Republicans Can Become the ‘Parent Party’

Editors at the Washington Examiner analyze political implications of the recent Dobbs decision.

Aside from the fact that it was issued a full two weeks after the much-anticipated Dobbs v.Jackson Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, what was most striking about President Joe Biden’s Friday executive order “Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services” was what was not in it.

To be specific, there was nothing in Biden’s order to help mothers who want to keep their unborn children.

Apparently, the only “Reproductive Health Services” that the Democratic Party cares about are services that end with people not reproducing. For families that are actually interested in surviving into the next generation, the Democratic Party has made it clear they are not interested in the future.

The fall of Roe has given the Republican Party a remarkable chance to cement itself as the party of the next generation — as the Parent Party. There are many good conservative policy ideas out there that can reform government so it better promotes strong, stable families. More Republicans just need to embrace them.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), for example, released a Family Security Act just last month, co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Steve Daines (R-MT). This legislation creates new benefits, $350 a month for each young child and $250 a month for each school-aged child, to help support families. Mothers could start drawing checks as soon as they know they are pregnant.

The plan is paid for by consolidating four separate existing tax benefits (the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, the child and dependent care tax credit, and head of household filing status) into one program. Taxpayers and communities are additionally protected by a $10,000 work requirement before the full benefit phases in.

Most importantly, the plan eliminates the existing marriage penalties in the EITC and CTC programs. By eliminating these existing marriage penalties in the tax code, the plan ensures more children will be raised in stable, two-parent households.