Providing for Life Act

Providing for Life Act

This bill revises various programs and supports for families and children related to taxes, health, and other benefits.

First, the bill increases the child tax credit to a maximum of $3,500 per child ($4,500 per child under the age of six) and makes permanent the increased income threshold over which the credit phases out.

The bill further eliminates the federal deduction for certain state and local taxes (SALT deduction) and makes the adoption tax credit refundable.

The bill allows parents to use a portion of their Social Security benefits for up to three months of paid parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child.

Additionally, the bill requires Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to cooperate with states in establishing child support orders. It also provides additional workforce training for noncustodial parents with child support obligations.

States must establish requirements for the biological father of a child to pay, at the mother's request, at least 50% of reasonable out-of-pocket medical expenses associated with the mother's pregnancy and delivery.

The bill requires institutions of higher education to provide students with certain information about the resources and services (excluding abortion services) available to pregnant students.

Additionally, the bill

• provides grants for community-based maternal mentoring programs and for pregnancy resource centers that do not provide abortions;
• requires the Department of Health and Human Services to publish a website with specified pregnancy-related information; and
• extends from one to two years the postpartum benefit eligibility period under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).