Human Crisis
What to know: Human traffickers are avoiding the U.S. Border Patrol and moving migrants directly through the ranches and across the desert country of South Texas, NPR reports.
The TPPF take: TPPF’s Ken Oliver accompanied members of Congress to the border last month and saw this happening first-hand.
“The coyotes are fast—it takes just seconds to cross the Rio Grande and dump their victims on the other side,” Ken explains. “If Border Patrol gets too close, they can always throw a woman or a child into the river—forcing officers to initiate a rescue instead of an arrest. The Biden administration bears the responsibility for this crisis—it dismantled the tools, practices and procedures that had stemmed the tide of illegal immigration under President Trump.”
To view our recent video documenting that trip, click here.
Gold Mine
What to know: Texas school districts are sitting on piles of cash, even as they push for more state aid and consider even more debt.
The TPPF take: The gold mine that districts are sitting on is money that belongs to taxpayers.
“School districts have fund balances totaling $21.5 billion,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Last year—during the Great Lockdown—ISD fund balances grew by $600 million. This issue needs much more transparency. One thing that would help is House Bill 3445.”
For more on school district fund balances, click here.
The Right Decision
What to know: The Texas House last week defeated an effort to expand Medicaid in our state.
The TPPF take: Medicaid expansion would hurt current patients and bust future budgets.
“By extending benefits to able-bodied adults, the system will crowd out the low-income women, children, and disabled Texans the program was designed for,” says TPPF’s Kevin Roberts. “Nothing in the legislation to expand Medicaid fixes the existing problems of wait times, sub-quality care, and access to providers. More than 662,000 uninsured Texans are eligible for Medicaid right now, yet don’t use it because it is a poorly performing program that does not serve patients well. Dumping billions of dollars and millions of people on to a sinking ship is only going to hurt everyone involved.”
For more on Medicaid expansion, click here.