Republican Senator Mitt Romney proposed permanent monthly payments to American families on Thursday as the country grapples with declining birth and marriage rates and the stranglehold on the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Utah legislature and the former GOP president’s Family Security Act require $ 350 monthly payments per family, per child, for children 5 and under. Children between the ages of 6 and 17 should pay $ 250 instead.
“American families are facing greater financial pressures exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and marriage and birth rates are at an all-time low,” Romney said in a statement. “What’s more, we haven’t completely reformed our family support system in nearly three decades, and our changing economy has left millions of families behind.”
ROMNEY CALLS ‘URGENT’ TO RESOLVE CORONAVIRUS VACCIN DELAYS
Payments would be reduced by $ 50 per child for every $ 1,000 in income above the current child tax thresholds – which are $ 200,000 for single-filers and $ 400,000 for married couples.
Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, arrives at the Senate for a roll-call vote to confirm Antony Blinken, President Joe Biden’s candidate to become Secretary of State, at the Capitol Building in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
“Now is the time to renew our commitment to families to help them meet the challenges they face as they take on the most important work any of us will ever do – educate the children of our society” Romney said. “This proposal provides a path to greater security for America’s families by consolidating the many complicated programs to create a monthly benefit for them, without increasing the deficit.”
Romney’s office estimated that the proposal could reduce child poverty by 33% and make marriage more attractive.
While it would cost billions more than the current Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit programs, Romney’s plan would offset the increase by cutting billions in current exemptions, including deductions for head of household, child and dependent status. care credits, and state and local tax deductions.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Matt Bruenig of the People’s Policy Project, a progressive think tank, rated Romney’s proposal as an improvement over President Biden’s family spending plan, but behind his. In particular, he objected to Romney’s plan to abolish the state and local tax deductions – a program popular among Americans who pay high state taxes.