Due to the current state of political affairs, one could be forgiven for forgetting that the legislative branch is, in fact, sometimes capable of legislating. But Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, hope to remedy this by introducing the first bipartisan bill for a federal program that would support paid parental leave.

Under their plan, new parents would have the option of taking an advance of up to $5,000 against their future child tax credits after the arrival of a new child in return for partially reduced child tax credits in future years to offset the cost. Their proposal would not dictate how parents use the advance — parents could, for example, use it to cover medical expenses, if those costs are more pressing — and it would not affect the child tax credits of parents who choose not to participate.