A group of Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., are planning on introducing legislation this week that would provide $16 billion in funding for child care, sources familiar with the effort say.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and House Minority Whip Katherine M. Clark, D-Mass., are also leading the longshot stand-alone effort to secure the funding, which House appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., is also pushing.

With $24 billion in funding for child care providers from the 2021 pandemic relief law set to expire in September, 3.2 million children could lose their care, according to a projection from the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank.

The White House did not include child care funding in its supplemental request in August, which would have been a potential vehicle for the money.

The administration has asked for $44 billion in supplemental funding: $24.1 billion in assistance […]