Did Texas Gov. Abbott cut millions from mental health care?

In his first press conference since Saturday's shooting, Governor Greg Abbott focused on the border. He claimed some success for Operation Lone Star, an expensive mission meant to slow illegal immigration. Texas is doing more than any state in the history of the United States of America to defend our border. To pay for this, Abbott redirected money from other state agencies, including about 200 million over two years from the commission that oversees mental health services. The state then replenished that budget with federal coronavirus aid, really meant to help Texans recover from the pandemic. And so for the agency, it was a dollar for dollar. There's no difference to the agency, to the employees.

It's just a swap, right? It's not entirely accurate then to call the move a budget cut, but it's not an investment in mental health services either. I think the biggest critique of Texas Republicans would be that their continued opposition to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. About a million more Texans would have access to mental health services through Medicaid expansion. Texas is one of 10 states that has not done this. And Jones says it is fair to say the state has not significantly expanded mental health services on its own. In Dallas, I'm Matt Houston.

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