Family is the first institution any of us ever know. It is where we are taught responsibility, sacrifice, faith, and patriotism. Yet today, too many parents find that providing for their children has become an uphill battle. Fewer young people are having children, those who do are waiting longer to start their families, and the number of young people saying they don't want kids at all is creeping higher. When raising children shifts from a source of hope to a source of strain, the American dream itself is put at risk.
While Congress may seem shrouded in chaos, there is progress underneath the surface. This year, Republicans took remarkable steps to meet the challenges faced by families by passing and enacting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Inside the law were provisions that secured some of the strongest pro-family tax reforms in a generation, a triumph led by House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri, who secured a cornerstone of the Trump legacy.
Smith recognized early that working families' tax provisions are the smartest, most popular, and most important changes to most people in the bill, and now even the White House has adopted that emphasis as the clearest way to explain the law heading into 2026. As chairman, Smith made sure the bill did more than provide short-term relief. He secured permanence for the family-centered provisions first enacted in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
That means the doubled Child Tax Credit (CTC), which rose from $1,000 to $2,000 per child under the first Trump administration, will never revert to its pre-2017 level. Families also now receive an additional $200 per child ($2,200 total) to offset some of the lost value caused by Biden's inflationary economy. Most importantly, for the first time, the credit is indexed to inflation, ensuring that one of the signature pro-family accomplishments of 2017 will never again be eroded by rising prices; the Child Tax Credit will continue to rise with or without Congressional action. Inflation has been an ongoing source of rising discontent for working people, but families can now count on the value of this credit to endure.
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Just as importantly, House Republicans made permanent Sections 45F and 45S of the tax code, which encourage employers to offer paid family and medical leave and child care support by providing tax credits to offset costs. These provisions affirm that raising children is not only a private duty but a national priority, and that parents deserve time to care for their families without risking their livelihoods.
In Washington, good ideas can easily get lost in the noise. Chairman Smith cut through it by keeping his focus on families, not distractions, and that discipline paid off. For the waitress covering daycare, the dad working a second job to balance the budget at the end of the month, or the two-income household feeling squeezed between the cost of child care and their mortgage, these changes mean a little more breathing room at a time when every bit helps.
In 2017, when I served in Congress along with Chairman Smith, I saw this story begin when we doubled the Child Tax Credit and delivered meaningful relief without discouraging work. Chairman Smith has carried that legacy forward with reforms built to last. That is conservative governance at its best: smart, targeted, and moral.
Support for Child Tax Credit expansion has long drawn bipartisan approval in public opinion, even if Democrats withheld their votes on this bill. A post-election survey by Echelon Insights last year found that 77 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of Democrats favored expanding the CTC to reflect the rising cost of raising children. House Republicans were right to make family tax relief the centerpiece of their effort, and it remains one of the rare issues where Americans across the spectrum agree.
This comes at a critical moment. America's birth rate is falling. Fewer children today means fewer workers, caregivers, and innovators tomorrow. We cannot sustain our way of life and our place as leaders in the world without more strong families.
Parents are fighting an uphill battle against rising costs. By protecting the Child Tax Credit from future inflation, House Republicans took tremendous weight off their shoulders. That is leadership rooted in discipline, humility, and faith in the American family.
This law is more than policy. It is a reaffirmation of who we are: a nation built on family, the first institution we ever know, where our values take root. And it is a reminder that the American dream, once at risk, can still be secured for every parent willing to shoulder that responsibility. As we prepare to celebrate America's 250th birthday, let us also celebrate the strength and significance of the American family.
Dennis A. Ross is a former Member of the United States Congress, former Member of the Florida House of Representatives, and currently serves as the Director of the American Center for Public Leadership at Southeastern University, where he is also a distinguished professor of political science.
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