Posted on 04/18/2009 1:12:21 PM PDT by Sinschild
The House voted this afternoon to strip almost all of the money out of the budget Gov. Rick Perry uses to pay his staff and operate his office.
During debate over the proposed state budget for the next two years, the House voted for an amendment by Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, to move about $4 million from the governor’s office to veterans’ programs.
Then the House approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Davis, R-Houston, to more than $18 million out of the governor’s office and into mental health crisis services.
Davis said the House budget that came out of committee did not put as much money into the programs as he would have liked, so he used his floor amendment to increase funding. He said he was confident that budget-writers would find other dollars for the governor’s office.
“They’ll find money for the governor,” Davis said. “But I want to make sure that the people with mental illness get someone to speak for them. The governor has a lot more lobbyists and activists working for him. Look, I love the governor. He’ll be taken care of.”
But House Republicans had other reasons to vote for the Davis amendment.
Farrar was scheduled to propose other amendments that would take money out of Perry’s office and put it into programs that would be tough to vote against, such as services for people with mental disabilities and care for the elderly. By voting for the Davis amendment, Republicans were able to take all of her proposals off the table, because there was nothing left in the governor’s budget from which to pull money. And nobody is worried that Perry will be left without a budget in the end.
“A handful of Democrats were trying to severely reduce the governor’s budget by striking so much of it that the governor’s staff couldn’t function, all for political gamesmanship,” said Rep. Larry Taylor of Friendswood, the chairman of the House Republican Caucus.
UPDATE #2: In a later move, the House gave Perry an ultimatum. He can keep the $136 million budgeted for the governor’s enterprise fund, which is used for job creation incentives, if Texas gets the $555 million in additional unemployment money from the federal stimulus package.
But if Perry vetoes the legislation that would allow Texas to get that money, as he has indicated he will do, his enterprise fund money goes into a workforce training fund that is not controlled by the governor.
“It says: ‘OK, Governor, now what are you going to do?” quipped Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco.
Yep! Lat time the Dims tried they LOST!
Is our governor still insisting that THE STATE force our 10 year old daughters to receive the HPV Vaccine?
He’s gonna cave.
Good. Government should operate on less.
So our wonderful legislators are resorting to blackmail.
This is a new day, and what's happening here is that the dims are trying to get our governor to take more "stimulus" money so that we would be more beholden to Washington DC. I admire Governor Good Hair for his stand in this instance.
Looks like some Republicans are on board this time.
Oh, so it was a long time ago that our governor wanted to force ten year old girls to receive a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease?
Looks like a called session coming up if the Leg. fails to meet it’s obligation under the state constitution to pass a budget. The House is 76-74 republicans so at least a couple must have crossed the line and voted with the dems. Interesting to see what the Senate will do when and if they get the budget bill.
Why don’t these idiots grow up and do something for our country?
"Then the House approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Davis, R-Houston, to more than $18 million out of the governor’s office and into mental health crisis services."
Republicans not only crossed lines, they are sponsoring bills.
Just list twenty posts you wrote against Obama socialism, his left wing liberalism, and his defeatism and appeasement on foreign policy.
Oh, so it was a long time ago that our governor wanted to force ten year old girls to receive a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease?
Yep the gov. got his EO handed back to him in the 07 Legislative session when Legislature passed a bill barring the state officials from following the Gov. EO. Perry held a news conference and stated he’d allow the bill to become law since to veto it would be useless as the legislature had enough votes to override. Gracious of him to admit that, lol.
BTW Jim, Perry can veto that, too.
This is a dangerous game of “tit for tat” they are playing. Each side will have their supporters, but, those who stand to lose are only the taxpayers.
>>The more I look at your posts the more I am convinced that you are a liberal troll.<<
I have seen the same thing.
Its the House posturing knowing that the Senate will not approve. The Govenor is an Elected official also.
Its a standoff.....and some Congressmen will get letters.
Remember, a Texas Democrat is further Right than McCain.
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