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Americans Prioritize Child Care Relief Over Federal Pronatalist Measures

AP-NORC polling shows only 12% of Americans consider boosting births a top federal priority against widespread concern over rising child care costs.

FILE - Volunteer Ydalina Luna Sosa, 62, of Providence, R.I., front left, uses a frog puppet for entertainment while supervising 10-month-old Leo Morgenweck, front right, in an early childcare program at Federal Hill House, Nov. 12, 2024, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - A doctor performs an ultrasound scan on a pregnant woman at a hospital in Chicago, Aug. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford, File)
FILE - Delaney Griffin, center, plays with toddlers at the child care center where she works, March 13, 2024, in Lexington, Ky. (AP Photo/Dylan Lovan, File)
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Overview

  • A new AP-NORC survey finds 28% of U.S. adults say declining birth rates are a major problem and just 12% view encouraging more births as a high federal priority; roughly 75% cite child care affordability as a major issue.
  • The Trump administration and conservative voices are weighing a $5,000 baby bonus and broader insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization to counter falling fertility.
  • Economists Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine report that traditional financial incentives have produced only short-term shifts in birth timing without increasing lifetime fertility.
  • Opinion writers in outlets such as The Hill advocate sweeping reforms—100% tax exemptions for parents, mortgage and housing priority for growing families, and a full year of paid parental leave—to treat families as national infrastructure.
  • Analysts warn that sustained sub-replacement birth rates risk long-term demographic aging, labor shortages and fiscal strain, prompting debate over bold pronatalist policies versus adaptation through productivity and immigration.