Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper Using Efficiency Audits to Improve Child Welfare. “Efficiency audits provide a much-needed reality check, allowing policymakers and taxpayers to clearly see how well an agency is doing at achieving its objectives,” said Andrew Brown, distinguished senior fellow of child and family policy at the Texas Public Policy...
Press Release September 1, 2020Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper “Action Civics,” “New Civics,” “Civic Engagement,” and “Project-Based Civics”: Advances in Civic Education? “There is fundamental agreement on both sides that civics education in America is broken and something must be done about it if we are to preserve our experiment in self government,” said Thomas Lindsay,...
Press Release September 1, 2020The Texas Public Foundation commends Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for seeking both a temporary and permanent injunction against Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins to prevent his office from sending over two million applications for mail in ballots to every registered voter in Harris County regardless of whether the voter requested an application or qualifies...
Press Release August 31, 2020Tonight, Alice Marie Johnson, a Senior Fellow for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Right on Crime project, will be in the national spotlight as she tells her story. In 1996, Alice received a mandatory life sentence plus 25 years without the possibility of parole for her role in a nonviolent federal drug case. It was...
Press Release August 27, 2020A decade after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), the majority of Americans believe the country’s health care system is still broken, and almost half say health care costs have gone up and the quality has gone down since the law was enacted. Recent national surveys conducted by Rasmussen Reports for the Texas Public Policy Foundation show Americans...
Press Release August 25, 2020The Texas Public Policy Foundation filed an amicus brief in support of the Trump Administration’s price transparency rule. “Patients receive an invoice weeks after the service in the hospital but never up-front,” said TPPF’s David Balat. “The Administration’s price transparency rule is simply an attempt to change this practice to allow patients to know and...
Press Release August 24, 2020The following statement is a response to a call by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Speaker Dennis Bonnen for cities to refuse efforts to “defund the police.” “The Texas Public Policy Foundation unequivocally supports the goal of the ‘Big 3’ to ensure that public safety is adequately funded for all Texans, regardless...
Press Release August 18, 2020AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper Property Tax Profile: Travis County. “Property taxes in Travis County have risen sharply in recent years and this surge is obvious in residents’ annual tax bills,” said TPPF’s James Quintero. “From 2015 to 2020, the average homeowners’ tax bill increased 54%. By comparison, Austin’s...
Press Release August 18, 2020Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s experts weighed in on the Austin City Council’s plan to cut its police budget by $150 million. “The city of Austin has gone about this in exactly the wrong way—making a politically driven decision to ‘defund the police’ before carefully studying the department’s resources and needs,” says TPPF’s Randy...
Press Release August 14, 2020Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper Budgeting for Fiscal Year 2021 and Beyond. “This year’s budgeting season is unlike any other,” said TPPF’s James Quintero. “Government lockdowns and falling oil prices have given rise to the most challenging fiscal environment seen in modern times. Countless cities, counties, and school districts are currently grappling...
Press Release August 13, 2020AUSTIN—Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation commended President Trump for his “Kids First: Getting America’s Children Safely Back to School” effort, which will provide guidance and resources to ensure that kids can get the in-person learning they need this fall. “If we care about the future of our children—and our nation—we must make sure that...
Press Release August 12, 2020The Texas Public Policy Foundation commends Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency for the updated guidelines which provide clarity to schools on how they can proceed with educating students in the fall. “We are grateful to Governor Abbott and Commissioner Morath for offering more clarity to schools on how they can safely resume learning...
Press Release July 29, 2020