Last year, Sen. Mitt Romney jolted the D.C. policy conversation with his proposed Family Security Act. For the first time, an elected Republican was proposing collapsing the tangle of low-income tax credits and child-related provisions in the tax code into a single, monthly child benefit.
At the time, it was a bridge too far for other elected Republicans. But a retooled design and a new co-sponsor suggests that Romney’s Family Security Act 2.0 may thread the needle between different factions on the right and become a much-needed signature policy for the GOP on its quest to become the “parents’ party.”