Current Articles for August 21, 2025

The Legislative Reference Library produces a weekly list of current journal articles for members of the legislative community. Each week, librarians select and abstract articles of interest to the legislature from the latest issues of over 300 journals, newsletters, state documents, and trade publications. Electronic copies of the Current Articles list are distributed to legislative offices each Thursday.

The Legislative Reference Library is located on the second floor of the State Capitol building in Room 2N.3. For more information, please call the Library at 512-463-1252.

• The think tank making America healthy again. By Evie Solheim. American Conservative, September/October 2025, pp. 37-41.
  Discusses the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement and interviews Mark Gorton, president of the MAHA Institute, about the medical care system; health freedom; vaccines; the role of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; and the goals of the MAHA movement.
  See: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-think-tank-making-america-healthy-again/
  
• Why universities are so powerless against Trump. By Jason Owen-Smith. Chronicle of Higher Education, August 1, 2025, pp. 17-19, 21.
  Explains how universities' traditional strengths, including their decentralized organizational and funding structures, have become crippling weaknesses in the face of the Trump administration's aims to alter higher education funding and programs. Considers how universities should respond.
• The homemade scholar: A new frontier in American education. By Chandler Fritz. Harper's Magazine, September 2025, pp. 23-32.
  Discusses the increasing use of private schools in Arizona through the state's universal Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, enacted in 2022. Notes Arizona's program is not a voucher for families to use at state-approved institutions, but rather the equivalent of $7,500 cash in hand. Chronicles the history of school choice in Arizona, starting in 2006 with two voucher programs: one for students with disabilities and one for students living in foster care. Reflects on the author's journey teaching in Arizona "microschools" operating under the universal ESA program.
• Southwest Key to lay off hundreds locally. By Jishnu Nair. Houston Business Journal, August 15-21, 2025, p. 15.
  Explains that Southwest Key Programs Inc., an Austin-based nonprofit providing housing to unaccompanied minors from the southern border, will lay off hundreds of workers across the state after the termination of Office of Refugee Resettlement funds. Adds that the organization is also laying off 1,500 employees in Arizona.
• The MAHA Commission report and diet-related diseases in youth. By Dariush Mozaffarian, Emily A. Callahan, and William H. Frist. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), August 12, 2025, pp. 487-488.
  Discusses the MAHA Commission report on causes of poor childhood nutrition. Explains findings of the report: overconsumption of ultraprocessed foods and underconsumption of whole, nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains, and seafood are putting children at higher risk of developing diet-related diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.
  Report at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MAHA-Report-The-White-House.pdf
  
• More US children die than in other high-income nations. By Samantha Anderer and Karen Bucher. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), August 12, 2025, pp. 475-476.
  Considers the state of children's health in the U.S. via a decade of mortality data and chronic disease diagnoses. Includes charts that illustrate how children's physical and mental health has deteriorated.
• A playground, not a fortress. By Amity Shlaes. National Review, September 2025, pp. 48-50.
  Suggests an economy that fosters innovation better prepares the U.S. for war. Explains that low taxes, minimal regulation, and free markets contribute to an economic climate in which entrepreneurs develop technologies that may be useful in the context of war.
  See: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=9f97f505-9ab8-3345-89e6-5eeff7769f8f
  
• Nuclear's future resurgence, part 2: Enabling the path forward. By Tom Flaherty and Mile Milisavljevic. Public Utilities Fortnightly, July 2025, pp. 90-97.
  Argues various models and components are necessary to support the planning, development, and future use of nuclear power.
  See: https://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2025/07/nuclears-future-resurgence-part-2
  
• Texas economy softens amid uncertain outlook. By Luis Torres and Diego Morales-Burnett. Southwest Economy (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas), August 11, 2025, pp. 1-5.
  Finds that Texas' overall pace of economic growth is trending lower, including declining job growth in June; a slower construction industry; and a weaker housing market. Discusses tariff and immigration concerns reflected in the recent Texas Business Outlook Surveys (TBOS).
  See: https://www.dallasfed.org/research/swe/2025/swe2511
  
• Texas redistricting fight leaves mark on legislature as quorum break stalemate winds down. By Brad Johnson. Texan, August 15, 2025, pp. 1-4.
  Discusses the political dynamics among both Texas Republicans and Democrats during the quorum break on congressional redistricting during the 1st Called Session of the 89th Legislature.
  See: https://thetexan.news/state/legislature/texas-state-house-news/texas-redistricting-fight-leaves-mark ...
  
• Texas schools prepare for new cell phone ban, navigating enforcement and pushback. By Meridith Dyer. Texan, August 13, 2025, pp. 1-3.
  Discusses school district enforcement of the ban on cell phones and personal communication devices, enacted by HB 1481, 89th Legislature, R.S., effective September 1. Notes parental concerns with the change, including student mental health and emergency situations.
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/education/texas-schools-prepare-for-new-cell-phone-ban-navigating-enfor ...
  
• Can anything halt the gerrymandering arms race? By Justin Miller. Texas Observer, August 4, 2025, pp. 1-3.
  Describes the quorum break during the 89th Legislature, 1st Called Session in the Texas House of Representatives, initiated by Democrats who are attempting to block the passage of a new state congressional map. Notes the various lawsuits filed by Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton in their attempt to break the stalemate. Opines that despite the quorum break, Republicans will likely be able to pass their new map, potentially setting off a wave of gerrymandering in other states.
  See: https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-house-dems-quorum-break-gerrymandering/