New legislation would establish savings accounts for children born in the U.S., payable at age 18 for expenses such as education and housing.

The American Opportunity Accounts Act was introduced by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-MA. It would establish a federally funded savings account for every child “to make opportunity a birthright for everyone in America and help close the racial wealth gap,” the lawmakers said in a statement.

“Americans today are having a harder time accessing homeownership, higher education, and a secure retirement than their parents did just a generation before them,” Booker said. “This is due in part to our upside-down tax code, which is great at preserving and building wealth for corporations and wealthy families but fails Americans who are barely getting by and are unable to afford long-term investments to get ahead. ‘Baby Bonds’ would fix our broken tax code by providing every American child with startup capital for their life and helping to drive down the wealth inequality that holds American families back from their full potential.”

Under the “baby bonds” plan, every child would be given a $1,000 savings account at birth. The funds would sit in an interest-bearing account managed by the Treasury Department that would receive additional deposits of up to $2,000 each year depending on family income. At age 18, account holders could access the funds in the account for allowable uses like buying a home or paying for educational expenses.

According to the lawmakers, the savings account for a family of four with income of $25,100 or less could reach $46,215 by the time the child turns 18. The amount in the account would drop based on family income, bottoming out at $1,681 for a family of four earning $125,751.

The legislation would be paid for by reforms to federal estate and inheritance taxes, including restoring the estate tax to 2009 levels, a fact sheet on the bill said.