Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow has proposed a nationwide program to support new mothers as part of her campaign platform.
The plan is based on Rx Kids, a Michigan program that gives pregnant women and new mothers in predominantly low-income areas direct cash payments, with no income restrictions or requirements on how it's spent. It is now either active in or growing to 20 communities across Michigan, including the eastern Upper Peninsula, Clare County, and Detroit.
McMorrow, a current state Senator, said the program has seen great results in Michigan so far and would benefit everyone.
“In Flint, where the program was piloted, we've seen an almost 30% reduction in evictions. We've seen mental health improve for moms, we see the birth rate has actually ticked up. We see much healthier birth rates and almost elimination of babies being born and heading into the NICU.” McMorrow said in an interview with Michigan Public Radio.
She said if elected in November, she’ll sponsor legislation to give women $1,500 while pregnant and $500 a month for the first year of their baby’s life. Roll out would depend on several factors, like the federal budget. But McMorrow said she wants to eventually expand it to everyone, regardless of whether they live in a predominantly low income area.
McMorrow said opening it to everyone would make starting a family more appealing, especially as parenthood gets more expensive.
“My hope is that this just makes that decision easier. That, if you want to start a family, this is a way that we could signal, again based on evidence-based on programs that we've been shown here in Michigan to work, that if you are going to have support to do that. To make that transition into having a family, an easier proposition,” McMorrow said.
She argued adding too many restrictions could unnecessarily complicate the program and lead to people in need not taking advantage of it.
In Michigan, the Rx Kids program has generally seen bipartisan support. The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and the research director for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy have both argued supporting it is an efficient use of government resources.
But Republicans have been more critical lately. Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp) recently accused the program of serving all mothers in a coverage area, regardless of immigration status. For her nationwide pitch, McMorrow said she’d be “open” to having a deeper discussion about that.
The proposal for a nationwide Rx Kids-type program could build on the federal creation of a $1,000 ‘baby bonus’ in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Those accounts, however, generally can’t be spent until after a child turns 18.
McMorrow said Republican efforts make her encouraged that something like her vision could get done.
“They haven't been able to implement or enact anything like this. That’s a huge opportunity for me to come into the Senate with a program that is similar in concept, but one that we've proven is evidence-based. We've tried it out. We've tested it,” she said.
McMorrow’s opponents in Michigan’s August Democratic Senate primary include Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI 11), and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed. They also have proposals to build out government support for health care.
El-Sayed is supporting Medicare for all as part of his public health policy plan. The Stevens campaign says she wants to lower costs and protect access to government healthcare programs.
