A little air out of the cushion

The very notion of an unspent "cushion" in a budget that hardly meets basic and dire needs is an insult to begin with. It's also probably not necessary.  But here we are. They've managed to talk the reactionaries out of about half of it.

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday advanced a budget proposal that backs away from the chamber's push for the state to spend less money in the coming year but aims to leave about $100 million in projected revenue unspent in the coming year.

The committee's approval sends the latest action in ongoing negotiations over the state budget that's slated to to begin July 1 to the full House for consideration on Wednesday, with five days left in the special session focused on the state's finances.

They'll whine and complain either way but if this is the compromise budget that passes, the Henry-Harris faction will have won the point.