“To establish a baby bonus program.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes the Office of Baby Assistance within the Social Security Administration (SSA), headed by a Deputy Commissioner appointed by the SSA Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner must (1) hire personnel and enter contracts or agreements; (2) make baby bonus payments to eligible parents and review applications; (3) maintain records on program administration; (4) prevent fraud and abuse; (5) provide public information on eligibility, applications, amounts, and limits; (6) conduct culturally and linguistically competent outreach to increase utilization; (7) issue an annual report to Congress on payments received, funds disbursed, recipient demographics, and other data; and (8) issue regulations. The SSA Commissioner must make relevant data available to the Deputy Commissioner.
This section establishes a baby bonus payment program administered by the Commissioner, under which eligible parents of a qualifying child receive a one-time payment of $2,000 per child (adjusted annually for inflation after 2026 using the cost-of-living adjustment under IRC §1(f)(3), substituting "2026" for "2016," and rounded down to the nearest dollar) beginning January 1, 2026. The program requires applications within one year of the child's birth (or certain fetal/child deaths), with approval within 14 days of submission based on verification of the parent's identity (via social security account number or taxpayer identification number), child's age/identity (pre-birth via gestational age documentation or post-birth via appropriate records), and an unsworn statement under penalty of perjury (per 28 U.S.C. §1746) from the gestational parent regarding biological parentage and intent. Payments are issued within 6-10 business days after approval (or advanced up to 60 days pre-due date), after 21-day notice to known eligible parents allowing objections; in custody disputes without court orders, payment goes to the parent with primary physical custody, primary residence, or first approved applicant (with equal split option for joint custody unless declined); and the Commissioner may reallocate payments for changed circumstances (e.g., new court orders, fraud) within one year of birth.
This section defines 11 terms for purposes of the bill, including (1) business day, meaning any day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a legal public holiday under 5 U.S.C. §6103; (2) Commissioner, meaning the Commissioner of Social Security; (3) Deputy Commissioner, meaning the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Baby Assistance; (4) eligible parent, meaning a U.S. resident who is a citizen, national, or qualified alien and who is the parent or guardian of a qualifying child (or, if the parent is ineligible, an intended parent in surrogacy or prospective adoptive parent with a court-approved pre-birth adoption agreement); (5) fetus, meaning a human fetus including an embryo; (6) gestational age, meaning the age of a fetus calculated from the first day of the pregnant person's last menstrual period; (7) gestational parent, meaning an individual who is or was pregnant with a qualifying child (including ineligible persons); (8) ineligible person, meaning certain gestational parents or surrogates who complete adoption or surrogacy processes under state-recognized arrangements within 60 days of birth; (9) physician, meaning a state-licensed or authorized practitioner who can perform births and determine fetal gestational age; (10) qualifying child, meaning a child born on or after January 1, 2026, or a fetus at least 20 weeks gestational age with an expected due date on or after that date (as certified by a physician); and (11) surrogate, meaning an individual carrying a fetus via assisted reproductive technology under a surrogacy arrangement.