The Texas Department of Public Safety is asking that Gov. Rick Perry redirect $16 million in federal stimulus funds to help the department maintain border security efforts, the Texas Tribune is reporting. The plan comes after Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus requested that all state agencies cut their budgets by 5 percent.

Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger says his office has not yet reviewed the DPS proposal, but she says spending the stimulus dollars on border security makes sense. "These federal dollars are going for the purpose they should have been going for a long time before now," Cesinger says. "Securing the border is a federal responsibility."

Texas Watchdog recently reported on problems with the use of federal stimulus funds to weatherize homes in the state of Texas.