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The divide between Republicans and Democrats over the future of Medicaid was well encapsulated this week by two of Houston's congressional members during an all-night rumble that resulted in one Democrat calling U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw "a jerk."
Crenshaw and U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, are both members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee that advanced a plan that will either save Medicaid or imperil it, depending on which party had the microphone. While Fletcher and Crenshaw, R-Houston, didn't directly combat each other, they outlined each party's view on what will happen to the popular health care program if Congress makes cuts to it as part of the "big beautiful bill" President Donald Trump wants from Congress this summer.
Crenshaw and other Republicans acknowledged their bill could kick 7.6 million people off Medicaid but insisted it's aimed at fraud and abuse, undocumented immigrants and able-bodied Americans who aren't willing to work.
"We're not here to cut the Medicaid lifeline for the neediest Americans. That's just a lie," Crenshaw said as he started his remarks around 3 a.m.
At one point, he looked at a crowd of Medicaid recipients with disabilities who had filled the hearing room in Washington, D.C., and accused Democrats of using them to scare the public about benefit cuts.
"If I could roll two eyes I would," Crenshaw, who wears an eye patch because of a combat injury from his time as a Navy SEAL, said as Democrats objected to him claiming they were lying about the issue. U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., could be heard a short time later responding on the microphone, "He's being a jerk."
But Fletcher warned later that while Republicans say their bill won't directly cut benefits for those recipients,there a potential indirect ways the bill could hurt more than 14 million Americans.
Under the GOP bill, there would be more frequent eligibility verifications that mean more paperwork and red tape for recipients. She said when Texas and other states tried similar rules it resulted in millions of people losing coverage for reasons like not getting paperwork filed or the state mishandling the documents. She the federal government should learn from those mistakes.
"Let's not make the law that was so bad in Texas the law of the land across the country," Fletcher said.
Much more on the debate here in my latest story.
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's Up, Who's Down
A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.
Up: Teachers.
State lawmakers have struck a deal on a school finance bill that would provide raises for all teachers with more than three years of experience. Those working at bigger school districts, with at least 5,000 students, would receive a $5,500 pay bump. Teachers at smaller schools with fewer students would receive a $10,000 raise. Teachers with between three or four years of experience would receive between $2,500 and $5,000.
Down: Border funding.
A proposal to potentially give Texas nearly $800 million in reimbursements for its border security efforts during the Biden administration was removed from the massive U.S. House spending package just a week after it was first included. Still, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters on Thursday he's not done trying to get Texas $11 million in reimbursements. He said he's working with U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, who is going to try to include the funding into the final version of the House spending plan before a key vote on it all expected in the next couple of weeks.
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What else is going on in Texas
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Pick of the day
Photo by: Melissa Phillip / Staff Photographer
The longest-serving member of the Texas House had a stern message for her colleagues as they head into the final weeks of the Legislature's regular session when things often get overheated. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, used an address to tell both Democrats and Republicans that everyone needs to take a breath and refrain from name-calling and hurtful rhetoric. "We are grown people, adults here, with serious issues to be resolved," she said.
What else I'm reading
It would be easier than ever for parents to opt their children out of public school vaccine requirements under a bill that's moving through the Texas House. The Dallas Morning News reports that the bill by Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, would allow anyone to access and download the form needed to exempt children from public school vaccine requirements that include polio, hepatitis A and B and measles.
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