Trump admin floats plans to increase fertility rates, including $5,000 ‘baby bonus’ as births drop to record lows
Another proposal would reserve around 30 percent of the Fullbright scholarship program to people who are married or have children.
The Trump administration has been looking into ways to increase the number of marriages happening in the US as well as increasing the fertility rate as the US has been facing a drop in births for several years now.
According to the New York Times, the White House has been mulling over a number of different ideas in order to increase marriage and birth rates. One would be a $5,000 “baby bonus” to every mother after they have a child. Another proposal would reserve around 30 percent of the Fulbright scholarship program to people who are married or have children.
Another idea that has been floated is a government program that would educate women about menstrual cycles so that they understand the best timing for conception of a child. This comes as the birth rate in the US has recently hit historic lows.
According to the CDC, “general fertility rate in the United States decreased by 3% from 2022, reaching a historic low,” and that the birth rate for women ages 20-24 hit a historic low in the US. CNN reported that between 2016 and 2023, the fertility rate dropped by 12 percent.
There have not been any proposals set in stone to reverse the falling fertility rate, the Times reported, however, with some in the administration now in the position to advance the “baby boom” that President Donald Trump has called for.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, a practicing Catholic who has nine children, has given priority to build infrastructure in areas of the country with higher birth rates. Vice President JD Vance has advocated for Americans to get married and have more children as well.
“I just think this administration is inherently pronatalist,” Simone Collins, an activist looking to increase the birth rate in America, said. “Look at the number of kids that major leaders in the administration have. You didn’t hear about kids in the same way under Biden.”
Elon Musk, a prominent advisor to Trump, has repeatedly encouraged Americans to have more children and has warned that the falling birth rate will become a large-scale crisis in coming years.
