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From the New York Times: The White House has been hearing out a chorus of ideas in recent weeks for persuading Americans to get married and have more children, an early sign that the Trump administration will embrace a new cultural agenda pushed by many of its allies on the right to reverse declining birthrates and push conservative family values.
One proposal shared with aides would reserve 30 percent of scholarships for the Fulbright program, the prestigious, government-backed international fellowship, for applicants who are married or have children.
Another would give a $5,000 cash “baby bonus” to every American mother after delivery.
A third calls on the government to fund programs that educate women on their menstrual cycles — in part so they can better understand when they are ovulating and able to conceive.
Those ideas, and others, are emerging from a movement concerned with declining birthrates that has been gaining steam for years and now finally has allies in the U.S. administration, including Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk. Policy experts and advocates of boosting the birthrate have been meeting with White House aides, sometimes handing over written proposals on ways to help or convince women to have more babies, according to four people who have been part of the meetings who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The report clarifies that these are all just ideas being considered, but Trump administration officials have not indicated what ideas — if any — they might ultimately embrace.
READ MORE from the New York Times.
White House aides have fielded proposals to increase birth rates in the US including…
1) reserving a % of Fulbright scholarships for applicants who are married/have kids
2) $5k “baby bonuses” for new moms
3) gov’t funding for menstrual cycle education classesvia… pic.twitter.com/bEexQieO4N
— Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) April 21, 2025
The CDC announced in April of last year that the birth rates in the U.S. had plummeted to an all-time low, falling by 2% from 2022 to 2023.
Friday Five: Births: Provisional Data for 2023https://t.co/OS3ojke5Eq pic.twitter.com/Vgb98UfY0s
— The Institute for Family Studies (@FamStudies) April 26, 2024
In 2023, the general fertility rate was 54.4 births per 1,000 women ages 15–44, marking a 3% decrease from the previous year https://t.co/VuNiLOKLaD pic.twitter.com/BUWAhb9vME
— NCHS (@NCHStats) April 25, 2024
Provisional number of births declined 5% for American Indian and Alaska Native women, 4% for Black women, 3% for White women, and 2% for Asian women from 2022 to 2023. https://t.co/VuNiLOKLaD pic.twitter.com/sjaaJLgLHL
— NCHS (@NCHStats) April 25, 2024
The teen birthrate fell by 3% from 2022 to 2023.
Teen birth rate in the United States declined by 3% in 2023 from 2022, reaching a record low. https://t.co/VuNiLOKLaD pic.twitter.com/Ch1vITnMSk
— NCHS (@NCHStats) April 25, 2024
The U.S. birth rate is now at the lowest level ever recorded. This is not going to reverse anytime soon: There’s a big decline in 18yo who want to have children, esp. young women. (From “The Future” chapter of *Generations.*)https://t.co/OmUr134wmS pic.twitter.com/VK6aJrDyIl
— Jean Twenge (author of GENERATIONS, iGEN) (@jean_twenge) April 25, 2024
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