Trump urges Congress to pass bill allowing new parents to advance tax credits

President Trump on Tuesday urged Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to allow new parents to advance child tax credits, saying it would allow parents across the country to have access to paid family leave.

“I call on Congress to pass the bipartisan Advancing Support for Working Families Act, extending family leave to mothers and fathers all across our nation,” Trump said in his State of the Union Address.

The bill Trump backed allows people to elect to advance up to $5,000 in child tax credits upon birth or adoption of a child. In exchange, the parents would receive a reduction in the amount of their child tax credits in each of the following 10 years. New parents would be able to use the advance on tax credits to finance a leave or to pay for child care or other child-related expenses.

The bill has been offered by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) in the Senate, and by Reps. Colin Allred (D-Texas) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) in the House. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, has also spoken positively about the bill.

But other lawmakers back different approaches to creating a federal paid leave benefit.

Most Democrats are co-sponsors of a bill that would create a more expansive federal paid family and medical leave benefit that would be financed by small increases in payroll taxes. And several Republicans have put forth proposals to give new parents the option to advance some of their Social Security benefits to use for paid leave, in exchange for delaying or receiving reductions in their Social Security benefits when they retire.