From NTRA
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 23, 2022) — Congress passed a $1.7 trillion spending package that will fund the federal government through September 2023. The spending package is the last major must-pass bill on the legislative docket before the start of the new divided Congress in January.
Unfortunately, Congress did not include popular pro-business tax extenders including some that are valuable to the Thoroughbred industry. Provisions such as the 3-year depreciation schedule for racehorses under age 2, which expired at the end of 2021, will remain expired and 100% bonus depreciation will phase down in 2023 to 80%. Those provisions remain a top priority for the NTRA, and we are hopeful to work with the new Congress in the first quarter of next year to address these issues.
In addition, meaningful immigration reform was also not included in the end of the year spending package. NTRA was supportive of Senator Bennet’s (D-CO) Affordable and Secure Food Act being included in the spending package. The inclusion of this bill would have moved all the equine industry into the H-2A program so the industry would not be subject to the cap of the H-2B program. Year after year the H-2B cap is one of our membership’s biggest hurdles in finding reliable labor to fill roles like backstretch positions. By transitioning into the H-2A program, which does not have an annual cap, those concerns would be addressed and make it easier to fill many vital roles in the industry. NTRA will continue to advocate before Congress for passage of permanent solutions to temporary worker issues in the industry.
Included in the package was Congress’s reinforcement and support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and its mission. Signed into law by President Trump in December 2020, HISA has long had bipartisan support in Congress. The law recognized the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, under the supervision and control of the Federal Trade Commission, to develop and implement national, uniform medication control, anti-doping and racetrack safety programs. NTRA and the greater Thoroughbred industry appreciate Congress’s continued bipartisan support for HISA. See our full release on HISA here.