House-passed H.R.5376 included SEC. 23002. Universal Preschool, defining eligible children as age 3 or 4 and creating payments for state universal preschool services.
The House version of Build Back Better contained a universal preschool program covering 3- and 4-year-olds, a concrete legislative vehicle aligned with the promise.
Roll Call 385 was on passage of H.R.5376, Build Back Better Act; status passed, 220-213. Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts, voted Yea.
Moulton voted for the House-passed Build Back Better bill that included universal preschool, showing concrete support but not final enactment of that provision.
Congress.gov records that H.R.5376 passed the House on November 19, 2021, passed the Senate with an amendment on August 7, 2022, and became Public Law 117-169 on August 16, 2022.
The bill ultimately became law only after Senate amendment and House concurrence, so the enacted law must be checked separately from the House-passed universal preschool text.
The enrolled text of H.R.5376 has no match for preschool or Universal Preschool.
The enacted Inflation Reduction Act version of H.R.5376 did not include the House-passed universal preschool guarantee, so the promise was not delivered through this law.
H.R.2817 was introduced April 22, 2021, referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, and had status Introduced. CRS summarized that it established grants for preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children ages three to five.
This was an early-learning bill Moulton later cosponsored, but it was means-tested and never advanced beyond introduction, so it did not fulfill a universal federal guarantee.
The cosponsor list records Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] as a cosponsor on May 4, 2021.
Moulton cosponsored the Child Care for Working Families Act, showing effort on preschool access, but that bill did not pass and was not universal for every 4-year-old.
H.R.2976 was introduced April 27, 2023, referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and retained status Introduced with 101 cosponsors.
The 118th Congress version of the Child Care for Working Families Act remained introduced only, so it did not enact a federal universal pre-K guarantee.
H.R.2886, the Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act, was introduced April 28, 2021, referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, and had status Introduced.
Another universal early-learning bill existed in the same Congress but never advanced beyond introduction. Moulton is not listed among its cosponsors, and it did not deliver the promised guarantee.
The promised federal guarantee of a universal pre-K seat for every 4-year-old was not enacted. Moulton supported serious legislative efforts, including voting for the House-passed Build Back Better Act text that contained universal preschool and cosponsoring related child care and preschool bills, but the enacted Public Law 117-169 omitted the preschool guarantee and later related bills remained introduced only. This warrants failed-delivery status with an effort badge, not partial delivery, because no federal universal seat guarantee became law.
provider codex_cli · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 95%