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: 2007
Texas Schools Lead Nation in Providing Meals to Children (Press Release)
Release Date: 12/11/2007
Ninety-nine percent of Texas schools participate in the national School Breakfast Program, ranking Texas 7th best in the country, according to a report released today by the national Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). The report, School Breakfast Scorecard 2007, also finds that more than a million low-income Texas children are eating breakfast at school. Despite its relative success compared to other states, there is room for expansion. For every 100 low-income children that participated in the School Lunch Program in Texas, only 53 also ate breakfast.
New Report: Statewide, Some Areas of Maternal & Child Health Improving (Press Release)
Release Date: 11/19/2007
According to the newly released State of Texas Children 2007, statewide, more women are receiving prenatal care and teen births are continuing to decline, while babies born at low birthweight and infant mortality rates are worsening. The report, released by the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP), provides the latest look at the well-being of children in Texas and for every county in the state. “The report finds that when it comes to maternal and child health, Texas has much to be thankful for,” said Frances Deviney, Texas KIDS COUNT Director. “At the same time, work remains in other areas. Statewide, low birthweight and infant mortality rates have increased, child poverty is up for the fifth straight year, unemployment has increased, and Texas continues to have the highest rates of uninsured children in the nation.”
CPPP Statement on SCHIP Vote (Statement)
Release Date: 10/18/2007
We are disappointed that Congress did not vote today to override the President’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. Texas benefits when all Texas children have regular health care. Healthy children grow into healthy adults better able to contribute to our economy and participate in our democracy. By 2012, this bipartisan legislation would have provided health insurance to almost 4 million children who would otherwise have had none, including many Texas children. CHIP has been particularly important to Texas because we have 1.5 million uninsured kids (1 out of every 5 Texas children), the highest percentage of uninsured children in the country. Too many Texas children live in families that earn too little to afford private health insurance.
CPPP Statement Regarding Senator Cornyn’s SCHIP Claims (Statement)
Release Date: 10/3/2007
CPPP has released a statement regarding Senator Cornyn’s SCHIP claims. We have also posted a letter we sent to Senator Cornyn in August and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Table that he is misreading that we discuss in the letter.
Big Tobacco Chooses Smoking Over Children; Targets Senator Hutchison (Press Release)
Release Date: 09/24/2007
Congress is expected to vote as early as tomorrow on reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The agreement between the House and the Senate would increase the number of low-income children CHIP will cover. The increase would be completely paid for by an increase in tobacco taxes. Big Tobacco has targeted one bipartisan leader, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a supporter of the Senate’s CHIP bill on which the compromise bill is based. Philip Morris paid to send the flyer (see attached) to smokers across Texas urging them to put smoking over health care for children.
Our Grade Is In: Texas Receives "F" in Financial Stability (Press Release)
Release Date: 09/12/2007
When it comes to our ability to achieve financial success, Texas residents are falling behind the rest of the country, according to a report released today by the national Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). According to the 2007-2008 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, Texas was just one of five states that earned an “F” based on poor performance in the following areas: Financial Security, Business Development, Homeownership, Health Care, and Education.
Report Uncovers What It Really Takes to Make Ends Meet in Texas (Press Release) (Press Release)
Release Date: 08/30/2007
(Visit http://www.cppp.org/fbe for the full report and interactive website, which includes budget data for the metropolitan areas, family profiles, fact sheets, and policy recommendations.) It’s been well documented that the federal poverty level doesn’t accurately measure today’s cost of living. But what does it really take to get by in Texas? The Family Budget Estimator: What It Really Takes to Get By in Texas, released today by the Center for Public Policy Priorities, finds that what a 2-parent, 2-child family needs to earn to afford housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, and other basic needs without relying on government assistance ranges from $29,982 a year in the Brownsville/Harlingen area to $45,770 a year in the Fort Worth/Arlington area. This is between $9,332 and $25,120 more than the poverty level and assumes that the family has employer-sponsored health insurance.
CPPP on Census' New Income, Poverty, and Health Data (Statement)
Release Date: 08/28/2007
For an economy in its fifth year of recovery, the new Census Bureau figures paint a disappointing picture nationally and in Texas. The poverty rate in Texas is unchanged at 16.3 percent in 2005-06, while median income edged up to $44,922, leaving Texas about where it was when the recession bottomed out in 2001. “Despite five years of economic growth, Texas’ poverty rate has stagnated,” said Frances Deviney, Senior Research Associate at the Center for Public Policy Priorities. “While it’s encouraging that conditions haven’t gotten worse, it’s discouraging that we still have 3.7 million Texans living in poverty.”
Texas Needs to Rank Kids No. 1 on its List of Priorities: Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 08/15/2007
The University of Texas football team is gearing up for the 2007-08 season. One preliminary poll ranks the team as high as third in the nation, much to the delight of Longhorns fans across the state. Another set of rankings, released earlier this week, paints a much more dismal portrait of Texas—Texas kids, that is. According to the 2007 KIDS COUNT Databook, Texas ranks 37th—just 13 from the bottom—in overall child well being.
Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day, but Not on the Schedule for Many Students (Press Release)
Release Date: 08/7/2007
Kids need pens and notebooks to get through the school day, but they also need a healthy breakfast. Yet, a new report from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, D.C., finds that in many large urban school districts, including the Houston Independent School District (HISD), most of their low-income students are not getting breakfast on a daily basis. HISD is working to change that by making breakfast part of the school day with its “First Class Breakfast” program.
Amid Controversy, Farm Bill Set for a House Vote Today (Press Release)
Release Date: 07/26/2007
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the 2007 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419), which includes $4 billion over five years in improvements in the Food Stamp and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Texas would receive an additional $278 million dollars over the next five years. However, controversy over how to pay for the new investments may delay passage of the bill. In Texas, 2.3 million people—over 10% of the state’s population—rely on Food Stamps to afford an adequate diet. More than half of these recipients would see an increase in their Food Stamp benefits as a result of the farm bill’s increased investment in the program. Texas receives almost $2.5 billion per year in federal funding for Food Stamps, providing a significant boost to the state’s economy.
National Report: Texas Has the Worst Teen Birth Rate in the Country (Press Release)
Release Date: 07/25/2007
Texas has the highest teen birth rate in the nation (63 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19) according to the KIDS COUNT Data Book, a national state-by-state report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This report is a precursor to the fall release of The State of Texas Children 2007, which will provide child well-being data for every county in Texas. Despite improving by 9 percent between 2000 and 2004, Texas has the nation’s worst birth rate, with more than 51,000 births to Texas teens (or 63 births per 1,000 teens). Nationally, there are 41 births for every 1,000 teens.
National Study: Pre-K Investment in Texas Could Save Billions (Press Release)
Release Date: 07/11/2007
According to new state data released by the national Economic Policy Institute, Texas could save billions of public dollars over the upcoming decades by immediately investing in pre-kindergarten programs. In Texas, high-quality pre-K programs would begin paying for themselves within eight years, according to a state-level analysis of the Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation study.
Report: Hunger Costs Texas $9 Billion a Year; This Hunger Awareness Day, Too Many Texas Kids at Risk of Hunger (Press Release)
Release Date: 06/5/2007
According to a report released today, Hunger Awareness Day, hunger doesn’t just take a toll on the 1.3 million Texas families who experience food insecurity, but it costs the state more than $9 billion a year. The study, by the University Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University, estimates this cost by calculating the annual cost for charity, illness and lowered productivity for the nation related to food insecurity. Children are at the highest risk of hunger, especially during the summer, when they can no longer eat breakfast and lunch at school. More than 2.1 million low-income Texas kids rely on free or reduced-priced meals during the school year.
Celebrate Graduates; Help the Dropouts: San Antonio Express-News (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 05/26/2007
This month hundreds of thousands of Texas teens will graduate from high school. Some will go on to four-year colleges. Some will enroll in community colleges or vocational schools. Others will enter the job market. Often overlooked are the tens of thousands of teens who will drop out before earning their diplomas.
Statement by F. Scott McCown on the HB 1 2008-09 Budget Conference Committee Report with County Impact Data (Statement)
Release Date: 05/25/2007
"While the budget will spend almost 95% of General Revenue on education, health care, and corrections, too much has been set aside for tax cuts that mostly benefit upper-income families. As a result, many important needs will go unmet, while our tax system grows more unfair. The budget will keep Texas at the bottom in what we invest in our children and how we care for our most vulnerable." Here CPPP has prepared county-level information to illustrate the current and potential impact of state government spending in local communities. More detailed analyses of program-level impacts will be made available as soon as possible.
Plenty of Food for Thought: Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 05/13/2007
Due to cuts in 1996, the purchasing power of Food Stamps has eroded. Food Stamp recipients now get just $1 per meal per day, which increases families’ risk of running out of food before the end of the month or forces them to buy cheaper, less healthy food. But don’t just take our word for it. For the week of May 15- May 21, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, the Capital Area Food Bank, and the Center for Public Policy Priorities challenge Central Texans to eat and drink only what $1 a meal—or $21 a week—can buy.
Record Number of Children Dropped From CHIP in May (Press Release)
Release Date: 05/3/2007
Today the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) announced that 17,078 fewer children will be covered by the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in May than in April. This is the second largest number of children ever to be disenrolled in one month, second only to immediately after state budget cuts in 2003.
CPPP Statement on Governor's Proposal for Additional Property Tax Cuts (Statement)
Release Date: 05/2/2007
Today, Governor Perry proposed crippling our state’s ability to build the infrastructure we need by taking another $2.5 billion to pay for an additional school property tax cut. This tax cut would be on top of the tax cut provided in last year’s special session.
CPPP Statement on Tiers/IE System Recommendations (Statement)
Release Date: 04/20/2007
Yesterday, April 19, 2007, the Subcommittee on TIERS and Integrated Eligibility, chaired by Representative Abel Herrero and including Representative Tan Parker and Representative Bryan Hughes, presented its unanimous recommendations to the House Human Services Committee for addressing the problems in the TIERS/IE system and establishing a more efficient and effective eligibility system. The Center for Public Policy Priorities applauds the work of the subcommittee and urges the full committee to adopt its recommendations in their entirety and move quickly to incorporate the recommendations into legislation.
Children Released by TYC Will Hit CPS Hard (Press Release)
Release Date: 04/11/2007
TYC recently notified Child Protective Services that CPS must find homes for many of the children TYC is releasing. Almost 100 of the children at TYC are in the state’s conservatorship (meaning that before the child was committed to TYC, a court removed the child from the parent’s custody and gave responsibility to CPS), though we do not have a figure for how many of these are scheduled to be released. TYC is also asking CPS to take children for whom TYC cannot locate parents or whom the parents refuse to pick up. TYC releases will hit CPS hard because these TYC children are hard to place—a child coming out of TYC can’t go into just any foster home—and CPS already has a foster care capacity crisis. In February, 42 children spent a combined total of 52 nights sleeping in a state office building. CPS is now putting children up in hotels.
Less Than Three Weeks Remain to Claim EITC (Press Release)
Release Date: 04/2/2007
Most folks realize that less than three weeks remain to file federal income taxes. But did you know that if you earned up to $38,348 in 2006 you may be eligible for a large refund? The refund comes by way of the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC.
Privatizing Welfare Services Would Put Profit Above Children: Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 03/19/2007
Earlier this week, Texas announced the termination of its contract with Accenture, the private company the state hired to enroll Texans in health care, food stamps, and TANF cash assistance. Although privatization was supposed to save the state money and improve services to families, thousands of the most vulnerable Texans were wrongly denied benefits and the state didn’t save a dime. Despite the failure of this privatization experiment, legislation is still in the works to privatize another essential state service -- Child Protective Services (CPS), the child welfare arm of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). CPS investigates reports of child abuse and neglect and works to protect these children.
Personal Income Tax Can Boost Schools, Texas: San Antonio Express-News (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 03/17/2007
A powerful group of voices has joined the chorus calling for greater investment in public education. The Raise Your Hand coalition — which includes the CEOs of H-E-B, AT&T, Frost Bank, Bank One, Continental Airlines and other leading Texas businesses — called on the Legislature to increase school spending by $2,000 per student. The coalition recognizes investing in public education is a smart investment. When Texas has an adequately skilled and educated workforce, businesses do well, the economy flourishes, and everyone is better off.
Rapacious Loan Sharks Stalk Low, Middle-Income Texans: Amarillo Globe-News (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 03/15/2007
Loan sharks are preying on families across the nation, especially in Texas. At the federal level, Congress is helping to protect military families. But millions of working families remain vulnerable. Amarillo families—who earn 15% less than the average Texas family—are particularly at risk.
CPPP Statement on Texas' Termination of Accenture Contract (Press Release)
Release Date: 03/13/2007
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced today that it is terminating its contract with Accenture to enroll low-income Texans in critical programs, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The contract will officially end in November 2007. Privatization was supposed to save Texas hundreds of millions of dollars and improve services to clients through better use of technology and a more modern enrollment process.
Loopholes Allow Loan Sharks to Prey on Hardworking Texans: San Antonio Express-News (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 02/16/2007
Loan sharks are preying on families across the nation, especially in Texas. At the federal level, Congress is helping to protect military families. But millions of other families remain vulnerable. Families in San Antonio are among the hardest hit.
New National Report: 35,000 Fewer Abused & Neglected Children Eligible for Federal Support; Texas Children at Risk (Press Release)
Release Date: 02/7/2007
Over the past decade, thousands of foster children and the states responsible for them have lost critical federal support and this problem is only projected to get worse, according to a study just released by KIDS ARE WAITING: Fix Foster Care Now.
Governor's HPV Order is Unconstitutional: Austin American-Statesman (Op-Ed)
Release Date: 02/7/2007
Conservatives are complaining about the Governor’s executive order that parents must vaccinate all female children for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) before the sixth grade. They instinctively feel that the governor has exceeded his authority. The conservatives are right. He has. This is not the first time, though. Just a little more than a year ago, the governor issued an executive order requiring elected school boards to spend 65 percent of their budgets in the classroom. Then, conservatives applauded. Both the vaccination order and the 65 percent order, however, violate the law in the same way. Under our constitution, the governor administers the law; the governor doesn’t make the law. This principle is textbook civics. Making law is for the legislature.
Leading National Health Care Organization Has Named CPPP's Anne Dunkelberg Consumer Health Care Advocate of the Year (Press Release)
Release Date: 01/26/2007
Today, January 26, Families USA, a national nonprofit organization committed to affordable health care, awarded Anne Dunkelberg, Associate Director of the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, Consumer Health Care Advocate of the Year.
CPPP Statement on the Pauken Commission's Final Report (Statement)
Release Date: 01/23/2007
In August, the Governor appointed the Texas Task Force on Appraisal Reform, chaired by Tom Pauken, to address complaints about the property tax appraisal system. The Pauken Commission has now released its final report, but it is not really about the appraisal system. In fact, the report offers no evidence that the appraisal system is overvaluing property. Instead, the report is about two things: 1) keeping taxes unrealistically low, leaving local officials unable to meet local needs; and 2) shifting those taxes that we do pay off those with higher income and onto those with lower-incomes.
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