Congress Scrambles to Stop Hollywood's Job Exodus, With Trump's Blessing
A bipartisan bill would create a federal tax credit to bring film and TV production back to the U.S., with extra support for rural communities.
Here is a rare thing: Adam Schiff and Tim Scott on the same bill, with the president cheering them on.
According to Fox News, Congress is working to stop the U.S. film and television industry from losing more work overseas. Fox reports the industry has been "hemorrhaging work for years" as studios chase friendlier tax regimes in places like Europe and Canada. President Trump publicly called on Congress to pass legislation to bring production home, and an unlikely alliance of lawmakers is answering.
The vehicle is the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, which would create a federal tax credit for domestic productions with additional incentives for filming in rural areas and in federal opportunity zones. Fox reports it could end up in a bipartisan tax package at the end of the year. It is led in the Senate by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a top Trump foe, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., one of the president's biggest supporters in the chamber. House sponsors include Reps. Nathaniel Moran, Mike Carey, Brian Jack, Linda Sanchez and Tom Suozzi.
Moran told Fox News Digital the bill matters because "American storytelling does not just happen in California or New York. It happens all over America, including rural America." He said he does not want American storytelling "to go overseas, to be diluted by values from overseas." Suozzi, a New York Democrat, said his state is "watching good-paying jobs and production move overseas," adding, "Democrats and Republicans agree we need to keep these jobs here."
Not everyone on the right will like it, and Fox says so. Some conservatives may bristle at the idea of handing more favorable tax treatment to an industry they see as having a longtime liberal bias. Moran pushed back on that framing, according to Fox.
A related Fox report offers a human face: comedian Jeff Garlin told Adam Carolla's podcast that he has not worked in almost three years since "Curb Your Enthusiasm" ended. Fox also notes California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office says new state tax credits are expected to help.
The conservative case for the bill is jobs, rural opportunity and keeping American stories made in America. The conservative objection is subsidies. Both deserve a hearing.