Hundreds of millions of dollars in discretionary funding for early learning are funneling into states although Congress hasn’t seriously considered paying for President Barack Obama’s universal preschool proposal. Race to the Top early learning awards and Affordable Care Act money are helping states carry out their pre-K and early childcare plans. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is traveling the country to deliver what amounts to an early childhood stump speech, and the administration just hired a new leader for its Office of Early Learning.

Congress likely won’t fund Obama’s $75 billion universal pre-K plan in the near future. Doubling the federal tobacco tax and new spending prove unpopular, even absurd options for some members of Congress. Coupled with dwindling hopes of coming to a fiscal consensus before September 30, the administration can likely expect no help on funding any time soon.

House Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) has said that “throwing more money into the nation’s education system is not the right answer to the challenges facing our classrooms.”

( Also on POLITICO: Morning Education)

But Duncan’s passion is unwavering. He has repeatedly touted the long-term social and economic benefits of quality early childhood options and he remains optimistic that Congress will act on the plan, a Department of Education official said.

Some members of Congress are fully on board. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and committee member Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have visited preschools in recent weeks and promise to file legislation this fall that would expand access and improve quality.

The administration’s efforts could mold public sentiment, which could seep into Capitol Hill. By directing money to state-level programs across the country, the Obama Department of Education is basically building out a national pre-K agenda, regardless of congressional dysfunction.

( Also on POLITICO: Jeb Bush’s education legacy loses luster)

Obama and Duncan have visited high-performing centers of early learning and pointed out that governors, both Republican and Democratic, are on their side. The Education Department official said there is definitely some correlation between the state and local support and the early childhood churning in Congress.

“I think what the administration is trying to do is push public opinion, which would push legislation. That’s the way lots of things, including smoking or seat belt use, were actually shaped. There’s enough research about the return on investment out there,” said Lori Connors-Tadros, project director for the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes at the National Institute for Early Education Research .

The Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, which distributed nearly $500 million to states last year and is coming up again this fall, awards millions to innovative programs in states that improve quality and have tangible results. About $120 million in 2013 Race to the Top funds will be used for the upcoming competition. Money talks: The administration can herald the competition’s results to convince the public of its value and build pressure on legislators about the critical need for public investment in early childhood education.

( PHOTOS: What’s in Obama’s 2014 budget)

“If we feel like there’s a stalemate in Congress on these issues, instead of throwing up our hands and saying, ‘There’s nothing we can do,’ the administration is saying, ‘Let’s see if we can beat the drum enough outside of Washington to influence members of Congress,’ ” said Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation. “It’s a smart strategy with limited resources.”

Even the highly politicized Affordable Care Act authorized money for school readiness and achievement. The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting provision is designed to serve young at-risk children through home-visiting programs that are sponsored through federal, state and community partnerships.

( PHOTOS: 25 unforgettable Obamacare quotes)

And the Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this month that six states will split about $89 million in supplemental early learning grants.

Those six states — California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon and Wisconsin — originally received half the amount of money requested in their Race to the Top applications. Supplemental awards to make those states’ efforts whole range from $22 million for California to $11 million for Wisconsin.

New Mexico will use the money to continue developing and piloting several initiatives, including the expansion of professional development opportunities for educators, a universal kindergarten assessment tool and process, and enhancing and expanding the current a system that works to increase the number of high-need children in early learning programs.

Mary Ann Snyder, director of the Office of Early Childhood at the Colorado Department of Human Services, said officials felt the pain in trying to pare back the “dream plan” when Colorado only received half its original request in December.

“I think the feds took a look at that and realized that in order to be successful with some of these ambitious goals, we needed more than the 50 percent,” she said. “All of those dollars are going to stay with the original goals of that application and will help us develop them deeper and faster.”

Colorado plans to use the additional funding for several initiatives, including a “next generation” Quality Rating and Improvement System tied to state licensure. The system is voluntary now, but the next generation plan will automatically rate any facility with a state license.

Snyder also said the state hopes to develop a statewide registry that would serve as a repository for background checks, professional development materials, experience hours and other relevant material to streamline paperwork as educators move around in the workforce.

The Obama administration only recently created the office that awards the competitive early learning grants: The Office of Early Learning at the Department of Education was created in late 2011. Libby Doggett, former director of the Pew Home Visiting Campaign, was just confirmed as its second leader. She will work closely on the president’s universal preschool push.

What the administration hasn’t accomplished through funding, it has tackled through reform. In 2011, the administration announced steps to revamp the 48-year-old Head Start program, requiring all failing Head Start grantees to meet a new set of benchmarks if they hope to continue receiving federal funding.

In the past, Head Start providers didn’t have to worry about losing funding except in extreme cases. Now, Head Start grantees will win five-year grants and low-performing programs have to compete for renewal.

Despite the high-profile early education push, the reforms, discretionary funding and messaging will only go so far, Guernsey said. Some states and counties, even those moving forward with stellar early childhood programs, just don’t want to be tied to an “Obama idea.”

Guernsey said part of the messaging needs to push the idea that the government isn’t trying to replace state work with a huge, top-down federal program.

“It’s about building on what the states have already done. Unfortunately, the political dynamic is such that in some states and counties, if it looks like an ‘Obama idea,’ it’s not going to gain traction, no matter what that idea is,” she said. “What’s a shame is, one of the best ways to boost these programs could be federal dollars.”

“I’m hopeful that we can get past all the rhetoric… and say for a relatively small amount of the money, look at the impact we could have,” Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said at a Chamber of Commerce and Center for American Progress early childhood education discussion late last month. “We do have this fundamental responsibility to be thinking through what our country is going to look like in 15, 20 years.”