Basic amenities like running water and flushing toilets aren’t guaranteed everywhere in Texas. To develop community infrastructure like first-time water service and paved roads, rural Texans have traditionally turned to the Texas Department of Rural Affairs, one of a few small agencies on Gov. Rick Perry's budget chopping block. 

Perry's office says he doesn't want to eliminate the agency's functions altogether; he wants to merge TDRA with the state Department of Agriculture to save $6.4 million per biennium. “The governor is simply calling on legislators to look at where possible functions are similar so ...

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