean-text viewRead on Congress.gov →

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