Today, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) which tells the Legislature the amount of taxpayer dollars available to fund various programs like public safety, education, and health care during the upcoming session which begins Jan. 12. “Given the COVID-19 pandemic and business shutdowns by state and local governments, the Comptroller’s budget forecast, while...
Press Release January 11, 2021Following remarks regarding Medicaid reform by the presumptive Speaker of the House Rep. Dade Phelan, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Director of Right on Healthcare released the following statement: “We applaud the presumptive speaker for his focus on improving Medicaid for eligible recipients, rather than making disastrous reforms to expand the broken program to able-bodied adults. There...
Press Release January 11, 2021Today, Congressman Michael McCaul (TX-10) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) announced the Election Protection Project. McCaul and TPPF’s Executive Director Kevin Roberts gave the following statement after the announcement of the project: “The United States is a beacon of hope and sets the standard of democracy for those around the world. As Americans,...
Press Release January 5, 2021The Texas Public Policy Foundation was among 22 groups and individuals to sign a letter to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services requesting the center codify Section 1332 of Title I of the Affordable Care Act to prevent abrupt changes during Administration shifts. David Balat, the director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Right...
Press Release January 4, 2021Today, the White House announced the appointment of Tom Lindsay, Ph.D., to the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission. Lindsay is a distinguished senior fellow of higher education and constitutional studies at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Established by executive order last month, the commission was formed to develop ways to teach future generations the truth about America’s founding, the core...
Press Release December 18, 2020Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper Just the Facts: Government Debt in Texas’s Most Populous Cities, Counties, and School Districts. “Texas’s largest local governments are awash in public debt,” said TPPF’s James Quintero. “In fiscal year 2019, local governments borrowed a total of $365.3 billion, or more than $12,500 owed for every man, woman,...
Press Release December 17, 2020Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a report summarizing the results of a multi-day simulation exercise that examined a renewed humanitarian and national security crisis on America’s southern border. The effort assembled two dozen experts to game out what the first nine months of a Biden Administration might see on the U.S.-Mexico border. The team included...
Press Release December 14, 2020Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released five papers that together form a responsible strategy for the state’s immediate and long-term economic growth. “These five approaches make for good economic policy anytime,” said TPPF Chief Economist Vance Ginn, Ph.D. “But they are especially important as the state recovers from government-imposed shutdowns. Together, these strategies will help return...
Press Release December 10, 2020Yesterday, the State of Texas filed a lawsuit with the United States Supreme Court against the states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. The case seeks an answer to whether the defendant states violated the Electors Clause of the U.S. Constitution by taking non-legislative actions to change the election rules that govern the appointment of presidential electors. “TPPF supports...
Press Release December 8, 2020This week, Texas Rep. Mayes Middleton filed House Bill 749 and Senator Bob Hall filed Senate Bill 234,both of which propose to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying. The bills would prohibit political subdivisions from using public money to lobby. “Governments are forcing taxpayers to pay for lobbyists whose job it is to advocate for more government,” said TPPF’s James Quintero....
Press Release December 7, 2020Today, the Austin City Council voted in favor of a new ordinance empowering its health authority to issue new rules and restrictions. The ordinance also authorizes officials to impose a fine of up to $2,000 for individuals not complying with the restrictions. “The City of Austin has vested unelected bureaucrats with an inappropriate level of...
Press Release December 3, 2020We at the Texas Public Policy Foundation are saddened to learn of the passing of economist Walter E. Williams. “Walter Williams’s journey from the projects of Philadelphia to a professorship in economics at George Mason University—and becoming one of the most recognized and respected conservative voices of our time—was remarkable,” said TPPF Executive Director Kevin...
Press Release December 2, 2020