In this time of budget deficits and calls for shared sacrifice coming from the Texas GOP, some are holding the rigidity of the party’s leader, Gov. Rick Perry, to blame for preventing more than $800 million dollars in federal assistance money from flowing into the state’s coffers. While the Education, Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act was on its way toward becoming a law last summer, a Texas-only provision was added by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) which binded the Texas governor to apply for the funds on the condition that he certify the money would not be used simply as a substitute for state spending on education, but in addition to it. Texas’ application to the Department of Education was rejected on that basis, leaving the cash in limbo.
The so-called “Doggett Amendment” has been the subject of much conversation among state officials, and considerable indignation among Texas Republicans. In his State of the State speech back in late January, Perry referred to it as an “anti-Texas” amendment, and characterized Doggett as a lone liberal Texan who is penalizing the rest of the state.
“What is needed is less personal politics and more creative collaboration to benefit schoolchildren across Texas,” says Doggett in response to the governor. “Governor Perry’s jibe said less about the State of the State and more about his own state of denial. A united Texas Democratic Congressional Delegation said in a statement: ‘Since Congress approved new education legislation that became federal law last August, all that has stood between Texas schools and $830 million of aid is Governor Rick Perry’s signature on a three-page application. Almost seven months later, the Governor still refuses to turn in even that little bit of homework.’”
Republicans counter that the requirements of the Doggett Amendment are non-starters because of the Texas Constitution.
“The bottom line is that Texas teachers would have been able to immediately access this money if it weren't for Congressman Doggett's punitive amendment, which specifically penalizes Texas by requiring the governor to commit to a certain level of spending on public education in 2011, 2012 and 2013, before the budget is even written,” said Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for the governor. “Not only was Texas singled out as the only state required to make such an assurance, but requiring the governor to do so would be a direct violation of the Texas Constitution, which prohibits the governor from binding the legislature to future spending levels.”
This line of reasoning is seconded by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), who spoke on behalf of aggrieved Republicans at a recent Budget Committee hearing with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan that was posted to YouTube. “What I am really interested in is how you intend to work with me and the Texas congressional delegation to make sure that the State of Texas is not penalized to the tune of $830 million dollars,” Cornyn said to Duncan at one point in the meeting, “for a provision in the law that under the Texas Constitution the governor does not have the power to do.”
Duncan, smiling nervously, gave a demure response: “I’m intimately familiar with the details, [and] we obviously have to follow the law and congressional intent. I was having, I thought, good productive conversations with both the governor and the state superintendent—and then frankly they decided to sue the Department of Education.” Duncan went on to imply that the pending litigation has effectively put a crimp on further discussions.
“Gov. Perry is working with state and federal lawmakers and the Department of Education to pursue all avenues to secure this funding,” said Nashed. “He supports the passage of an amendment to HR 1 by Congressman [Michael] Burgess that prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing the anti-Texas Doggett provisions of the Education Jobs Bill and is hopeful the U.S. Senate will also approve this measure to quickly secure this $830 million for Texas schools, teachers and children.”
Doggett is unimpressed by this argument. “The intent of the ‘Save Our Schools’ amendment has always been to ensure federal aid to education actually aids education. In 2009, when Texas received $3.25 billion of education stimulus funds over the objection of every Texas Republican, Governor Perry played a shell game that left Texas schools not a dime better off than if no federal aid had come in the first place—in other words, he replaced $3.25 billion in state funding with federal funds that were meant provide additional benefit to our schoolchildren.”
Congressman Burgess (R-Ft. Worth) introduced a trio of amendments to HR 1 (known as the “Continuing Resolution” that will fund federal agencies through the end of September) that took direct aim at Doggett’s provision. Only one of these—which provides in full: “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to carry out paragraph (11) of section 101 of Public Law 111-226 (124 Stat. 2389)”—was Burgess successful in securing votes for.
This was a largely symbolic measure, as Doggett himself makes clear. “It clearly does not repeal our amendment, and there are no funds in ‘this Act’ (the Continuing Resolution) upon which we are relying to enforce the existing federal law.”
For Texas Democrats, an emerging theme of the current legislative session is broadening the scope of conversation about fiscal matters to include the ideological intransigence of Republicans, who they accuse of denouncing potential revenue sources (such as taxes) in one breath while declaring fiscal emergency in the next. In this context Gov. Perry’s refusal to, in Doggett’s words, put his “signature on a simple three-page document” takes on added significance.
“Texas teachers and school children deserve their fair share of these funds, as our tax dollars helped foot the bill for this legislation,” Lucy Nashed insists. Sen. Cornyn argued along similar lines in his conversation with Secretary Duncan. “Mr. Secretary, I'm deadly serious about this issue, and it's not going to go away and we're going to have to work it out. And I would invite you to engage with me, and other Texas representatives to try to find a solution because this is unacceptable.”
Texas’ budget wars simply mirror what’s happening in other states, as well as the nation’s capital. Ironically, the most crucial voice calling for painful belt-tightening is that of Pres. Barack Obama, who has largely conceded the point to Republicans that deficit reduction is the top domestic priority, even while disagreeing over particulars. While taking care not to attack his party’s standard-bearer on this point, Doggett nonetheless had some choice words for his GOP colleagues on Capitol Hill.
“There are responsible and necessary cuts, and there are irresponsible cuts,” said the congressman in language echoing the anguished pleas of Texas Democrats. “The Republicans’ Continuing Resolution is a hack job that will result in real job losses and real impacts for Texas families. Republicans are still giving away tax breaks to the wealthy, indifferent to our national debt, except when it comes to cutting public initiatives that they wish to weaken or eliminate.”
No comments:
Post a Comment