Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady sent to the House Rules Committee last night a 2-year tax extenders bill tabled as a House amendment to a Senate Amendment H.R. 34, “Tax Increase Prevention and Real Estate Investment Act of 2015.” This bill is only one option currently on the table with other options being a 5-year extension and a broader bill making some extenders permanent.

The House amendment reauthorizes the WOTC program retroactively until the end of 2016, introduces a new target group, “Long Term Unemployment Recipient,” which is applicable to new hires made after December 31, 2015, and provides for a new definition of Empowerment Zone Resident. Additionally, the VOW to Hire Heroes Act veterans hiring credits, Indian Employment Tax Credit, and Empowerment Zone designations and tax credits are renewed for the same 2-year period.

While discussions continue regarding the various options for handling the tax credit programs currently in hiatus, if no further progress is made on a boarder bi-partisan tax deal, it is likely that H.R. 34 will be sent to the House Rules Committee as the next step in the process of passing an extension of the WOTC program and various other tax credit programs. Of course, if Congress decides to choose the 2-year extension option, the issue of the future of the tax extenders will need to be handled once again next year.