Democrats in Congress renewed a campaign to lower childcare costs, reviving the Child Care for Working Families Act that would limit expenses for a typical household to no more than $15 a day. The bill, led by House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Patty Murray, was reintroduced with additional support from lawmakers including Rep. Summer Lee. Separately, Rep. Sara Jacobs put forward the LEGACY Act, which would levy new taxes on large trust funds to generate an estimated $400 million a year for child-care subsidies. In a parallel move on education finance, Rep. Jared Golden and more than 140 bipartisan colleagues urged the U.S. Department of Education to release roughly $7 billion in school aid that has been frozen since the pandemic, arguing the money is essential for maintaining quality instruction nationwide. At the municipal level, New York City Mayor Eric Adams earmarked an additional $80 million in the city’s newly adopted budget for early-childhood programs. The package expands special-education services, launches a pilot that will offer free childcare for children aged two and under from low-income families, and supports an initiative to convert schoolyards into public playgrounds—bringing 20,000 more residents within a 10-minute walk of green space.