Please join us in cosponsoring H.R. 2213 to permanently extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
Dear Colleagues,
We write to ask you to cosponsor H.R. 2213 to permanently extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). After receiving a five-year extension as part of the PATH Act in 2015, WOTC is scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
Since its inception in 1996, WOTC has helped more than 24 million people move off public assistance and into the workforce by incentivizing employers to hire people who have consistently faced barriers to employment. WOTC provides employers with a modest tax credit for hiring eligible individuals from certain stigmatized groups, including those who are public assistance-dependent, experiencing long-term unemployment, qualifying veterans, and persons with a physical or mental disability, among others.
The noted labor economist, Dr. Peter Cappelli of the Wharton School has extensively studied WOTC and has concluded that it:
• Successfully expands the workforce by encouraging employers to hire individuals they otherwise would not be likely to hire due to a lack of job skills, work history or physical barriers to finding work.
• Is cost effective. In 2018 alone, WOTC saved the federal government $16.7 billion in federal TANF, SNAP, Medicaid and housing subsidies, and saved states $ 3.5 billion in matching TANF, SNAP and Medicaid payments. The 10-year combined federal and state net savings from WOTC is estimated at more than $200 billion.
• Continues to be needed because of the stigma WOTC-eligible persons face.
Groups who are supporting a permanent extension of WOTC include: Paralyzed Veterans of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Society of Human Resource Managers, Goodwill Industries, Partners for Rural America, Feeding America, National Restaurant Association, Associated General Contractors, Retail Industry Leaders Association, IFoster, Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants International, Legal Action Center, American Staffing Association, National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, National HIRE Network, National Grocers Association, American Staffing Association, Colorado-CURE, and the National Employment Opportunity Network.
We urge you to cosponsor H.R. 2213 to permanently extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which helps move people from public assistance to sustainable employment. If you have any questions or are interested in cosponsoring, please contact Miriam Wheatley at Miriam.Wheatley@mail.house.gov and Elise Tollefson at Elise.Tollefson@mail.house.gov.
Sincerely,
MIKE THOMPSON
Member of Congress
TOM REED
Member of Congress
