A group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence has criticised a proposal, backed by current Vice President JD Vance, to give up to $9,000 per child annually to families with a stay-at-home parent. Advancing American Freedom (AAF) warned the plan would invite government intrusion into family life, penalise work, and create opportunities for fraud, arguing it undermines the original aim of encouraging employment and self-sufficiency. The disagreement highlights a wider debate within the conservative movement over how best to support families financially.

The plan would expand the Child Care and Development Fund, a Clinton-era programme currently providing around $9,000 per child annually to roughly 870,000 mainly working or single-parent families, to also cover stay-at-home parents in households where one spouse works at least 35 hours a week. AAF says this could intensify competition for a scheme already facing waitlists in nearly a third of states, and could penalise families financially if a spouse takes on part-time work or receives a pay rise. Supporters, including the Heritage Foundation's Roger Severino, counter that stay-at-home parents deserve support equivalent to that given to families using paid childcare, calling the current system "illogical and unjust".