In 2017, a pair of senior Democratic lawmakers first introduced legislation designed to create the nations first comprehensive child care system. But they were in the minority then, Donald Trump was president, and the bill never even got a hearing. A repeat effort in 2019 produced basically the same result.

Now, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) are at it again, with plans to reintroduce their bill, the Child Care for Working Families Act, on Thursday. The legislation, which their offices shared with HuffPost in advance, hasnt changed much. But the political environment has.

Today, Democrats hold a narrow majority in Congress, with Murray and Scott each chairing the relevant committees of jurisdiction. With the pandemic pushing working parents across the country to the brink, child care policy has gotten more attention in Washington than at any time in recent memory and maybe ever.