AUSTIN, February 2 – Some Texas legislators have their sights set on fully accepting and using the state’s share of President Barack Obama proposed stimulus package, even if their own governor remains reluctant to do so.

“We need the money along the Texas border, when nearly half our children have no health insurance, when our schools are under-funded (and) when we have failed programs in immunizations,” said state Sen. Elliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso. “We want to fund the programs to fix long standing issues in our community.”

Shapleigh’s comments were made in response to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s recent comments indicating he and South Carolina Gov. Mark Stanford were opposed to any form of a bailout, claiming the federal government would continue to bury “future generations under mountains of debt,” according to an opinion piece the two authored for the Wall Street Journal in December.

“It is also taking our country in a very dangerous direction-toward a ‘bailout mentality’ where we look to government rather than ourselves for solutions,” the piece continued.

In response, Shapleigh is drafting a resolution urging his colleagues to vote to accept the money, which he said would be possible through an amendment added to the U.S. House version of the stimulus package.

“When Rick Perry and Mark Sanford take extreme positions and say ‘We don’t want stimulus money’ those of us along the border want the stimulus money,” he said. “Under the (U.S.) House version, (it) provides that the legislature can detour the governor and take the money.”

Gov. Perry’s Deputy Press Secretary Katherine Cesinger said Monday that Perry is opposed to federal bailouts in principle, whether aimed at states or at the corporate sector, but if Texans’ taxpayer dollars are going to be used nationwide, some should see its way back home.

“If Texas taxpayer dollars are going to be spread out across the country then those Texas taxpayer dollars should be coming back to Texas,” Cesinger said.

Asked whether it would get to the point to where the Texas House and Senate would have to vote in opposition to the governor if the final stimulus bill is passed in the senate, Cesinger said it was too soon to comment.

“It’s not final at this point so there is not really a need to even go in to that,” she said. “So until that point I think we’ll stand by that previous statement.”

Shapleigh added that support for the aid is strong, so much that the amendment to override a governor was added by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn from South Carolina in an attempt to “detour” his own governor’s opposition to the bill.

The amendment states that if a governor does not request the aid within 45 days, the state’s legislature can make the request, according to a statement on Clyburn’s Web site.

“With such challenging economic times, I would have failed my fellow South Carolinians if I had not worked to ensure that the federal money allocated for our state is spent on vital projects that will benefit the greater good and provide much needed jobs at home,” Clyburn added.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Monday from the Senate floor that he believes Texas’ portion would amount to about $15 billion.

State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, joined Shapleigh’s support for the stimulus package.

“There are some people that are criticizing Congress for the stimulus package, (saying) that it is a lot of money, but for us here in Texas we ought to take the money and run,” he said.

Hinojosa was recently named vice-chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

At the federal level, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said if approved, he wants to make sure the entities that need it most receive the funding.

“Monies will flow directly to cities and counties and monies will flow to the state,” Cuellar told the Guardian, at an event in Pharr on Saturday. “The only thing I ask is that the state makes sure that when they get those dollars that they move those dollars down to our communities as soon as possible.”

Cuellar added that a bulk of the money should go to transportation initiatives, something he reiterated to state officials when they visited Washington recently.

“I have sat down with Amadeo Saenz from TxDOT and (Texas Transportation) Commissioner William Meadows … in Washington and what I said was, ‘We have got to move this money down as soon as possible, don’t delay. We don’t need it in Austin, we need it in our local communities,’” Cuellar said.

Aside from his concerns with health issues, Shapleigh agreed that focus needed to be put on the border with respect to infrastructure projects, which he said have been under-funded for years.

“Several years back the comptroller put out a report that showed that border communities got $89 per capita in highway funding while the rest of Texas counties got $109, so fixing long-standing issues on under-funding on infrastructure is another priority,” he said.

Pharr Mayor Polo Palacios said stimulus money spent now will enable less to be spent in the future.

“There are many people down here that are unemployed and it is going to cost the government more money in the long run to have them unemployed, in terms of food stamps, indigent health care and other subsidies,” he said. “I can see things getting better pretty quick when the stimulus money starts to flow. Things are going to take a turn for the better when the money arrives.”

Meanwhile, Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus on Monday told state agencies to be ready for a possible 2.5 percent cut in funds in the 2010-11 budget, though they stressed that essential services such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program would be protected.

Hinojosa said that even if savings were possible, any funding for new programs would have to come from the national economic stimulus.