BRIDGE Act

The BRIDGE Act (H.R. 7998) was introduced by Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) on March 19, 2026, and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. The bill extends the WOTC from its current expiration of Dec 31, 2025 through Dec 31, 2030 and expands eligible categories to 'qualified criminal justice-impacted individuals' (broadening the existing ex-felon category) and 'qualified opportunity youth' (defined as out-of-school youth under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act).

The WOTC is a tax credit available to employers who hire individuals from certain target groups — it reduces the employer's federal income tax liability. The credit amount is based on wages paid to eligible employees, subject to caps. This bill does not authorize or appropriate any direct federal spending; it only modifies an existing tax expenditure in the Internal Revenue Code.

The legislative path remains uncertain. The bill has only one cosponsor (Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC), both Democratic, in a divided 119th Congress. The Ways and Means Committee is a major gatekeeper and has taken no further action since referral. No companion bill exists in the Senate.

No tickers are assigned because the WOTC is a broad, employer-side tax credit with no sector concentration. While staffing companies and temp agencies ($MAN, $RHI, $KFY) could theoretically see incremental demand from employer utilization, the credit has existed for decades without moving those stocks measurably, and this bill merely extends and modestly expands it. The credit is too small relative to these companies' revenue to create a quantifiable causal chain.