Children sleep during nap time at Minnesota Child Care in Minneapolis, on December 30, 2025. | Renee Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images Affordability is the top political problem of the moment, and lawmakers in both parties have increasingly blamed large investors for buying up housing, hospitals, and other staples families can’t do without, while jacking up prices and degrading quality.  Earlier this year, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), who has backed bills on both fronts, turned his attention to childcare. The ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee sent sw...