Texas House Passes "Bare Bones" Budget

Last Update: 8:54 am

AUSTIN - The Texas house has passed a "bare bones" budget. The budget includes major cuts to education and health care programs.

The house approved the budget plan with a vote of 98 to 49 Sunday night. The vote came after 21 hours of debate.

The budget "under funds" schools by almost 8 billion dollars and Medicaid by 4 billion. This includes cuts to highways, prisons, state parks and many other programs. The house's budget is about 23 billion dollars less than the current budget.

Now it's up to state senators to hash out their version of the budget. The cuts could leave about two thousand elderly folks living in Valley nursing homes without care. Most nursing homes in the Valley rely on Medicaid funding.

According to the Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, people in 27 nursing homes in Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties could be impacted. The association claims the cut would close 20 of those nursing homes.

http://www.krgv.com/content/news/specia ... fGtow.cspx