A delegation of California Democrats campaigned with union leaders on Tuesday for a federal film incentive, aiming to build momentum to pass the measure by the end of the year.
Sen. Adam Schiff and eight Democratic representatives from Southern California argued that the United States should oppose incentives from 65 other countries that are driving American manufacturing jobs abroad.
“We’re very close to doing this,” Schiff said in 100-degree heat outside the Alex Theater in Glendale. “Whatever we do to make this happen, that’s job No. 1. We can’t wait any longer. This is too important. The losses so far are so extraordinary.”
Lawmakers last month introduced a bill that would create a 20% to 30% transferable tax credit for U.S. labor costs on movies and TV shows. Schiff said there are 12 senators on the board, six Democrats and six Republicans. According to Schiff’s office, the latest people to join as co-sponsors are Sens. Thom Tillis, RN.C. and Chris Coons, D-Del.
They will have about five weeks to try to pass the bill during the lame session of Congress after the election. Rep. Laura Friedman, who held Tuesday’s news conference, said she was “cautiously and cautiously optimistic.”
“We need to have this on the president’s desk by mid-December,” he said in an interview, adding that he hoped the bill would pass essentially in its current form as part of a larger tax package. “This has been an ongoing effort for almost two years. It just hasn’t come together in the last few weeks. It’s been a snowball effect. It started as an idea and then we just kept building and building and building. So I feel like we’ve got great momentum.”
The offer includes a 5% bonus for filming in a disaster area that would apply to all of Los Angeles County through January 2030 due to last year’s wildfires. There are also bonuses for independent films and shooting in rural opportunity zones. The total tax credit can rise to 50% or more when combined with government incentives in places like California and New York; This could easily exceed the incentives offered by other countries.
“It’s fair to say that other countries recognize the quality of these jobs, so they’ve put these measures in place,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief executive of SAG-AFTRA. “So they’re not just eating our lunch, they’re eating our breakfast and dinner. And we have to change that. This is our opportunity to do that.”
A coalition of industry unions released a report Monday documenting the erosion of U.S. manufacturing as a share of global spending over the past 25 years. According to the report, the US share fell from 74% to 42% in film and from 94% to 64% in television, but both sectors grew significantly over the same period.
In August, President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass a stimulus “immediately” and declared, “Hollywood is a Disaster!”
The Motion Picture Association, which represents the studios, tried to emphasize that the bill would benefit all 50 states, not just California and New York. MPA is also more cautious about timing, saying that while it’s important to move quickly, it’s also important to “do it right.”
But union leaders said Tuesday that their members can’t afford to wait.
“When this passes in this lame duck session, it will immediately impact production in 2027,” said IATSE vice president Mike Miller. “And there are hundreds of thousands of entertainment industry workers who rely on it.”