NEWSROOM

Recent proposals from Congressional leaders would extend lucrative tax breaks for an estimated 540 multi-million-dollar estates in Texas while letting tax improvements expire for 1.5 million moderate-income Texas working families with nearly 3 million children, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

According to new Census Bureau data released today, poverty remained stubbornly high in every region of Texas last year, showing the continuing pain of the recession and underscoring the need for Texans to do more to protect this vulnerable population.

CPPP on the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey:

“We are encouraged by the Census Bureau’s preliminary report that more Texans have the security of health insurance coverage. The data show the overall uninsured rate slightly improved thanks to the Affordable Care Act."

“But U.S. Census Bureau data show the number of Texans living in poverty remains stubbornly high and unacceptable."

In response to the Great Recession, the Legislature chose to make extensive cuts to school funding instead of using the Rainy Day Fund to protect Texas school children, putting the state’s economy and long-term prosperity in jeopardy.

State and local funding for preK-12 education is 11.2 percent below 2008 levels in Texas after adjusting for student growth and inflation, according to a report released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a non-partisan policy research organization based in Washington, D.C.

Texas ranks 44th among the states in overall child health and well-being, according to data released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in its 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book.

Click here to the full presentation on the KIDS Count Data Book.

Click here to access our webinar recording on the KIDS COUNT Data Book (audio and visual).

Texas one of six states studied in detail

(AUSTIN, Texas)—The State Budget Crisis Task Force, a national blue-ribbon group convened by Richard Ravitch and Paul Volcker to study state tax and budget issues, released its recommendations today at a press conference in Washington, D.C.  Texas was one of six states studied in detail. We have closely followed the work of the task force.  Several of its recommendations are important for our state.

Associate Director Anne Dunkelberg on the Governor’s announcement about Medicaid expansion and establishment of an insurance exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act.

“Expanding Medicaid is a great deal for Texas and refusing to do so is not something the Governor should decide by himself before Texans have had a full and thoughtful conversation about what's at stake for our state, and then the Legislature needs to decide on a course of action. Our state has an opportunity to help millions of Texans get the quality, affordable health care they need, and we should not pass it up."

(AUSTIN, Texas)—The Center for Public Policy Priorities released the following statement today regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is great news for Texas families. With more than 6 million Texans uninsured and billions of dollars in federal funding on the table for our state, Texas has the most to gain from today’s pivotal decision."

New poll results released today show that Texans support legislation to protect payday and auto loan borrowers from high interest rates and fees. The majority of those registered Texas voters polled want more state regulations on this issue, and the center is committed to helping protect consumers from crippling debt. The center joins more than three dozen other organizations that represent consumers, financial institutions, low-income communities, and the elderly, in forming the Texas Fair Lending Alliance to push for new state laws to control high-cost lending and protect the borrower.

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) released a national analysis today that shows Texas’ participation in the Summer Food Programs remains low. Only 9.4 percent of low-income kids received summer meals on an average day in July 2011, according to the Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation report. Texas’ poor performance, which is lower than the national average of 1 in 7, means missed meals for children and missed dollars for the state. Texas families can find nearby summer meal sites and more information by calling 2-1-1 or through the Texas Department of Agriculture’s website.

The center on yesterday’s vote by the U.S. House of Representative’s Agriculture Committee to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps).

“Yesterday’s vote by the U.S. House of Representative’s Agriculture Committee to cut SNAP by $33 billion will hurt the families struggling to afford food in this time of high unemployment and economic distress. A cut of this magnitude would affect over 300,000 Texas families who will struggle to put food on the table without the support SNAP provides. SNAP was designed to expand when unemployment is high and contract as economic conditions improve. In this way the program assures that Texans stay healthy during period of job loss and stimulates our struggling economy. Cuts to this program will only weaken our nation’s ability to weather these rough economic times and return to prosperity."

Executive Director F. Scott McCown on Texans for a Conservative Budget Coalition’s “Real Texas Budget Solutions: 2013 and Beyond.”

The center on the Congressional House Government Oversight Committee hearing on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps).

“The Center for Public Policy Priorities shares the federal government’s commitment to safeguard taxpayer dollars and applauds USDA’s success, in partnership with the states, at reducing SNAP fraud to historic lows. Given its efficiency and effectiveness at preventing hunger and reducing food insecurity, we call on Congress to maintain its investment in SNAP and reject any efforts to cut benefits or otherwise undermine the program’s ability to fight hunger.

“SNAP, which helps low-income individuals and families supplement their food resources, is critical in Texas where one in six families struggle to afford food. Over three-quarters of the 3.6 million Texans who receive SNAP benefits are children, seniors, or persons with disabilities. To qualify, a family’s net earnings must be below the federal poverty level, $22,350 for a family of four. The majority of SNAP households include someone who works, and program rules require all able-bodied adults to work to receive benefits."

The center on Texas’ plans to exclude Planned Parenthood from participating in the Women’s Health Program.

“Every one of us wants to live and work in healthy communities where we all have the opportunity to reach our potential. But our state’s elected leaders are pursuing a tragic course that undermines these goals. Effective March 14, the state plans to implement a new rule designed to exclude Planned Parenthood from participating in our state’s Women’s Health Program, but which in reality will destroy the program.

"The Women’s Health Program provides essential well-woman services, including pap smears, birth control, and breast exams to low-income women without health insurance ages 18 to 44. By implementing this new rule, the state provokes an almost certain cut-off of 90 percent of the program’s funds, which come from the federal government."

A national report shows employer-provided health coverage has been on the decline over the last decade, and Texans are among the Americans least likely to be covered by their job, or by their spouse or parent’s job. The report from the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., compares employer-provided health coverage rates for persons under 65 across the states between 2000–01 and 2009–10. While on the decline, however, the report confirms that employer-provided health coverage is still the primary way Americans are covered.

The center on the President’s budget released yesterday:

“The center applauds the President’s budget for the significant progress that it would make toward reducing deficits without undermining our economic recovery or balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and middle class."

In Texas today, 27.7 percent of households are “asset poor,” meaning they have little or no financial cushion to rely on if unemployment or another emergency leads to a loss of income, according to a report from the national nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). Excluding important assets such as a vehicle or home, the (liquid) asset poverty rate increases to 50.6 percent of Texas residents.

Two new national reports on the National School Breakfast Program demonstrate Texas’ strong commitment to improving the nutrition, health, and academic achievement of its students by providing them a nutritious start to the school day.

Federal officials today rejected the Texas Department of Insurance’s (TDI’s) request to delay full implementation of a new rule that requires insurers to increase the value of health insurance or provide rebates to policyholders.

OpportunityTexas, a joint project of CPPP and RAISE Texas working to expand economic opportunity through education and asset building, is entering its second year of promoting savings at community tax centers by providing incentives for low-income filers to save a portion of their tax refunds.