Last week, following House passage of HB1, which would slash $23 billion from the state's current appropriations schedule, the spotlight swung to the Senate, where advocates of those affected by the deep cuts hope to dull the edge of the ax. Amid the budget brouhaha, few observers noticed that the lower-house chamber unanimously passed a different bill that would guarantee funding for programs linked to gender equality, youth, minorities, science research, environment, at-risk populations, and the like could not be reduced from one year to the next, so long as the programs have met their objective performance criteria.
How can this be? Haven’t recent El Mitote columns harped endlessly about the pain and suffering that ideologically driven Austin austerity will inflict on the South Texas border, with its disproportionate share of youth and vulnerable groups, gaping educational and technology shortfalls, and towering investment needs?
We should clarify. The latter bill was voted through not by the Texas Legislature, but by Mexico’s federal lower-house Chamber of Deputies, where it won consensus from all members of the multiple political parties from across the ideological spectrum.
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