INSPIRE BRANDS, INC.

Common Cents Act of 2025 (H.R. 3074/S. 1525) is bipartisan U.S. legislation introduced in April 2025 to stop minting pennies, mandate rounding cash transactions to the nearest nickel, and keep pennies as legal tender while removing them from general circulation, aiming to save taxpayer money and modernize currency, with sponsors including Reps. McClain/Garcia and Senators Lummis/Gillibrand. Work Opportunity Tax Credit (H.R. 117/ S. 492) This bill increases the work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) for wages paid during the first year of employment to certain employees. The bill also eliminates the maximum age limit applicable to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit recipients for purposes of the WOTC. Under current law, an employer generally may claim a WOTC in the amount of 40% of up to $6,000 (or of up to $24,000 for certain veterans, $3,000 for summer youth employees, and $10,000 for long-term family aid recipients) of qualified wages paid during the first year of employment to an employee who is a member of a targeted group. (Exceptions and limitations apply.) The bill increases the WOTC to (1) 50% of up to $6,000 (or of up to $24,000 for certain veterans) of qualified first-year wages paid to an employee who is a member of a targeted group (other than a summer youth employee or recipient of long-term family aid), and (2) 50% of up to $12,000 (or of up to $48,000 for certain veterans) of qualified wages paid during the first year of employment to such employee if the employee works at least 400 hours during the year. Finally, the bill eliminates the maximum age limit applicable to SNAP benefit recipients and, thus, allows an employer to claim the WOTC for qualified first-year wages paid to an employee who is at least 18 years old and receiving SNAP benefits for a certain period of time.

Consideration of H.R.5267 and S. 3525 - The American Franchise Act to protect the franchise model and codify the existing joint employer standard into law. Reps. Kevin Hern and Don Davis lead in the House and Senators Angus King and Roger Marshall lead in the Senate.

The USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) is a modern trade pact that replaced NAFTA, effective July 1, 2020, aiming to boost North American manufacturing, support workers and farmers, and create fairer, more balanced trade by updating rules for the digital economy, agriculture, labor, and intellectual property, while strengthening supply chains for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Individual tariffs