BRIDGE Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7998 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 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.
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