Trump wants to pay couples $5,000 to have babies - Democrats want to throw out the idea with the bathwater

The Trump administration is reportedly hard at work looking for ways to incentivize people to have more children, with the president calling one such proposal, a $5,000 “baby bonus” for recent parents, a “good idea” last month.

The White House has also reportedly fielded proposals about bestowing a “National Medal of Motherhood” to mothers with six or more children.

Democrats, for their part, say they’re supportive of ways to support new parents, but that Trump and his allies have the wrong approach.

“If you want to encourage families to have children and be serious about it, then you would work to lower costs, build economic security for families,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut told NBC News.

“There’s a little incongruity here between talking about encouraging women to have more children and families to have more children and at the same time, really putting up enormous obstacles,” she added, pointing to Republican discussions to cut as much as $880 billion from Medicaid as part of budget negotiations.

Last week, the House Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote to Trump, calling his potential baby boom ideas “out of step with reality,” and at odds with the administration’s moves cutting maternal health and child initiatives, firing maternal health and fertility researchers at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and proposing to defund the Head Start early education program.

“You’ve thrown our economy into chaos, making everyday essentials more expensive and making family budgeting nearly impossible,” the letter reads. “This is not a ‘pro-family’ agenda.”

In early April, a group of Senate Democrats introduced a proposal to permanently increase the Child Tax Credit for middle- and low-income families, which was temporarily expanded during the pandemic.

“The expanded Child Tax Credit benefited 61 million American kids, helped cut childhood poverty nearly in half, and cut hunger by a quarter for families,” Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado wrote in a statement accompanying the proposal. “Parents across Colorado told me it reduced their stress and made it easier for them to afford child care, rent, and school supplies. It was the best thing we’ve done for kids and families in generations.”

Experts say longer-term investments in healthcare, child care, and family leave will do more to support new families than a one-time payment, while bringing the U.S. in line with wealthy peer nations that typically offer far more social support for new parents.

“I had a baby a few months ago, and a one-time payment of $5,000 wouldn’t do much if I didn’t also have paid leave that let me keep my job, good health insurance, family support, incredible childcare and the kind of job that allows me to both provide for my family and be there for pickup,” Lily Roberts, managing director for inclusive growth at the Center for American Progress, told The Guardian. “Every mom in America deserves that, and every dad does too.”