By TX3DNews Staff | April 25, 2025
Rep. Keith Self took to X this week to warn that “pending cuts around the edges won’t save America from financial collapse” and that Congress must make the “significant spending cuts” the nation needs.
It’s a bold statement—and one worth unpacking, especially for those of us in Texas’ 3rd Congressional District, where federal dollars fund vital local programs every day. From school lunches to veterans’ care, the question isn’t whether cuts will hurt—it’s who they’ll hurt first.
So what exactly does Rep. Self want to cut?
He hasn’t said. Maybe the details are as elusive as a clear rush-hour commute on Highway 380.
There’s no official list of proposed cuts from his office—not even a hint. But his recent voting record offers a pretty clear window into what “significant cuts” might mean in practice:
He voted against the March 2025 bipartisan spending bill that:
- Preserved funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
- Maintained Meals on Wheels allocations, which serve hundreds of seniors across Collin County
- Protected HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program, which has helped reduce veteran homelessness in places like McKinney and Plano (Source: House Roll Call Vote 138, 2025).
That leads to a concerning pattern: opposition to funding domestic programs that directly support local families, seniors, and veterans—without a corresponding call to scrutinize or reduce larger federal spending areas like military contracts or agency overhead.
While Rep. Self has emphasized fiscal discipline, he has not publicly proposed cuts to other high-expenditure categories that could balance the burden more equitably—unless, of course, equity only applies to line items that don’t make headlines on Fox News..
In TX-03, these cuts wouldn’t just hit numbers—they’d hit neighbors:
- Medicare enrollment data at the county level is limited, but tens of thousands of Collin County residents rely on federal health programs for seniors, aproximate 45,000 residents per latest available data.
- More than 27,000 veterans reside in the district, many of whom rely on care provided by the VA North Texas Health Care System in Plano.
- Across several school districts in Collin County, up to one-third of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to Texas Education Agency data.
Cutting “around the edges” of these programs isn’t just rhetoric—it’s a direct hit to families trying to keep groceries in the fridge, seniors waiting on Meals on Wheels, and veterans counting on timely care at the Plano VA. This isn’t theory—it’s Collin County reality..
His voting record shows a pattern: cuts to programs that help real people in TX-03, while military spending gets a pass. So here’s the question: what protects this community more—school meals for kids in Allen ISD, or a missile system built to counter a vague, undefined threat?
Cutting school lunches might save a few million. Meanwhile, the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program—expected to cost up to $21.9 billion—has faced repeated delays, soldier pushback, and poor field test results. Yet despite the setbacks, funding for it continues. So which saves more—and which do we actually need in TX-03?
If belt-tightening is the goal, let’s start where the waste actually is. Because leadership isn’t about shouting “cut”—it’s about knowing where to start, and having the guts to say it out loud.
Transparency builds trust. Without it, even the loudest warnings start to sound like politics.
We welcome Rep. Self’s response. His constituents are listening—and they deserve specifics.
Disclaimer:
This article reflects the editorial opinion of TX3DNews based on publicly available voting records, federal spending data, and constituent impact. All efforts have been made to ensure factual accuracy at the time of publication. Readers are encouraged to review cited sources and contact elected officials directly for clarification. TX3DNews welcomes corrections and responses from public representatives.