Sunday may be the day of rest, but that wasn't the case for a group of elected officials who gathered in Houston yesterday to express support for a plan to get Texas its full share of the federal stimulus plan. A Houston Chronicle story filed last night described a press conference organized by U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in response to Gov. Rick Perry's concern that taking too much of the federal money would "leave Texas footing the bill for expanded public programs after stimulus money dries up."

"'We need this money in Texas," said Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. "There are some minor tweaks we might have to make, to pull down the full amount in unemployment benefits, for example. We ought to do it, and do it quickly.'"

The Chronicle's faithful readers — taking a break from Sunday rest, too — didn't entirely agree with that sentiment. Many of the more than 150 comments were made in support of Perry's approach, saying the state should (according to commenter maxkronos) "only take the money that does not obligate the state to spend more money in the future for federal programs that are created today."

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