Vice President JD Vance spoke to a crowd of tens of thousands at the March for Life rally on Friday in Washington, D.C., where he opened up about his experiences as a father.

“Each time Usha and I welcomed our own children into the world, we saw firsthand the indescribable beauty of new life,” he said.

He and his wife share three children: Ewan, 7, Vivek, 4, and Mirabel, who is 2 years old, according to People magazine.

Vance, a Catholic, acknowledged the kids’ occasional “behavioral challenges” that were on display when the Vance family was in the spotlight during President Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday. The second lady was seen attempting to keep one of her sons calm at one point, and during the vice president’s swearing-in ceremony, she held Mirabel, whose fingers were covered in printed band-aids, in her arms. Vance smiled and said of his children, “they were good.”

“Watching all three of our kids grow, learn and become who they are today has been the single greatest blessing of our lives,” he said.

Then Vance stated his hopes — “I want more babies in the United States of America” — to cheering by the crowd.

“I want more happy children in our country,” he said, “And it is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world and to welcome them as the blessings that they are.”

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“We failed a generation not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand, but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life,” he said.

Vance noted Trump’s endorsement on the Thursday of the Born Alive Abortion Act, that seeks to protect babies who are survivors of abortion. The president also pardoned pro-life activists who were arrested for blocking access to abortion clinics, Vance said. The Trump-Vance administration is sending a message: “We stand with you and most importantly, we stand with the most vulnerable,” the vice president said.

On the campaign trail, Vance promised to increase the child tax credit from $2,000 to $5,000 per child.

Utah Rep. Blake Moore is taking the lead on trying to increase the popular tax credit. Earlier in January, he introduced the Family First Act, which would increase the existing child tax credit of $2,000 to $4,200 for families with a child up to age 5, according to information from his office. It would also codify a credit of $3,000 for families with a child age 6-17. Families can claim these deductions for up to six children, as the Deseret News previously reported.

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