Texas House Committee Passes Budget With Steep Cuts

AUSTIN (AP) - A Texas House committee has passed a bare-bones budget that makes deep cuts to state services over the next two years.

The plan approved Wednesday would spend $77.6 billion in state money but underfund public schools by almost $8 billion and leave a $4 billion hole in the state health and human services budget.

That's after an agreement to use the state's Rainy Day fund that gave legislators an extra $4 billion to lessen cuts.

The partisan vote sends the budget to the House scheduling committee where it will be set for consideration by the full House.

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