What makes a strong family? And why should politicians care?
Dave McCormick, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, took part in a panel discussion about strengthening Pennsylvania families in Langhorne Tuesday.
Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn and state Rep. Kristin Marcell (R-Richboro) joined McCormick, along with Priscilla Reim, a Republican committeewoman and business owner from Southampton. Temple University student and chair of the Temple Republicans Billy Walker also participated.
“People are having children less and less,” said McCormick. “It’s harder and harder to have families. And part of the reason it’s harder is because economically it’s becoming more and more difficult with the inflation that’s happened under President Biden, Kamala Harris, and Bob Casey.”
Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D) is McCormick’s opponent.
“Casey’s voted for all those drivers of inflation,” McCormick added. “It costs a lot more to have kids, 22 percent from when President Biden took office.”
“It’s harder to get jobs,” said McCormick. “It’s harder to have a household that can afford kids.”
McCormick, who is the father of six girls from ages 17 to 23 in a blended family, would sponsor legislation to provide families with a $15,000 tax credit for fertility services like in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Reim struggled with infertility. She and her husband spent about $100,000 over five years before they were able to have their daughter, now 11.
McCormick noted a benefit he put in place to fund IVF for employees when he was CEO at Bridgewater “changed people’s lives.”
“Going through IVF is really emotional,” said Reim. She described various infertility treatments and complications that she endured. While some treatments were covered by her insurance, IVF was not.
“Over the next three years we went through four IVF treatments,” she said. For their fourth treatment, the couple used the money they’d saved for their wedding. “It was the last straw.”
“A lot of couples couldn’t afford one cycle, let alone four,” she said. “It’s a nightmare.”
Marcell’s stepmother also used IVF to complete their family. She remembers the difficulties her stepmother endured. “For us it meant a lot that we could complete our family that way,” Marcell said. “Thankfully, it worked…It’s a great miracle to actually have a child that way and to have your dream of a family and completing a family.”
McCormick offered a series of policy proposals to support families with young children.
“One of the key issues is allowing families to access faith-based community care,” McCormick said. He would also bolster school choice through federal tax credits for contributions to scholarship funds. And creating a tax-free savings account families can use to pay for up to $10,000 per year in childcare costs is another idea McCormick supports. He would also double the federal child tax credit, which will be $2,000 per child in tax year 2025.
McCormick also said he would like to ban children under 16 from using social media, an idea polls show has growing support among concerned parents.
Marcell, a former school board member, has two children, 14 and 9. Recently, her daughter talked with a stranger over social media and wanted to go and meet them, said Marcell. Luckily, she told her mom.
“We talked about the reality,” she said. Social media platforms are there to get reactions and they become addictive, she said. “I think there are a lot of issues to look at.”
“My daughter talked about fear of missing out,” said Marcell. “All you want to do is get back on your phone… And unfortunately, it can create an unhealthy body image.”
At the state level they’re considering legislation, the Kids Online Safety Act.
“This is a huge issue all of us need to address,” she said.
Schorn said, “In Bucks County there are predators on various internet social media sites.” Law enforcement is looking out for them but “we need to continue to fund law enforcement, to make sure the men and women who are highly trained can receive those tips and follow through.”
A single image on Snapchat led to the arrest of a child predator.
“We do know it’s a rich environment for predators,” said McCormick.
Other criminals use social media to prey upon kids for fraud, Schorn said.
Walker believes social media has increased depression and suicide among kids and teens.
“When kids use social media at such a young age it becomes addictive like a drug,” he said, citing the U.S. Surgeon General. “It is addictive as cigarettes and triggers chemicals in the brain like drugs, like cocaine.” And 59 percent of teenagers are cyberbullied.
Social media can lead to anxiety, depression, anorexia and even self-harm. Suicide is a leading cause of teenage death, he added.
“I commend Dave [McCormick] for his willingness to take on the social media tech giants to fight social media,” said Walker.
When a reporter asked McCormick about his stance on abortion, he responded that in Pennsylvania, it’s settled law that’s “not going to change.” He believes there should be exceptions for the life of the mother, rape, and incest.
McCormick said more Pennsylvanians are worried about inflation.
“And that they can’t afford to have kids anymore because of the high cost of living. They struggle to have kids because of the high cost of fertility treatments. Those are pocketbook issues for many Pennsylvanians. I want to be proactive in trying to address those…I think if I can get people to listen, my message will resonate.”
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