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: 2008
The State of Texas Children 2008-09 (Press Release)
Release Date: 12/11/2008
The Center for Public Policy Priorities today released The State of Texas Children: Texas KIDS COUNT Annual Data Book 2008-09, a resource that provides the latest look at the well-being of children in Texas and for every county in the state. This year's data book includes a special essay on “Closing the Educational Gaps,” revealing that community and statewide factors play a pivotal role in a child's academic achievement.
A Child Alone and Without Papers (Press Release)
Release Date: 11/13/2008
A Child Alone and Without Papers, released today by the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP), reveals what happens to more than 43,000 undocumented, unaccompanied children removed annually from the United States and repatriated to their home countries. Policy analysis and interviews with adults and children in the system revealed the U.S. often compromises children’s rights, safety, and well-being, contrary to international law and U.S. child welfare standards.
For more information, including a two-page summary, backgrounders and appendices, visit www.cppp.org/repatriation.
New Report Shows Need for Stronger Policies to Support Low-Income Working Families (Press Release)
Release Date: 10/14/2008
The Center for Public Policy Priorities today pointed to a new report by the Working Poor Families Project as evidence of the need for Texas to improve public structures that serve low-income working families. According to the report, 37 percent of Texas working families are low-income. Nearly two-of-three Texas low-income working families lack a parent with any postsecondary education, ranking us 48th in the nation. The report also shows that 57 percent of Texas low-income families have at least one parent without health insurance in 2006. The center cited modest improvements in need-based state financial aid since publication of the last similar report, but urged continued improvement to public structures to ensure prosperity for all Texans.
CPPP Applauds Presidential Signing of Legislation to Shore Up Foster Care and Adoptions in The U.S. (Press Release)
Release Date: 10/8/2008
The Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) today applauded presidential signing of the Fostering Connection to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act. The Act contains substantial improvements to the U.S. foster care system. Without this legislation, our nation’s current federal adoptions incentives program would have expired this month.
CPPP Hails U.S. Senate Passage of Adoption Incentives Bill, Urges Quick Presidential Action (Press Release)
Release Date: 09/23/2008
The Center for Public Policy Priorities today announced that the U.S. Senate passed the Fostering Connection to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which contains sweeping and comprehensive improvements to the U.S. foster care system. Without this legislation, our nation’s current federal adoptions incentives program would expire on September 30.
CPPP Associate Director Anne Dunkelberg Honored with LBJ School Alumni Association's Distinguished Public Service Award (Press Release)
Release Date: 09/17/2008
The Center for Public Policy Priorities today announced the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs Alumni Association has honored CPPP Associate Director Anne Dunkelberg with their Distinguished Public Service Award. Dunkelberg is an LBJ School graduate and a long-time advocate for better policies for low- and mid-income Texans.
CPPP Statement on "Competitive States" Report Comparing Texas and California (Press Release)
Release Date: 09/9/2008
The Center for Public Policy Priorities today released the following statement in response to a report, "Competitive States -- Texas vs. California: Economic Growth Prospects for the 21st Century," published this afternoon by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The report badly misreads the likely outcomes of Texas’ inadequate investment in vital public structures, including our education and transportation systems
Census Bureau Data Shows Economic Expansion Left Many Texans Behind in 2007 (Press Release)
Release Date: 08/26/2008
New data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that many Texans did not share the benefits of economic expansion in 2007 and still cannot meet their basic needs. Hard work for Texans was rewarded in far too many cases with very low wages and no employer-sponsored health insurance. While Texas poverty and income improved slightly in 2007, poverty rates remain worse than during the last recession, and Texas still has the worst uninsured rate in the U.S. The data suggest that Texas state policies make it harder, not easier, for hardworking Texans to get out of poverty and to get health insurance.
Statement of F. Scott McCown on the Bohac-Patrick Plan (Statement)
Release Date: 08/20/2008
At a hearing of the Texas House of Representatives Select Committee on Property Tax Relief and Appraisal Reform, chaired by Representative John Otto, in Houston on August 18, Representative Dwayne Bohac and Senator Dan Patrick presented a plan that they say would allow the Legislature to create a 5 percent annual appraisal cap on residence homesteads rather than the present 10 percent cap without a constitutional amendment. But their plan is based upon a misunderstanding of what the constitution says after its most recent amendment in 2007. Lowering the cap does require a constitutional amendment.
National Report: Conditions Improving for Texas Teens (Press Release)
Release Date: 06/12/2008
Conditions for teens are looking brighter in Texas, as the teen death rate, teen birth rate, and percent of teens not attending school and not working have improved. This is according to the KIDS COUNT Data Book, a national state-by-state report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report is a precursor to the fall release of The State of Texas Children 2008, which will provide child well-being data for every county in Texas.
Newly Passed Farm Bill will Help 890,000 More Texans (Press Release)
Release Date: 05/30/2008
With rising gas and food prices, families need help putting food on the table now more than ever. Nationally, the cost of groceries is up dramatically, especially staples like eggs (up 25% in the last year), milk (up 17%), cheese (up 15%), bread (up 12%), and rice (up 13%). Earlier this month, Congress passed the Farm Bill, expanding the Food Stamps, Emergency Food Assistance, School Meals, and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable programs. This bill will help low-income Americans during these harder times. Thanks to the Farm Bill, Texas will receive $674 million in new money for nutrition assistance over the next nine years, according to the national Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Not only that, but nearly 900,000 more Texans will receive additional Food Stamp benefits in 2012.
Don't be an April Fool Taken in by a Make-Believe Day (Press Release)
Release Date: 04/10/2008
Every April, the Tax Foundation releases a report celebrating “Tax Freedom Day.” The Tax Foundation was founded in 1937 by the top leadership of General Motors, Standard Oil, and Johns-Manville Corporation. Its focus is to keep taxes low irrespective of the need for taxes in maintaining public infrastructure to support our economy and quality of life. "Tax Freedom Day" is a make-believe day based on disingenuous reasoning that has serious methodological flaws.
Income Inequality on the Rise in Texas (Press Release)
Release Date: 04/9/2008
The gap between the richest and poorest families, and between the richest and middle-income families grew substantially in Texas over the past two decades, according to a new study by the national Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. Growing income inequality tears at the fabric of our economy, and shows our public policies are failing to promote shared prosperity. In fact, inequality has accelerated since the late 1990s as incomes have fallen for poor families and virtually stagnated for middle-income families in Texas. (The full report can be found at http://www.cbpp.org/4-9-08sfp.htm.)
New Report: Lack of Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Costs the U.S. Over $100 Billion a Year (Press Release)
Release Date: 01/29/2008
According to a new economic impact analysis by Prevent Child Abuse America, child abuse and neglect cost the United States nearly $104 billion a year. Child abuse and neglect are preventable, yet in 2006, nearly 68,000 Texas children—one million kids nationwide--were confirmed victims of child maltreatment. A just-released study by Kids Are Waiting, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, finds that the unavailability of federal child welfare funding for prevention programs and services is in part to blame. On average, only 10 percent of federal money dedicated for child welfare can currently be used to prevent child abuse and neglect. According to the report, 8% of federal dollars allocated to Texas for child welfare were used for prevention in 2006. Both reports are available at http://www.kidsarewaiting.org.
Effective Economic Stimulus Package Must be Timely, Targeted, and Temporary (Statement)
Release Date: 01/23/2008
The current weakness in the U.S. economy requires a rapid response that targets aid to those who will be hardest hit by a recession. Assistance should reach all working households because they are most likely to immediately put any assistance back into the economy by spending to support their families. This can be accomplished by rebate checks, increased Food Stamp aid, or extension of unemployment insurance, as well as fiscal relief for state governments. Well-designed one-time measures would raise current deficits, but not affect the long-term federal budget outlook. President Bush and congressional leaders are considering various strategies for combatting the growing weakness in the U.S. economy. At the top of their list are rebates for workers, expansion of safety net programs, and tax incentives for businesses. An effective fiscal stimulus is one that is timely, targeted, and temporary.
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