For higher-income families, Romney's plan sets an income threshold starting at $200,000 annually for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers; for families above this threshold, the benefit would begin reducing by $50 annually for every $1,000 in income above the standard.
Wilcox called Romney's proposal "distinctive" and praised it for reaching "American families across the income spectrum." He said it provided families "with a measure of financial security in an economic world that's becoming increasingly unstable."
In a press release, Romney's office said his plan is deficit-neutral because it would "reform and consolidate outmoded federal programs to fully pay for the new proposal."
Romney cited the "strain" families are facing from the coronavirus pandemic, as he introduced his plan.
"American families are facing greater financial strain, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and marriage and birth rates are at an all-time low," he said.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the U.S. birth rate hit a record low in 2019, and real-time data from certain states shows that the national figure could have fallen even further in 2020.
"On top of that, we have not comprehensively reformed our family support system in nearly three decades, and our changing economy has left millions of families behind," Romney said.
"Now is the time to renew our commitment to families to help them meet the challenges they face as they take on most important work any of us will ever do-raising our society's children," he said, noting that his plan streamlines "the many complicated programs" that families rely upon for assistance.