Reyna: Federal funding cuts could lead to poverty going back up in the RGV

MCALLEN, Texas – When Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez set up his Prosperity Task Force the aim was to reduce poverty in the region. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau the poverty rate in Hidalgo County stands at 27.2 percent, which is about double the Texas average. Among children, the poverty rate is 39 percent.

But when Cortez first announced he wanted to tackle the issue, back in 2019, the rate in Hidalgo County was 27.1 percent. So, according to Hidalgo County Community Service Agency Director, Jaime Longoria, Cortez’s initiative has led to a drop in the poverty rate of two percent. 

In a speech last December, when he accepted the honorary “Field Marshal for the War on Poverty in Hidalgo County” award on behalf of Cortez, Longoria read two passages from an op-ed the county judge had penned on the subject back in 2019. 

One stated: “If Hidalgo County residents are to enjoy future economic growth and prosperity, we must reduce our poverty rate. The poverty rate in Hidalgo County is published at 29.5 percent.” The other stated: “Slowly we can transform the cycle of poverty to a cycle of prosperity where increased economic opportunity draws increased investment, which creates more economic opportunity.”

Longoria continued: “This is five years later, a 2.4 percent difference. That’s 19,000 persons less in poverty today. That is 6,000 households out of poverty today. In those five short years.”

Now, however, there is concern the level of poverty might go back up again, because of cuts in federal programs that help the less fortunate. Mario Reyna, coordinator for the Prosperity Task Force, spoke about this in a recent podcast with the Rio Grande Guardian. 

Editor’s Note: On the podcast, Mario Reyna did not limit his analysis to the work of the Prosperity Task Force. He also spoke about manufacturing clusters, RioPlex, and The PossAble Dream Foundation. Here is the podcast:

---

Story continued

Reyna said as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) helps wealthier people he stands to benefit.

“Let’s use me as an example. I would stand to gain like $25,000 (under OBBBA),” Reyna said. “Do I need? $25,000? Not really. If they give it to me, well, I’ll spend all of it the first day.”

However, Reyna, said, more focus should be placed on those who will lose out. Earlier in the podcast he had referenced those that use the services of Hidalgo County CSA, those who use the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, those that get housing assistance, and rural hospitals like the one in Starr County. 

“At the end of the day, the way I personally see it (OBBBA) is not going to be such a great idea, because if we have the situation that we’re in right now, where we’re at a 27 percent poverty rate, this (the rate of poverty) is going to go a different direction,” Reyna said.

“(For), although we’re doing everything that we’re doing to bring additional jobs, there’s going to be an interim (period) where more people will be impacted, especially in the food security and the medical situation, the housing. So, who’s going to cover that vacuum? As someone said, you cannot have a bake sale or a cookie sale and make up the difference. It just doesn’t work this way.”

Reyna continued: “So, it (federal funding legislation) has to be something really thought out carefully, because it will impact a lot of people, not only the people that need the most help. It’s going to impact the business community as well.”

Reyna had started the podcast by pointing out that every federally funded government job creates a second one.

“In the Rio Grande Valley, there’s about 180,000 jobs that are federally funded. For example, Border Patrol, ICE, all the schools, all the cities and whatnot. So, for every governmental job, according to the estimates, they create two additional jobs in the community. So, it doesn’t take a lot of calculation to figure that out of those 180,000 you probably have 300,000 jobs associated with the federal government.”

That is a pretty high number when the total number of jobs in the region is 630,000, Reyna explained.

“Just based on what I told you, you can see the impact that the federal government has. And we’re just talking about jobs. We’re not talking about what they spend in the local economy and supplies and services. So, it’s very significant.”

Reyna predicted the cuts to Medicaid would impact rural hospitals like Starr County Memorial Hospital.

“If the cuts that they’re talking about get implemented, then all those small communities are going to be without any care. They (Starr County residents) are going to travel 40 or 50 miles to a bigger city to get that that care,” Reyna said.

“Texas has a lot of obviously small communities that depend on Medicaid, and so if they (lawmakers) do that (cut Medicaid), then you’re going to have what they’re calling medical deserts. There will be no one there to take care of those individuals. And that’s just one component of what they’re talking about.

“Another component is what they call Section Eight Housing, and they’re talking about (implementing) a 43 percent cut for the entire Rio Grande Valley. So, yes, it’s going to hurt the people that cannot afford those services. But the people that provide those services are also going to be impacted because they are not going to be needed anymore. So, it’s going to have a significant impact.” 

As coordinator of the Prosperity Task Force, Reyna has been convening webinars to hear from clinics and nonprofits that help those in poverty. During the podcast he referenced the concerns raised by groups like the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley and McAllen Boys & Girls Club.

“So, when you cut all those things out, not only are the people that need those services going to be impacted, but the people that provide those services will also be impacted. So, when you have a 27 percent poverty rate, you can start to imagine what is going to happen if all those cuts come into play, the jobs will be impacted.”

Reyna added: “When we started the Prosperity Task Force, we wanted to bring, obviously, greater prosperity to the area. Now the situation is, everybody’s trying to figure out how to continue working in this environment, if the funding gets taken away. So, the situation is a little bit different now.”

Reyna encouraged residents to write to their elected officials to let them know what they think about the new legislation. 

The post Reyna: Federal funding cuts could lead to poverty going back up in the RGV appeared first on Rio Grande Guardian.