Donald Trump on Tuesday introduced a series of policy proposals designed to make it more affordable child care during a speech in suburban Pennsylvania.
Trump, flanked by his daughter Ivanka Trump, a working mother who helped develop policies, said he would seek to make tax deductible expenses of child care for families earning less than $ 500,000 and called for the establishment of free accounts taxes to be used for child care and child enrichment activities.
He also called maternity leave six weeks is ensured by expanding the unemployment insurance benefits to working mothers whose employers do not provide paid maternity leave.
“For many families in our country, child care is now the biggest expense – even more than housing,” Trump said, speaking from a prepared speech. “Our plan will bring relief to the working and middle class families.
Detailed proposals of Trump Tuesday was the latest effort by Trump to repair his relationship with women voters, many of whom have come to know Trump as the candidate who suggested Fox News Megyn Kelly asked tough questions because she was menstruating and insinuating Republican challenger Carly Fiorina was too ugly to be elected.
Women broke his rival Hillary Clinton 53% to 38% in the latest CNN / ORC.
But Trump leads Clinton among married women and Republican candidate also tried to appeal to the housewife parents, expanded tax deductions for child care outlining families with a parent who stays at home.
Speaking before the speech of his father, the daughter of Trump said the issue of affordable childcare has been a major concern of hers and she took the opportunity to address the issue because his father is “in a unique position to do something about this problem. ”
“Little attention has focused on the best way to alleviate the financial burdens huge nursery places for families of low and middle income,” said Ivanka Trump.
Republican Congressman four women also joined Trump on stage to show their support for their proposals, which Trump argued that having a bipartisan appeal in Congress.
The plan called for Trump expenses fully deductible child care tax with a limit on the average cost of child care in the state of residence of taxpayers, for a maximum of four children. The tax deduction would be available to families earning less than $ 500,000 or individuals earning less than $ 250,000.
The average cost of daycare in the US is $ 11,666, according to the National Association of Child Resource and Referral Agencies, although the cost varies widely by state. Trump’s plan would not reduce the tax credit for child care for a child $ 3,000 or $ 6,000 for two or more children from their federal taxes, said an aide to Trump.
Neither Trump nor his campaign offer an estimate of the cost of its proposal, but the campaign said he would pay for six weeks of maternity leave offered to mothers by eliminating fraud in the unemployment insurance program.
The campaign said the rest of the proposals would be paid through the economic benefits of Trump overall tax plan.
“We want to end the economic punishment for motherhood in the United States. We believe our plan is a major step towards doing so,” said an official of the campaign Tuesday morning.
Ivanka Trump also briefly addressed reporters in a call Tuesday saying it is “very happy to see (the plan) come to fruition and present it later today … I’m very passionate about this.”
Trump is not the first presidential candidate to bring child care and family leave in the election campaign.
Hillary Clinton stepped back 12 weeks paid leave family in 2015, at the beginning of his presidential campaign. Clinton has indicated that it would pay for the plan to increase taxes on higher incomes, which means that his plan would “not impose additional costs on businesses, including small businesses.”
Clinton refused to support a draft law Democratic Backed paid family leave in 2016, and would increase payroll taxes for workers and businesses by 0.2%, or about $ 1.38 per week for the average wage earner.
Clinton, however, has questioned the possibility of achieving family leave paid in the current political climate. She told CNN in 2014 that, although she admits, “I do not think that, politically, we could get it now.”
