On Sunday, the Texas Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 98-49 to approve a two-year budget proposal that would cut family planning funding, as well as funding for public schools, nursing homes, and college financial aid. The bill proposes to transfer $40 million of state funds previously allocated for family planning services to other programs, including those that promote abortion alternatives and represents a 60 percent cut in family planning services.
Representative Dawnna Dukes (D) predicted that the cuts would cause the majority of the state’s family planning clinics to close. Moreover, Representative Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) stated, “Eighty thousand kids are not going to get their scholarships and grant money because of this bill. Forty-three thousand people are going to get kicked out of nursing homes or denied nursing home entrance because of this bill; 335,000 Texas jobs are going to go away because of this bill.”
The budget proposal would cut state spending by $23 billion and will now go to the state Senate for a vote. Texas senators announced that they will restore some of the cuts to family planning funding.
