By Robert Rector and Leslie Ford NEATLY tucked into the $1.9 trillion stimulus package is the second largest welfare expansion in U.S. history. President Joe Bidenâs plan would increase child allowancesâcash welfare grants for parents with childrenâfrom an annual $2,000 per child to a maximum payment of $3,600 for each child younger than 6 years of age, and $3,000 for children aged 6â17. The result: $78 billion per year in new cash grants to families, on top of the nearly half a trillion dollars that government currently spends on cash, food, housing and medical care for lower-income families with children. This welfare programâs annual cost would dwarf the initial costs of the Medicaid, Food Stamps and Aid to Families with Dependent Children programs. Only the Affordable Care Act would be more expensive.