Moises Robledo, a member of Holy Family Church in Edinburg and a Valley Interfaith leader. (Photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)

McALLEN, Aug. 25 - More than 300 Valley Interfaith members will board buses in the early hours of Saturday morning in order to attend a statewide convention in San Antonio.

Those attending the convention will ratify the Industrial Areas Foundation’s legislative agenda, which includes a commitment to investing in education, health care (particularly CHIP and Medicaid) and adult workforce development, and support for immigration reform.

The convention will also include seminars on the state budget crisis, with one of the speakers being House Ways and Means Committee Chair René Oliveira. Some experts believe the projected budget shortfall could be as high as $18 billion.

“We are very concerned about the cutbacks being proposed in health care and education. We know there is a state budget crisis and we know there is no quick fix but we cannot have the poorest of the poor paying for the shortfall,” said Moises Robledo, of Holy Family Church in Edinburg.

Robledo said because the Valley and the border region relies more heavily on social programs, its people stand to lose the most if steep cuts are made in agency budgets.

“We have a lot of concerns. That is why we are going to San Antonio. The Valley needs to be heard. There is no way the Valley cannot be heard when we are going to be impacted as much as we are,” Robledo said.

Robledo said once the Valley Interfaith members have educated themselves on the issue of the budget and ratified the IAF’s legislative agenda they will come back to the Rio Grande Valley and mount a major Get out the Vote effort.

“We want to get 50,000 voters who are registered but rarely vote to go to the polls in November,” Robledo said. “We will be walking the streets educating the people. We think we can get people to the polls if we focus on issues that affect our community.”

To help educate Valley voters on the budget shortfall, Valley Interfaith has produced a power point presentation which has been shown from the pulpit at a number of churches these past few weeks.

“We have had so much success with Project VIDA and getting our workforce to the level they are at, so they can get good jobs,” said Robledo, referring to the popular and award-winning job training scheme.

“We are really fearful that the strides we have taken with workforce development are going to end because of the state budget deficit. Where will that leave our workforce in the future? Where will that leave our economy?” Robledo asked.

The Rev. Javier Leyva of El Divino Redentor Church in McAllen said it is “unconscionable” for state leaders to make cuts in mental health funding.

“The state of Texas is facing the worst budget shortfall in recent history and we must make sure it is not balanced on the backs of the middle class, working poor and the indigent families of the state,” Leyva said.

Joe Hinojosa, of Holy Spirit Church in McAllen, said Valley Interfaith would rather state leaders raise certain taxes than cut important programs. He said the legislature should also tap into the so-called Rainy Day Fund to offset the budget shortfall.

The Rainy Day Fund needs to get used. That is a big supply of money there. It is not raining but we need it now. We cannot let it sit there and accumulate,” Hinojosa said.

“There are strategic taxes that we need to look at that we might be agreeable to, such as closing the franchise tax loopholes. There may be corporations that are not paying their fair share.”

Hinojosa said he hopes to learn more about the tax loophole question and the structural deficit the legislature created when Rep. Oliveira, D-Brownsville, speaks at the convention. Oliveira’s committee has been studying the issue in depth.

Hinojosa pointed out that Valley Interfaith supported a tax increase when South Texas Community College was set up. “We knew that in percentage terms the poor would end up paying the most but we knew the long term benefit of starting the college,” Hinojosa said. “Valley Interfaith has never been in opposition to raising revenue where it is most needed. This is not the time to cut. This is the time to invest.”

Hinojosa acknowledged that Valley Interfaith does not have as many Valley residents signed on as supporters of its agenda as in decades past. In the 1980s and 1990s about 500,000 people signed on to an agenda that included help for colonias.

“Issues change. Backs in the 80s and 90s the issue was colonias and getting water to the colonias, getting sewers built,” Hinojosa said. “Now, the issue is what has happened to the colonias, they have evolved into communities that now need health care, job training, education. The issues keep evolving.”

Saturday’s IAF statewide convention takes place at the Norris Conference Center, located at 4522 Fredricksburg Road in San Antonio. The IAF expects 1,200 people to attend. Across the state it hopes to mobilize 225,000 voters in the November election.

“In 2006, only 33 percent of Texas voters elected the last governor and the legislature. This year we are launching a massive voter outreach to engage families and neighborhoods that were largely ignored by state officials and left out of the decision making process,” said the Rev. Kevin Collins, a leader with The Metropolitan Organization of Houston.

“We are sending a message to Austin that the Network of Texas IAF Organization are building a broad voting constituency for an agenda that will invest in the health and education of the families of Texas.”

In addition to Rep. Oliveira, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White is slated to speak at the convention. Gov. Rick Perry has yet to confirm his attendance.

Editor's Note: This is the first in a two-part series on Valley Interfaith's legislative agenda. Part Two, featuring immigration, will be posted on Thursday.

Write Steve Taylor

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