Indiana’s longstanding dedication to family values has found consistent and effective expression in the United States Senate for more than four decades. That dedication is needed now more than ever to strengthen Indiana’s working families.
Recent examples highlight this ongoing tradition. In January, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) teamed up with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to introduce the Stronger Start for Working Families Act, a bipartisan measure aimed at strengthening support for mothers, fathers and their children. Soon after taking his seat, Indiana’s newest senator, Jim Banks (R-IN), introduced the Family First Act to advance similar goals.
This pattern builds on an honorable history that includes Democrat Evan Bayh’s work promoting responsible fatherhood during his time in the Senate, as well as the extensive family-focused legislation advanced by Dan Coats (R-IN) beginning in 1989.
These initiatives illustrate how sensible, grounded Hoosier principles can inform smart national policies that lift up hardworking families here at home and nationwide. Washington would benefit greatly from more of that clear, pragmatic Indiana approach.
Sen. Young’s legislation stands out for its cross-aisle collaboration in an often-fractured Congress. By making the refundable child tax credit available from a worker’s very first dollar of earned income, the bill would deliver meaningful tax relief while reinforcing the value of work, particularly for those joining the workforce and helping families move upward economically.
As Young explained when unveiling the measure: “This is a practical, bipartisan step we can take to support families, reward work, and help Americans climb the economic ladder.”
Projections indicate the change would provide tax benefits to roughly 3.5 million families across the country, including a significant number of the 80,257 children born in Indiana during 2024 (the latest complete year of data).
Sen. Banks has likewise taken a leading role in advocating for Indiana families. His Family First Act enhances the child tax credit, including providing a stronger credit for families with very young children, removes marriage penalties in the tax code, and also includes targeted support for expectant mothers.
“Congress needs to do everything we can to help parents give their kids a shot at the American Dream,” Banks stated. “My bill cuts taxes, ends marriage penalties, and streamlines benefits to support strong, working families.”
It is heartening to see both of Indiana’s senators pressing forward with these constructive, high-impact family-strengthening proposals. Whether Congress can muster the consensus to enact additional expansions is far from certain, however. The institution remains deeply divided, frequently unable to perform even its most essential duties, such as passing spending bills or averting government shutdowns.
That said, last year’s Working Families Tax Cut — sometimes referred to as the One Big Beautiful bill — demonstrates that progress remains possible. Passed through the reconciliation process, it cleared the Senate on a narrow 51-50 vote, with the vice president providing the decisive tiebreaker and bypassing the customary 60-vote requirement.
Young, Banks and their allies may have an upcoming opportunity to pursue a comparable reconciliation pathway this year, before the intensifying fall campaign season and November elections make new legislation all but impossible.
If they succeed, Indiana’s influence on national policy would grow even stronger, potentially establishing our state as the foremost voice for pro-family priorities in the country.
Such an achievement would serve as a well-deserved recognition of these senators’ persistent efforts on behalf of families — often in pursuit of quieter, yet profoundly important, legislative gains. It calls to mind the wry observation from Indianapolis author Kurt Vonnegut: “I don’t know what it is about Hoosiers, but wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there.”
Today’s Indiana senators are living proof of that truth, carrying forward vital work deeply rooted in our state’s family-first ethos. May the broader Congress come to appreciate the wisdom of following where these leaders are pointing the way.
Curt Smith is chairman of the Indiana Family Institute and a seventh generation Hoosier.
