5 Pro-Family Priorities for the 118th Congress and Beyond

New Report by the Institute for Family Studies and Ethics and Public Policy Center


Charlottesville, Virginia, Feb. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Date: February 16, 2023
Contact: Michael Toscano

(Charlottesville, VA)—The overwhelming majority of parents in a new national poll say the cost of living makes it hard to have kids (84%) and that it is too easy for kids to find sexually-explicit content online (86%), according to a new report from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) and Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC). Additionally, two-thirds of all parents in the survey disagreed that marriage is an "outdated institution," and 64% said it was too easy to get divorced.

The report, authored by EPPC fellow Patrick T. Brown, uses a YouGov poll of 2,557 U.S. adults, including an oversample of parents, to hear from parents on the challenges they face, and to recommend legislative action by federal lawmakers. 

When parents were asked about legislative changes they would support: 

  • 82% agree that a family with a worker present should be eligible for the full value of the Child Tax Credit
  • 80% support requiring parental permission before a minor opens a social media account, and 77% support giving parents administrator-level access to what kids are seeing and doing online
  • 71% support a federal six-week benefit for new moms
  • 65% support teaching the Success Sequence in schools

Based on the polling results, the IFS/EPPC report recommends that Congress

  • Strengthen the Child Tax Credit to bolster work and marriage in a fiscally prudent way
  • Give parents more tools to protect their kids online
  • Create a straightforward paid leave benefit for new parents with broad-based eligibility
  • Advance policies that strengthen the fundamental bonds of fathers, mothers, and their children
  • Reduce or eliminate marriage penalties facing low-income and working-class families.

“What this polling shows is that neither right nor left have quite figured out how to fully respond to the economic and cultural pressures parents face,” said Brown. “To be politically successful, a pro-family agenda must prioritize parents’ values as well as their pocketbooks.” 

Download the full report here.

For further information, contact: Michael Toscano

Attachment

 
Strong majority of parents support key pro-family policies

Contact Data