AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation sent a public letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath with recommendations for securing access to educational services through the Texas Virtual Schools Network during the COVID-19 Pandemic and its aftermath. The letter includes the following highlights: “Many Texas students are missing...
Press Release April 7, 2020AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation launched a new dashboard tracking several indicators of the economic damage done to America by the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. The chart includes a state-by-state map comparing known coronavirus cases with the estimated increase in unemployment, as well as a graph showing the explosion in national...
Press Release April 3, 2020AUSTIN – Today the Texas Public Policy Foundation published The Workforce Recovery Act: A Public-Private Partnership Solution White Paper. “Purposeful or not, government is responsible for much of the economic damage that is afflicting the country,” said TPPF’s Executive Director Kevin Roberts. “While the harm inflicted cannot be retroactively corrected, we can move forward to help individuals, businesses, and families recover from this unprecedented situation.” ...
Press Release April 2, 2020WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published new research, U.S.-Mexico Border Security Cooperation, which examines the evolution of programs and policies concerning border security between the two countries from the 1990s to today. “During the last three decades, the border security cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico has evolved from near nonexistence to...
Press Release April 2, 2020AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released a limited series podcast, “The Road to Recovery,” highlighting critical issues facing the country as Americans navigate the effects of dealing with a national pandemic. “While the health care challenges we face are great, that’s certainly not the full picture,” said Brian Phillips, TPPF’s Chief Communications Officer and...
Press Release March 31, 2020AUSTIN – A federal judge in Plano issued an injunction yesterday stopping the city of Dallas from enforcing its mandatory paid sick leave mandate that was set to go into effect on April 1. “Once again, Texas courts are unanimous that it is unconstitutional for cities to mandate paid sick leave,” said Robert Henneke, lead counsel for...
Press Release March 31, 2020AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation applauds Gov. Abbott and Phil Wilson, HHSC Executive Commissioner, for their commitment to support front-line medical workers with a second Section 1135 waiver request submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “We fully support removing barriers to make care more accessible for patients,” said David Balat, Director of the...
Press Release March 30, 2020AUSTIN — Last week, Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission had submitted a Section 1135 Medicaid Waiver to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Approval of this waiver would grant the needed flexibility for the Medicaid program in response to the COVID-19 viral pandemic. “Targeted initiatives to increase healthcare...
Press Release March 30, 2020AUSTIN – Today, a group of more than one dozen family rights activists submitted a letter to the commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services with nine recommendations for protecting the rights of parents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Children in foster care are especially vulnerable to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19...
Press Release March 27, 2020AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s General Counsel Robert Henneke published the commentary Austin’s Shelter in Place Order is Flawed. On Tuesday, the City of Austin, Travis County, and Williamson County issued “shelter-in-place” orders. “The orders represent the worst kind of ‘balance,’” writes Henneke. “It appears restrictive, but for the vast majority of Austin residents, the order...
Press Release March 26, 2020AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published its first annual ranking of state higher education systems determined by the ability of students to repay student loans based on post-graduation income. “More than 5,000 programs at public universities do not pass this debt-to-earnings test which indicates approximately 500,000 graduates per year are using federal...
Press Release March 25, 2020AUSTIN – Today, a group of more than 20 leading policy experts from around the country submitted a letter to Congress expressing concerns about including tax incentives for renewable energy in the three stimulus packages intended to help in the recovery period following the COVID-19 crisis. Initiated by the Texas Public Policy Foundation through its Life:Powered project, the letter includes the...
Press Release March 23, 2020