Ahead of Mother’s Day, Scott & Duckworth Announce Bill to Speed Up New Parents Receiving CARES Act Stimulus Checks

North Charleston, SC – U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Braun (R-IN) announced a bipartisan proposal to ensure more new parents quickly receive the additional $500 per child in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act stimulus payments without having to wait until 2021. Currently, parents of children born on or after January 1, 2020, must wait until they file taxes in calendar year 2021 to receive those payments due to eligibility for the additional $500 per child being based on existing Child Tax Credit (CTC) rules. The Newborn CARES Act would waive the existing CTC rules and require the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to develop a system to provide payments to families with newborns once a Social Security Number (SSN) is assigned to the child.

“With so many Americans facing economic hardship, Congress should take this opportunity to support families in smart, efficient ways,” Scott said. “For parents of newborns, speeding up receipt of relief dollars called for under the CARES Act is a clear way we can help new moms and dads. This is a commonsense, bipartisan solution.”

“Families with newborn babies that are experiencing economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic can’t wait until next year to send in their rent checks or pay for diapers and a new car seat,” Duckworth said. “These families need immediate help, which is why I’m introducing this bipartisan legislation with Senators Scott, Klobuchar and Braun to get these payments in the hands of families who need them.”

“The goal of the CARES Act was to help as many Americans as quickly as possible,” said Braun. “Unfortunately newborn children were not accounted because the IRS used 2018 tax returns and I am proud to join Senator Duckworth in sponsoring the Newborn CARES Act that will fix this oversight.”

According to a study from earlier this year, over 98 percent of American women pay some type of out-of-pocket cost for delivering a child. New moms can see the average out-of-pocket cost for delivery rise above $4,000, and that does not even include the supplies that families need at home, like clothes, diapers and car seats.