A 20% federal tax credit on film and television labor costs will be introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee the week of Sept. 14.

Congressional insiders told TheWrap the bill would be the first standalone federal production tax incentive in U.S. history. For Los Angeles County, which has lost more than 40,000 entertainment jobs since 2022 according to Spectrum News, the stakes are enormous. In 2025, 45% of all U.S. films and scripted TV shows were shot internationally, up from about 33% in 2022, the Los Angeles Times reported.

President Trump endorsed the incentive on Truth Social on Aug. 31 after meeting with actor Jon Voight, whom Trump designated as "Hollywood Ambassador." White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Trump is committed to reviving the domestic film industry and that the administration is exploring policy options to support it.

The bipartisan pair expected to lead the bill outside of Ways and Means are Rep. Brian Jack, a Georgia Republican whose district includes Trilith Studios outside Atlanta, and Rep. Laura Friedman, a California Democrat and former film producer who represents Burbank. Republicans on the committee expected to help draft the legislation include Texas Rep. Nathaniel Moran, New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Ohio Rep. Mike Carey. San Gabriel Valley Rep. Judy Chu, who sits on the committee, also supports the effort.

"This is an incentive that will benefit an industry that employs 2.5 million Americans, not to mention supports millions more in businesses that support film and TV productions …" Friedman told TheWrap on Sept. 3.

The credit's details are still being negotiated. The 20% rate on labor costs is the current baseline, according to TheWrap. Sen. Adam Schiff previously drafted legislation offering a 15% rate; the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Voight lobbied for 20%.

The only prior federal production tax benefit, Section 181, expired at the end of 2025. It allowed producers to deduct up to $15 million in certain production spending. The CREATE Act, co-authored by Reps. Chu and Malliotakis, was introduced to Ways and Means in August 2025 to renew Section 181 but has not advanced.

The lobbying push is broad. IATSE, SAG-AFTRA and Teamsters Local 399, which represents about 6,500 motion picture workers in California and New Mexico, all urged Congress to act, Spectrum News reported. The Directors Guild of America (DGA) negotiated a side letter during its summer 2026 contract talks in which studios pledged in writing to send executives to lobby for the credit. DGA President Christopher Nolan may make a public appearance to support the bill, according to TheWrap.

The MPA is preparing an economic impact report on the proposed incentive, tentatively set for release in mid-September around the bill's introduction.

Congressional insiders told TheWrap the goal is to get the bill to Trump's desk by year's end. Mid-November is the earliest realistic window, and passage before the Nov. 3 midterm elections is unlikely.