Patrick T. Brown

Fellow

Patrick T. Brown is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where his work with the Life and Family Initiative focuses on developing a robust pro-family economic agenda and supporting families as the cornerstone of a healthy and flourishing society.

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Patrick T. Brown is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where his work focuses on developing a robust pro-family economic agenda and supporting families as the cornerstone of a healthy and flourishing society.

His writing has been published in The New York Times, National Review, Politico, The Washington Post, and USA Today, and he has spoken on college campuses and Capitol Hill on topics from welfare reform to child-care and education policy.

He has published reports on paid leave and family policy with the Institute for Family Studies, and edited an essay series featuring working-class voices for American Compass. He is an advisory board member of Humanity Forward and the Center on Child and Family Policy and a contributing editor to Public Discourse.

Prior to joining EPPC, Patrick served as a senior policy advisor to Congress’ Joint Economic Committee. There, he helped lead research about how to make it more affordable to raise a family and more effectively invest in youth and young adults. He also previously worked a government-relations staffer for Catholic Charities USA.

Patrick graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in political science and economics. He also holds a Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He and his wife Jessica have four young children and live in Columbia, S.C.

 

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Pronatalism is Not Popular—Yet

Patrick T. Brown

For the better part of this century, the nascent movement to make it easier for people to start families and…

Articles

Can Congressional Republicans Be Big, Beautiful — and Pro-Family?

Patrick T. Brown

The House GOP mega-bill is full of odds and ends. Will it help families?

Articles

National Review Online / May 30, 2025

The ‘Success Sequence’ Goes to School

Patrick T. Brown

Family-life classes in Tennessee will focus on work and marriage.

Articles

Wall Street Journal / May 18, 2025

Congress Can Do Better Than ‘MAGA Accounts’

Patrick T. Brown

Parents have much to like in the reconciliation bill currently under consideration in the U.S. House. The “One, Big Beautiful,…

Articles

Focus on the Families

Patrick T. Brown

It’s not discriminatory to prioritize families’ needs in government planning.

Articles

Commonplace / May 15, 2025

Abundance is all the rage in public policy. Can it work for child care?

Patrick T. Brown

An abundance agenda should expand options for parents, as Oregon is seeking to do.

Articles

Deseret News / May 8, 2025

An IVF Mandate Won’t Raise Fertility Rates

Natalie Dodson, Patrick T. Brown

The president should consider a pro-marriage baby bonus instead.

Articles

Wall Street Journal / May 4, 2025

Congress Should Pass a Pro-Marriage Baby Bonus

Patrick T. Brown

The time is right for Congress to pass a baby bonus, and the Niskanen Center’s Leah Libresco Sargeant has helped them…

Articles

Institute for Family Studies / April 30, 2025

Red States Show the Way for Pro-Family Populism

Patrick T. Brown

During his unsuccessful foray into California politics, the muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair used to tell audiences that “It is difficult to get…

Articles

Compact / April 17, 2025

Trump’s IVF Order Betrays MAHA

Patrick T. Brown

The administration’s approach turns babies into products.

Articles

Commonplace / March 4, 2025

Don’t Blame Wall Street for High Home Costs

Patrick T. Brown

Big investors didn’t cause rising house prices—and policymakers can take concrete steps to address the underlying pressures.

Articles

City Journal / February 18, 2025

Home Improvement: Exploring Recent Trends in the Housing Market Through a Family First Lens

Patrick T. Brown

 

Family Matters from Fellow Patrick T. Brown of the Life and Family Initiative is a weekly update on the policies and ideas that can better support parents and strengthen families as the essential building block of a healthy society.