An interesting, intriguing and thought provoking analysis of the
Doggett Amendment by Kendall Burkett. However, Mr. Burkett seems not
to have a complete understanding of the amendment. For starters, if
Texas had $3.25 trillion just for education, we would not be
witnessing the months of heated wrangling on how to close the $27
billion budget shortfall in the 2012-2013 budget. Perhaps the author
was referring to $3.25 billion for education spending, which a
thousand fold less than 3.25 trillion. In any case this amount has no
relevance to the Doggett Amendment, which was passed last summer as
part of a larger piece of federal legislation. The Democrats’ 2010
provision effectively withheld $830 million in federal education money
from Texas until state leaders agreed not to use it to replace state
money that would have been spent anyway, as Doggett argued the Texas
legislature did with 2009 federal stimulus dollars. It’s supposed to
be ADDITIONAL money for Texas public education, not in place of
existing state funding. It is not complicated to understand that
Federal education money is meant for education and not for diversion
to Governor Perry's pet projects, such as the Trans Texas corridor or
the Enterprise Fund neither of which have anything to do with
education. It would be quite preposterous to divert highway funds for
medicaid reimbursement! It is astounding for Mr. Burkett to claim
that "Dogget has actually prevented Texas from getting $831 million
from the federal government" when in actuality, all Mr. Perry had to
do was pledge to spend education funds on education, which is a normal
legislative requirement for various other funds. He refused to do so.
His refusal to do so made his intentions clear. What a shame for our
teachers, our students, and our future.
Further the author objects to the use of the rainy day fund for
education. School teachers layoffs, UT faculty and adminstrator
layoffs, and drastic reductions in health care spending are as much a
catastrophe as that caused by a natural disaster. The $9 billion in
the Economic Stabilization Fund, also known as the rainy day fund
should be used to close the gap in the state budget as many economists
have stated that we Texas can't just cut its way out of the shortfall,
without severely impacting the state economy. I also take issue with
the author's contention that the Federal government which is facing
its own massive deficits should bail out the states with tax
increases. Where is the accountability for elected state office
holders? I feel that the rainy day fund should be tapped for education
as it was the legislature which decreased school funding by reducing
property taxes by $2 billion, which was supposed to be offset through
new business and cigarette taxes that never materialized.
In summary, Congressman Doggett had the best interests of the school
children in mind when he proposed his amendment, while Governor Perry
gave higher priority to the interests of his fat cat business cronies.
Doggett Amendment by Kendall Burkett. However, Mr. Burkett seems not
to have a complete understanding of the amendment. For starters, if
Texas had $3.25 trillion just for education, we would not be
witnessing the months of heated wrangling on how to close the $27
billion budget shortfall in the 2012-2013 budget. Perhaps the author
was referring to $3.25 billion for education spending, which a
thousand fold less than 3.25 trillion. In any case this amount has no
relevance to the Doggett Amendment, which was passed last summer as
part of a larger piece of federal legislation. The Democrats’ 2010
provision effectively withheld $830 million in federal education money
from Texas until state leaders agreed not to use it to replace state
money that would have been spent anyway, as Doggett argued the Texas
legislature did with 2009 federal stimulus dollars. It’s supposed to
be ADDITIONAL money for Texas public education, not in place of
existing state funding. It is not complicated to understand that
Federal education money is meant for education and not for diversion
to Governor Perry's pet projects, such as the Trans Texas corridor or
the Enterprise Fund neither of which have anything to do with
education. It would be quite preposterous to divert highway funds for
medicaid reimbursement! It is astounding for Mr. Burkett to claim
that "Dogget has actually prevented Texas from getting $831 million
from the federal government" when in actuality, all Mr. Perry had to
do was pledge to spend education funds on education, which is a normal
legislative requirement for various other funds. He refused to do so.
His refusal to do so made his intentions clear. What a shame for our
teachers, our students, and our future.
Further the author objects to the use of the rainy day fund for
education. School teachers layoffs, UT faculty and adminstrator
layoffs, and drastic reductions in health care spending are as much a
catastrophe as that caused by a natural disaster. The $9 billion in
the Economic Stabilization Fund, also known as the rainy day fund
should be used to close the gap in the state budget as many economists
have stated that we Texas can't just cut its way out of the shortfall,
without severely impacting the state economy. I also take issue with
the author's contention that the Federal government which is facing
its own massive deficits should bail out the states with tax
increases. Where is the accountability for elected state office
holders? I feel that the rainy day fund should be tapped for education
as it was the legislature which decreased school funding by reducing
property taxes by $2 billion, which was supposed to be offset through
new business and cigarette taxes that never materialized.
In summary, Congressman Doggett had the best interests of the school
children in mind when he proposed his amendment, while Governor Perry
gave higher priority to the interests of his fat cat business cronies.
