The United States did not have a federal policy on child care until 1990 when portions of two bills (H.R.3 and S.7) were incorporated in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The lack of a policy was not due to neglect; child care advocates made several attempts during the 1970s to pass legislation. In an effort to understand why child care succeeded in 1990, this thesis examines how child care got on the decision agenda, the "short list" of the government agenda. Using John Kingdon's framework (1984) I analyze the process by which child care legislation was able to make the successful transition from the committee forum to the floors of Congress for a vote, and thus becoming a part of the decision agenda.