The Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, Calif. More than 60 countries have lucrative tax credit programs drawing productions away from the United States. Aaron/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images, via Getty Images

A film tax credit build the supporters hope will bring tens of thousands of jobs back to the United States was introduced in Congress on Thursday after a decades-long effort for federal support of the industry.

The bill provides a tax credit of at least 20% on the wages of the vast array of workers who create movies and TV shows. That includes actors and directors as well as camera operators and make up artists.

The proposal faces formidable obstacles in a divided Congress that has struggled to agree on any major policy changes and were tax legislation is particularly continuous if it became legislation, the subsidy would bolster the countries position in the marketplace and help it to compete with popular filming locations like Australia, Britain, Canada, and Hungary.