NEWSROOM
From child protection to school finance, CPPP policy staff know the issues affecting low- and moderate-income Texans.
If you are a member of the media, e-mail CPPP Communications Director Brian Stephens at stephens@cppp.org or call 512-320-0222 x 112. After hours, please call Brian's cell phone at 512-565-0506.
Please see our Staff Page for additional e-mail addresses.
Press Releases, Statements, & Op-Eds: 2005
A Holiday Wish for Foster Children: Gilmer Mirror (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 12/26/2005
It’s difficult to separate the thought of children from the spirit of the season. So full of hope and happiness, children truly embody the magic of the holidays. But for the nearly 28,000 Texas kids who will spend the holidays in foster care, the season is not so bright.
Statement by F. Scott McCown on the Texas Supreme Court’s School Finance Ruling (Statement)
Release Date: 11/22/2005
Today, the Texas Supreme Court ruled (7 to 1) in the school finance case, holding that local school district property taxes capped at $1.50 per $100 valuation constitute a state property tax prohibited by the constitution but that public school financing does not yet violate the “general diffusion of knowledge” mandate of adequacy, efficiency, or suitability. The Court did not rule that “Robin Hood” or “recapture” is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court extended the trial court’s October 1 deadline for a legislative solution to June 1. Read the statement of retired state district judge Scott McCown, who presided over all of Texas' public school finance cases from 1990-2002.
Report: Teens Faring Better in Texas (Press Release)
Release Date: 11/1/2005
After many years of worsening conditions, teens are faring better in Texas, according to The State of Texas Children 2005, a report released today by the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) that examines the status of children across all of Texas’ 254 counties.
U.S. House Votes to Cut Food Stamps at the Same Time USDA Finds Texas Leading Nation in Rate of Households at Risk of Hunger (Press Release)
Release Date: 10/31/2005
On Friday, the House Agriculture Committee terminated food stamp assistance for 300,000 vulnerable people on the very day that the USDA announced that Texas leads the nation in the percentage of households at risk of going hungry (16 percent). Nationwide, 4.4 million people suffered food insecurity last year, almost a million people more than the previous year. “Food insecure” households are those that had difficulty buying enough food because they could not afford it.
How Texas Can Help Lawyers Help Children: Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 10/14/2005
Aimee Blanchard, a 2002 graduate of The University of Texas School of Law, went to law school to become a child welfare attorney. She even spent a year working with abused and neglected children at the Children’s Rights Clinic, a hands-on clinic at UT. As a student attorney representing the legal interests of child clients, Ms. Blanchard did a lot of things that practicing lawyers do– interviewing clients, developing legal strategies for her cases, and arguing her clients’ positions in the courtroom.
CPPP Statement on Draft State Auditor’s Report (Statement)
Release Date: 09/29/2005
Today's story in the San Antonio Express-News, “State savings don't add up," makes public the findings of a draft report by the State Auditor’s Office critical of the methodology behind the Health and Human Services Commission’s decision last year to outsource its human resource and payroll functions to a private contractor. The auditor’s report says the savings from outsourcing are not $45 million over five years as claimed by HHSC to justify the contract, but only $1.1 million. The report also determined that HHSC does not have adequate performance measures in place to monitor contactor performance and ensure people’s needs are met.
National Study: Student Loan Debt Keeps Lawyers from Entering or Staying in the Child Welfare Field (Press Release)
Release Date: 09/28/2005
Too many of the nearly 28,000 kids in Texas’ foster care system (and the over 500,000 foster children nationwide) lack stable legal representation and are voiceless in the court proceedings that profoundly affect their lives. A first-ever study of children’s attorneys reveals why: many lawyers cannot afford to enter or remain in this low-paying practice area due to overwhelming student loan debt. Over two-thirds (68%) of lawyers surveyed owe at least $50,000 in student loan debt and nearly a quarter (24%) owe $75,000 or more.
Two Wins (Statement)
Release Date: 09/20/2005
We are happy to report that acting together, we moved Congress. The Senate has now delayed the deadline for budget cuts to late October and the deadline for tax cuts to early November. On another front, we are pleased to announce that our state leadership has given the green light to the Health and Human Service Commission to restore mental health benefits for adults on Medicaid.
Did Tax Cuts Contribute to Storm's Destruction?: Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 09/19/2005
We watched with horror as Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast. The images and stories are heartbreaking. Our sympathy and prayers go out to the individuals, families, and communities Hurricane Katrina has so tragically affected.
Statement about Hurricane Katrina (Statement)
Release Date: 09/2/2005
We watched with horror as Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast. The images and stories are heartbreaking. Our sympathy and prayers go out to the individuals, families, and communities Hurricane Katrina has so tragically affected.
Look Who's 40: Medicaid Clients & Experts to Celebrate Program's Birthday and Urge Congress to Keep Program Healthy (Press Release)
Release Date: 07/28/2005
Join Medicaid clients and health care experts for a Happy Birthday Medicaid press briefing/party in the Lt. Governor’s Reception Room on Thursday, July 28 at 11 a.m. Medicaid turns 40 on July 30.
National Report: Conditions Improving for Texas Teens (Press Release)
Release Date: 07/27/2005
Although Texas still ranks in the bottom quarter of child well-being nationwide, the good news is that conditions are improving for Texas’ teens, according to the KIDS COUNT Data Book, a national report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This national report is a precursor to the fall release of the Texas KIDS COUNT report that will provide data for every county in the state.
CPPP Statement Regarding the Constitutionality of CSHB 3 (Statement)
Release Date: 07/8/2005
When testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday evening, CPPP raised questions about the constitutionality of the statewide referendum proposed in the committee substitute.
Learning to Share; Justices Could Ensure Texas Children Get More Than Crumbs: Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 07/7/2005
If you have two boys, one big and one small, and you give the big boy a cookie and ask him to share, the little boy will get crumbs. And as long as the big boys are allowed to "share" this way, they won't throw in their nickels to buy a big enough cookie for all of the kids. When it comes to school finance, Texas needs a really big cookie.
Who Needs a Raise More: Tom DeLay or a Bus Boy?: Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 07/6/2005
Last week, the U.S. House gave itself a pay raise for the seventh time in as many years. But the House leadership refused to acknowledge that $3,100 more a year can be called a pay raise—they called it “an adjustment” in earnings. Since 1998, the House has raised its annual member salary by $31,600—a 23.7 percent cumulative increase to $165,200 per year. During these same years, the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour—the second longest period of stagnation since its inception in 1938.
Study: Major Business Rankings Not Accurate Measure of TX's Business Climate (Press Release)
Release Date: 06/29/2005
Texas prides itself on being a good for business state, but what’s its business climate really like?
Texas Makes Better Use of Federal Resources for Summer Meal Programs; More is Needed to Reach Needy Children (Press Release)
Release Date: 06/16/2005
Texas has increased the number of low-income children served by federally funded summer nutrition programs since 2000, but still lags far behind the performance of most states, according to a new report released today by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C. Texas uses two federally funded meal programs to feed children for free during the summer: the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
Experts to Release Report on the Status of Houston/Harris County Kids at Conference on Children (Press Release)
Release Date: 06/9/2005
With school out and the 79th Legislative Session just behind us, the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) will release the 2005 Texas KIDS COUNT Special Report: A Shapshot of Children Living in Houston and Harris County, before hundreds of child advocates on Wednesday, June 15 at the United Way of Texas Gulf Coast.
Hunger Awareness Day Comes at a Vulnerable Time for Texas (Press Release)
Release Date: 06/6/2005
Tomorrow, June 7, is National Hunger Awareness Day, a day designed to increase awareness of the need to protect America’s nutrition programs. Hunger Awareness Day is particularly timely this year, given that funding to Food Stamps and other nutrition programs is in jeopardy. Food Stamps are particularly important in Texas, given limited funding for food and other social services at the state level.
CPPP Statement on 2006-07 Budget (SB 1 Conference Report) (Statement)
Release Date: 05/29/2005
With the final state budget of $139 billion for 2006 and 2007 nearing approval, some are warning that a 10 percent increase in state spending is too much. Let’s think about this a little differently. Imagine an early spring day somewhere in Texas, with a high of 60°—about average for that time of year. Overnight, a cold front moves in, dropping the temperature to 30°—low enough to kill the most vulnerable plants left out in the cold. The next day, the temperature rises to 50°. Is it a 66 percent increase in temperature, compared to the previous night’s low? Or is it 10° below average?
Statement of F. Scott McCown Regarding Child Protective Services Legislation (Statement)
Release Date: 05/27/2005
To answer how child protection fared this session, one must study both the final appropriations bills and Senate Bill 6.
Key Questions in a Tax Overhaul: Who Wins? And Who Loses?: San Antonio Express-News, Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 05/21/2005
Would you bet on a poker hand without looking at your cards? Of course not. But the Legislature may be about to gamble on a sweeping tax bill without looking at how the cards will fall for different types of families and businesses.
Privatize protective services? Let's not: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 05/15/2005
The Texas House has just passed legislation to have private corporations take over the job of ensuring the safety of our abused children and getting them into permanent homes. The proposed legislation calls for firing about 1,700 Child Protective Services caseworkers.
Federal Court of Appeals: TWC Violated Federal Law by Rewriting Rules to Terminate Poor Mothers’ Medicaid (Press Release)
Release Date: 05/2/2005
On Friday, April 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously affirmed U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks’ earlier ruling that the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) violated federal law by adopting regulations to cut off health care to poor mothers in the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families work program, called the Choices program. As long as the women meet work requirements, the Circuit found, they are entitled to Medicaid. A copy of the opinion is attached.
Payday Lending Bill Offers No Protection to Cash-Strapped El Pasoans (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 04/28/2005
The Texas House of Representatives is on the verge of rolling back consumer protection laws designed to prevent unscrupulous lenders from preying on cash-strapped Texans. Lawmakers are getting ready to vote on legislation by Representative Dan Flynn to legalize interest rates as high as 780 percent on so-called "payday" loans. Low-income El Pasoans rely on these high-interest loans when they have trouble paying their bills between paychecks.
Payday Loans Threaten Texans’ Financial Well Being (Press Release)
Release Date: 04/22/2005
The Center for Public Policy Priorities today urged Chairwoman Beverly Woolley to oppose House Bill 846—a bill that would open up the practice of payday lending in Texas-in the name of promoting financial well being for all Texans. HB 846, by Rep. Dan Flynn, would make such loans more available, and more expensive, for desperate, cash-strapped Texans.
Scott McCown Statement: House Version of Senate Bill 6 (Statement)
Release Date: 04/19/2005
The House made significant changes to Senate Bill 6. In introducing those changes, Chairman Hupp said that the Senate plan did not go far enough. In our judgment, the reverse is true. The House plan goes too far by turning over children in the legal care of the state to private companies. We hope that the Senate can prevail on the House in conference to move toward the Senate plan.
Study Shows Elderly Rely Heavily on Social Security in Texas (Press Release)
Release Date: 03/24/2005
A new study, Social Security and the Income of the Elderly, released today by the Center for Public Policy Priorities and the national Economic Policy Institute, analyzes the degree to which elderly recipients rely on Social Security, broken down by state, race, and sex. It finds that elderly Texans, particularly Hispanics, rely heavily on the program.
Austin Effort to Improve Schools Disappoints Again: Houston Chronicle (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 03/20/2005
The Texas House has finished its education and tax bills. Now the Senate goes to work. Let's compare what the House has adopted with where the Senate is starting.
Statement Regarding the House Public Education Committee Plan (Statement)
Release Date: 02/28/2005
Before becoming director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, I was the state district court judge that heard the state's school finance cases from 1989 to 2002, including the Edgewood case and the initial phase of the West Orange Cove case, which is now pending before the Texas Supreme Court.
Child Welfare Expert Scott McCown to Release Snapshot of El Paso/Border Kids at Briefing/Community Meeting (Press Release)
Release Date: 02/3/2005
On Monday, Feb. 7, Scott McCown, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP)—recently named by Texas Monthly as one of the "25 Most Powerful People in Texas Politics”—will release Border KIDS COUNT: A Snapshot of Southwest Border Children. An initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Border KIDS COUNT is the first-ever county-by-county benchmark of child well-being.
CPPP Makes Texas Monthly List Twice (Press Release)
Release Date: 01/24/2005
Steve Murdock, director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio and founding board member of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, and F. Scott McCown, the center’s Executive Director, have just been named to Texas Monthly’s list of the 25 Most Powerful People in Texas Politics.
No Surplus: Revenue Gap Larger Than Many Think (Press Release)
Release Date: 01/10/2005
The state comptroller today announced that Texas will have $64.7 billion in General Revenue available to spend in 2006 and 2007. This is at least $7 billion short of the amount needed to sustain current programs and restore services cut last session, like Medicaid and children's health insurance. Even more money would be needed to improve such vital services as child protection and public education or to fund local property tax reductions.
CPPP Statement on HHSC CPS Recommendations (Statement)
Release Date: 01/6/2005
Today, the Governor and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission released a long-awaited report on changes that should be made to child protective services (CPS) to safeguard the state's six million children from abuse or neglect.
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