For those who are keeping score, the House has passed six amendments during Friday afternoon's budget debate that take away money for family planning services.
The six amendments, all by Republicans, would take about $54 million of the $100 million the two-year budget allotted for family planning. They'd give it to various social programs, hospital emergency rooms and pregnancy crisis centers, which try to urge pregnant girls and women to have their babies and give them up for adoption.
"What we are doing is cutting each other up, for no reason other than politics," said Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas.
But one after another, the Republican sponsors went to the front microphone and spoke calmly of the need to ease cuts in the budget to programs for kids with autism, mentally ill kids, mentally disabled adults living in group homes and the elderly.
"We don't choose between good and bad," said Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center (right), author of the family-planning raid to help autistic children. "We choose between necessary and necessary."
As House leaders sat on the sidelines and let their right flank win kudoes from right-to-life groups, Democrats seethed.
"It is a charade," said Rep. Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, who accused Republicans of being irresponsible with the state's thinly stretched social services budget dollars. "You can talk about family values all day long ... but ... think about facing your folks back home."
Source: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/culture-warriors-pass-6-amendm.html
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