Strong Start Act

Key Points

• This bill would give parents a one-time $3,000 payment for every new child born or adopted into their family. This money is intended to help with the high costs of starting a family and would be sent to parents within 30 days of them filing a claim with the government.
• The policy expands a program that creates special savings accounts for children, now called American Dream Accounts. The government would put an initial $1,000 into an account for every eligible child to help them start saving for the future, and this program would now be permanent.
• Families making less than $75,000 a year, or $150,000 for married couples, would receive extra annual contributions from the government. Depending on their income, these families could see an additional $500 to $1,000 added to their child's savings account each year.
• To make the process easier for families, the Treasury Department would be required to automatically open these savings accounts for children who qualify. This ensures that children receive the benefits even if their parents are too busy to fill out extra paperwork.
• The money saved in these accounts would not count against a family when they apply for other benefits like food assistance or Medicaid. This protection ensures that building a nest egg for a child's future does not cause a family to lose the help they need for daily expenses today.