Romney Has “Cleverly Laid Out the Conservative Case for the Child Benefit”

WASHINGTON – Policy leaders and writers expressed support for U.S. Senator Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) newly unveiled Family Security Act, which would provide greater financial security for American families by modernizing antiquated federal policies into a monthly cash benefit.

“The plan has some very considerable virtues, starting with the one that Romney highlights: It would substantially reduce poverty and drastically reduce extreme poverty, especially among children. It would simplify government programs and probably make them easier to administer…It would also make it easier for people to start and expand their families.” – Ramesh Ponnuru, Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute

“The Romney plan offers something to left and right alike. It would significantly reduce child poverty, a core left-wing ambition. At the same time it reduces the current system’s penalties for marriage and its tacit bias against stay-at-home parents, both social-conservative goals, and raises the current subsidy for middle-class families, usually a Republican-leaning constituency. Finally, it’s both deficit neutral and softly pro-life, with a benefit that starts while the child is still in utero. So with all this winning, who could be against it?” – Ross Douthat, New York Times Opinion Columnist

“Romney’s proposal does a better job of fixing some (unintentional but meaningful) disincentives to marriage in the existing welfare and work-support system than any prior attempt to do so, and it manages that with relatively little disincentive to work.” – Yuval Levin, Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute

“By being available to expecting parents, the Romney child allowance will help support pre-natal health while reaffirming the value of the unborn…The Family Security Act does not stop at simply expanding benefits to families and children. In the spirit of good government and fiscal responsibility, the Romney child allowance is fully paid-for through the consolidation of duplicative policies and programs.” – Niskanen Center

“The new [Mitt Romney] family security proposal is a significant development and exactly the sort of thorough and thoughtful policy innovation we need more of on the right-of-center. Debating ideas like these is the right way for conservatism to move forward.”  – Oren Cass, Executive Director of American Compass

“I love the core concept of replacing complicated safety-net programs with a simple, flat benefit for most American families…It’s good to see a Republican starting this sorely needed conversation with a serious, detailed proposal.” – Robert Verbruggen, National Review

“Given that we know financial concerns factor into the abortion decision, it strikes me that the Romney proposal provides a promising vehicle for using public policy to promote life even in a pro-choice administration.” – David French, Senior Editor of the Dispatch

“Mr. Romney has now cleverly laid out the conservative case for the child benefit, couched in terms of fiscal responsibility and family security…Mr. Romney’s plan pre-emptively addresses most conservative qualms about expanding government. Democrats may balk at some of his accompanying ideas, such as junking TANF. But some accommodation here would mean a great deal for millions of poor children—and may ease Congress back onto the long-neglected path of bipartisan policymaking.” – Idrees Kahloon, The Economist

“We see efficiency, especially in cleaning up some dated and cumbersome programs and we see a focus on handing the responsibilities to families, to getting them assistance more directly and trusting them with the use of those funds.” – Rick Larsen, President and CEO of the Sutherland Institute