Romney’s plan is not the only legislation out there that promotes marriage and the traditional family. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has introduced a parent tax credit that offers working families (those with earned income higher than $7,540 a year) a $6,000 fully refundable tax credit for single parents and a $12,000 credit for married parents.

That is an explicit $6,000 bonus for married households. And since it is fully refundable, many lower-income parents with no net tax liabilities would receive a check from the government every month.

If anything, the Romney and Hawley plans don’t go far enough. Every existing social safety net program (Medicaid, food stamps, public housing, Affordable Care Act subsidies, etc.) includes a marriage penalty. Each of these programs, therefore, makes it harder for the working-class families that need marriage the most to get and stay married. More Republicans should be offering more legislation to eliminate all marriage penalties in federal law.

The Democrats’ obsession with open borders, abortion as birth control, transgender ideology, and reparations has created a huge opening for Republicans to become a multiracial, working-class parent party. Romney’s bill is a giant step in that direction.