Texas House Approves Bare-Bones Budget

AUSTIN (AP/CBSDFW.COM) - The Texas House has approved a bare-bones state budget that makes massive cuts to public education and health care programs for the poor.

After more than 21 hours of debate since Friday, the House approved the budget by a vote of 98-49 late Sunday. Democrats opposed it. The voting was largely along party lines.

In addition to schools and Medicaid, the proposal makes cuts to highways, prisons, state parks and dozens of other programs.

In all, the budget proposal spends $164.5 billion over the next two years in state and federal dollars. That's about $23 billion less than what is in the current budget. Republican leaders, in firm control of the Legislature, are vowing to balance the budget without raising new taxes.

The new budget underfunds public schools by almost $8 billion less than what is required by state law, which translates to about $800 per student short of what current funding laws require. It also eliminates full-day pre-kindergarten, teacher incentive pay and college financial aid.

Joe Straus (R), Speaker of the Texas House, said that "balancing our state budget requires very difficult choices," but many Democrats disagree with the places where cuts were made.

"A lot of it is still the same," State Rep. Donna Howard (D) said, "trying to rob Peter to pay Paul, taking money from one limited source to another limited source."

State Rep. Helen Giddings (D) added, "I believe we will rue the day that we took many of the actions that we took in House Bill 1, and we will feel the ill effects of the dismantling of our infrastructure, I believe, for years to come."

The budget next goes to the Senate for consideration.

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