WASHINGTON – Earlier today, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) announced the release of a new proposal expanding access to paid family leave for American parents. The plan would allow new parents to immediately obtain a $5,000 benefit pulled forward from their Child Tax Credit in order to help ease the financial burden of caring for their newborn or recently adopted young child. The benefit would then be offset by adjusting their Child Tax Credit to $1,500 for the next 10 years.

Terry Schilling, executive director of American Principles Project, released the following statement offering support for the proposal:

With recent news that America’s birth rate just hit an all-time low, this proposal could not have come at a better time. Our political leaders should be working overtime to find ways to make it easier for Americans to grow and support their families, and this plan from Senators Cassidy and Sinema will help do just that.

The Cassidy-Sinema proposal is an innovative solution offering financial support to new parents without creating a new entitlement or expanding government. It also offers parents choices—allowing them to use the benefit to take time off to be with their children or to pay for expenses related to caring for their child. In short, it’s exactly the type of plan policymakers on both sides of the aisle should have no problem endorsing.

Although this may not be an end-all-be-all fix to the many problems facing American families, it is an excellent step in the right direction and a potential complement to other paid leave proposals such as Sen. Rubio’s New Parents Act and the Ernst-Lee CRADLE Act. We applaud Sens. Cassidy and Sinema for introducing this plan, and we look forward to working with lawmakers to continue to advance a pro-family agenda in Congress.

To schedule an interview with Terry Schilling, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or pdupont@americanprinciplesproject.org.