Today, the Texas House of Representatives will debate the state budget. Crafted by Republican elected officials, the budget leaves $19 billion in available funds unspent – at a time when Texas students, seniors, and veterans remain underfunded.
Students, seniors, and veterans paid their taxes, and now the Legislature is trying to turn those dollars into businesses giveaways that many businesses don’t even want.
The following are a few of the areas in the budget left unfunded, despite $19 billion in cash sitting in the state's bank accounts:
- Students – In one-of-three Texas school districts, students are still getting less money for their classrooms and their teachers than before the devastating 2011 cuts. The budget also leaves full-day Pre-k unfunded.
- Texans in Need of Care – 14,000 seniors, disabled, and medically fragile Texans are stuck on waitlists for critical long-term care and health services due to a lack of funding.
- Workers – The budget fails to draw down billions in federal funds for the nearly one million working Texans who don’t have health insurance.
- Veterans – The state promised college financial aid for veterans and their families, yet the budget falls short of keeping that promise by $530 million.
It is widely rumored that a large portion of the $19 billion in unspent funds are being set aside for business tax cuts, despite repeated calls from businesses to invest in education and health care before spending any money on tax cuts.
We will update this blog post throughout the day with any major developments on the budget.
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