Health Care
Protecting and improving Texas Medicaid and CHIP will help ensure access to a decent standard of health care for millions of low-income Texas seniors, children, and families who can’t afford private insurance. Accepting the Affordable Care Act’s opportunity to cover more than a million uninsured Texas adults in Medicaid will bring billions back to Texas communities, create jobs, and help to grow our Texas health workforce.
Restoring family planning funding will give low-income Texas women the tools they need to plan the size and timing of their families while saving the state millions of dollars in unintended pregnancy costs.
Authorizing the Texas Department of Insurance to deny excessive rate increases and enforce new consumer protections—such as no pre-existing conditions exclusions—can help bring health coverage within reach for more Texans.
Investing in preventive and community-based treatment services for mental illness and substance abuse disorders will ensure that some of Texas’ most vulnerable individuals have continuity of care that promotes better mental well-being.
Budget and Taxes
Revisiting tax exemptions and business tax incentives regularly to eliminate wasteful and outdated tax breaks will improve the state’s ability to fund public investments.
Preventing restrictive changes to the current limits on spending will maintain future legislators’ ability to invest available revenue in public services.
Restoring funding to public services and paying for future growth will strengthen Texas families and communities and put us all on the road to a better Texas.
Economic Opportunity
Curbing excessive fees and auto repossessions in payday and auto title lending through common sense legislation will improve consumer credit and boost local economies.
Decreasing student loan dependence and defaults by reinvesting in financial grant aid and matched college savings will improve postsecondary completion rates for Texans and lead to better jobs.
Encouraging families to save for the future by reforming state asset limits, promoting household savings, and increasing financial access will enable more Texas families to become financially stable and move up the economic ladder.
Food and Nutrition
Implementing universal school breakfast programs for schools with 80 percent or higher of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals will ensure that children from low-income families can start the school day with a healthy breakfast and perform better academically.
Opposing restrictions on the types of foods that may be purchased with SNAP benefits and promoting incentives and education creates an overall healthier population and improves access.
Removing the vehicle and asset limit test for SNAP recipients simplifies the application process and promotes savings.
Amending the lifetime ban on individuals with a drug conviction receiving SNAP helps former offenders to avoid recidivism.
