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119-s-3770119th CongressWALLET

Strong Start Act

Sponsored By: Senator Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]

Introduced

Summary

No summary available.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

One-time $3,000 child payment

If enacted, you would be able to claim a refundable $3,000 payment for each eligible new child. The child must be born after enactment, adopted after enactment and under age 3, or placed after enactment and under age 1, and must be a U.S. citizen or national with a Social Security number. You must include a taxpayer ID that was issued before the child was born or adopted and file a claim; the IRS must pay within 30 days after a timely claim. Payments would be protected from most tax refund offsets and levies, and final fraud or reckless-disregard findings would bar claims for 120 months or 24 months respectively.

Kids' accounts won't count for benefits

If enacted, money and contributions in an American Dream account would not count when determining eligibility for most federal means-tested programs for any period before the calendar year the child turns 18. For Supplemental Security Income (SSI) only, the account would be treated as a resource to the extent the balance exceeds $100,000. SSI benefits would not be terminated because of the account, but they could be suspended, and a suspended SSI recipient would still be treated as receiving SSI for Medicaid eligibility.

Government deposits to child accounts

If enacted, the IRS would make annual deposits into each eligible child's American Dream account. EITC-eligible taxpayers would receive $750 per qualifying child plus up to $250 of that child's yearly contributions (so up to $1,000); other eligible taxpayers would receive $500 per child. To get these deposits the taxpayer must have AGI at or below $75,000 ($150,000 for joint returns) and the child must be under 18, a U.S. citizen, and an account beneficiary. These amounts would be indexed for inflation for tax years starting after 2026 and count under existing contribution limits and distribution rules.

Permanent $1,000 child seed deposit

If enacted, the one-time $1,000 initial government seed payment to new American Dream accounts would continue beyond January 1, 2029. The $1,000 amount would be indexed for inflation for tax years starting after 2026 using calendar year 2025 as the baseline, and any increase would be rounded to the nearest $100.

Automatic child account enrollment

If enacted, the Treasury would have to build a system within one year to identify children who meet account eligibility rules and automatically open American Dream accounts for those children. This would reduce paperwork and make it easier for eligible children to get an account. Automatic account creation would only apply to children the Secretary determines meet the specific eligibility conditions in section 530A(b)(2).

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]

AZ • D

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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