Trump’s plan also offers six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers whose employers do not now provide coverage, which he said would be financed by eliminating fraud in unemployment insurance.
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The Republican nominee is also suggesting new incentives for employees to provide their workers child care, breaking with conservative orthodoxy and wading into topics more often discussed by Democrats.
The GOP presidential nominee will outline the policy as part of a speech sketching out his child care plans as Trump reaches out to female voters.
The plan immediately drew praise from Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), who said in a statement released by the Trump campaign, “Donald Trump’s child-care proposal will help provide relief and certainty in these challenging economic times by making targeted reforms to our tax code that are both pro-growth and pro-family”.
The Clinton campaign was quick to pounce on Trump’s proposals Tuesday, calling the paid maternity leave portion of his plan a “regressive and insufficient” policy that’s “out-of-touch, half-baked and ignores the way Americans live and work today”.
“She is the one who has been pushing for it so hard: ‘Daddy, Daddy we have to do this, ‘” Trump said in Iowa earlier Tuesday.
The signature element of the plan, six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers whose employers do not now provide coverage, would be financed by eliminating fraud in unemployment insurance.
According to The Washington Post, the six weeks “would be financed through savings achieved by eliminating fraud in the unemployment insurance program”, and would not cost taxpayers a dime.
Currently, the Department of Labor guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off, though some states already allow for up to 16 weeks of parental leave.
Also included in Mr. Trump’s Tuesday’s proposals: additional spending rebates through the Earned Income Tax Credit, expanded deduction opportunities for stay-at-home parents, and revised federal savings accounts to set aside funds for child development and educational needs. The deductions would be capped at the average state cost of rearing a child while individuals making $250,000 annually and households making $500,000 annually will be excluded.
“My opponent has no child care plan”, Trump said, saying Clinton is “all talk, no action”.
“For many families in our country, childcare is now the single largest expense – even more than housing”, Trump said, speaking with the aid of a teleprompter.
“Our plan. creates a bipartisan solution to the issue of maternity leave”, a Trump aide said on a Tuesday campaign call with reporters. The key question about this plan is whether the GOP will embrace its vision of government-funded support for child care, or whether, like Trump itself, the party will dismiss it as an aberration come 2017.
The plan accounts for lower-income families with no tax liability; they would receive rebates through the existing earned income tax credit. “The fact that both campaigns have made a decision to spotlight how they plan to address the challenges of quality and affordable child care and early learning demonstrates that this is a truly bipartisan issue”. It could be used to pay for child care, after-school programs and school tuition.
Clinton, meanwhile, proposes that no family should spend more than 10 percent of its income on child care.
The current tax code contains provisions to help working parents afford child care. Those benefits would be offered on a sliding scale based on need, though Clinton has offered few other details since introducing the plan in May.
Clinton’s own plan calls for moving towards universal pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds and ramping up federal investments in Head Start and Early Head Start.
She said that she was “grateful” for the means to raise her three children and also pursue a career.
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“You don’t make comments about his support, you just don’t”, said Jim Graham, the former president of United Autoworkers Local 1112 at the GM Lordstown plant, and a Clinton supporter who is sticking with her.
