<!DOCTYPE html>
  <html lang="en"><head><title>Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey – VICE News</title><meta name="viewport" content="user-scalable=no, width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1"/><meta name="robots" content="index,follow"/><meta property="og:site_name" name="og:site_name" content="VICE News"/><meta name="google-site-verification" content="G2FOWYx1kdR5Ko5MoVbe7EQ278n5lUyl-J9KwAkb6d8"/><script>
      (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-TJ7KXW5');
      </script><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="VICE News" href="https://news.vice.com/rss"/><link sizes="196x196" type="image/png" rel="icon" href="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/favicon-196x196.png"/><link sizes="128x128" type="image/png" rel="icon" href="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/favicon-128.png"/><link sizes="96x96" type="image/png" rel="icon" href="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/favicon-96x96.png"/><link sizes="32x32" type="image/png" rel="icon" href="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/favicon-32x32.png"/><link sizes="16x16" type="image/png" rel="icon" href="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/favicon-16x16.png"/><meta name="pagename" content="Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey"/><meta name="description" content=""/><meta name="thumbnail" content="https://news2-images.vice.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?crop=1xw:0.8438705529361338xh;center,center"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="@vicenews"/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey"/><meta name="twitter:description" content=""/><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://news2-images.vice.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?crop=1xw:0.8438705529361338xh;center,center"/><meta name="twitter:url" content="https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/a3jyq8/texas-republicans-flip-flop-on-hurricane-relief-after-harvey"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="VICE News"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/a3jyq8/texas-republicans-flip-flop-on-hurricane-relief-after-harvey"/><meta property="og:type" content="article"/><meta property="og:title" content="Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey"/><meta property="og:description" content=""/><meta property="og:image" content="https://news2-images.vice.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?crop=1xw:0.8438705529361338xh;center,center"/><meta name="keywords" content="news, donald trump"/><meta name="news_keywords" content="news, donald trump"/><link rel="canonical" href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/a3jyq8/texas-republicans-flip-flop-on-hurricane-relief-after-harvey"/><script type="text/javascript" src="https://oembed.vice.com/embed.js"></script><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="FONT">@font-face{font-weight:900;src:url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskX-CondensedWeb-Bold.eot') format('embedded-opentype'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskX-CondensedWeb-Bold.woff') format('woff'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskX-CondensedWeb-Bold.ttf') format('truetype');font-family:"Founders Grotesk X-Condensed"}@font-face{font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;src:url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskWeb-Bold.eot') format('embedded-opentype'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskWeb-Bold.woff') format('woff'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskWeb-Bold.ttf') format('truetype');font-family:"Founders Grotesk Bold"}@font-face{font-weight:bold;style:normal;src:url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskWeb-Regular.eot') format('embedded-opentype'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskWeb-Regular.woff') format('woff'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskWeb-Regular.ttf') format('truetype');font-family:"Founders Grotesk"}@font-face{font-weight:normal;style:normal;src:url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskMonoWeb-Regular.eot') format('embedded-opentype'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskMonoWeb-Regular.woff') format('woff'),url('https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/fonts/FoundersGroteskMonoWeb-Regular.ttf') format('truetype');font-family:"Founders Grotesk Mono"}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="STATIC">html{box-sizing:border-box} *, *:before, *:after {box-sizing: inherit;}body {margin: 0;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;}@keyframes badge-spin { from {transform: rotate(0deg);} to {transform: rotate(360deg);} }@media (max-width: 600px) { .no-scroll { overflow: hidden; } }.arve-wrapper { display: block !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em; width: 100% !important; }
.arve-wrapper::after { content: "" !important; display: table !important; clear: both !important; }
.arve-wrapper.alignright { margin-left: 1.5em }
.arve-wrapper.alignleft { margin-right: 1.5em; }
.arve-embed-container { position: relative !important; display: block !important; padding: 0 !important; padding-bottom: 56.25% !important; margin: 0 !important; height: 0 !important; overflow: hidden !important; }
.arve-thumbnail, .arve-play-btn, .arve-iframe { position: absolute !important; padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; top: 0 !important; left: 0 !important; bottom: 0 !important; height: 100% !important; width: 100% !important; border: 0 !important; }
.arve-video { padding: 0 !important; margin: 0 !important; width: 100% !important;}
.arve-promote-link { float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", "Sagoe UI", "Arvo", "Lato", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: .8em; }
.arve-hidden { display: none !important; }</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE">.a{position:relative}.b{font-family:"Founders Grotesk Bold", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif}.c{font-size:18px}.d{line-height:1}.f{position:fixed}.g{z-index:101}.h{top:0}.i{left:0}.j{width:100%}.k{position:absolute}.l{z-index:0}.m{top:100%}.n{height:0}.o{overflow:hidden}.p{transition:transform .6s cubic-bezier(.19, 1, .22, 1)}.q{transform:translateY(-110%)}.r{margin:0}.s{padding:8px 0 20px}.t{background-color:#ffd700}.u{max-width:960px}.v{margin:0 auto}.w{padding:0 20px}.y{max-width:740px}.z{margin-top:12px}.ab{margin-bottom:10px}.ac{font-size:32px}.ag{overflow:auto}.ah{zoom:1}.ai{float:left}.aj{width:55%}.ak{padding:11px 15px 13px}.al{background-color:transparent}.am{border:3px solid black}.an{font-weight:bold}.ao:focus{outline:none}.ap:focus{border-color:#fff}.aq::-webkit-input-placeholder{color:#000}.ar:-moz-placeholder{color:#000}.as::-moz-placeholder{color:#000}.at:-ms-input-placeholder{color:#000}.av{float:right}.aw{width:45%}.ax{padding:10px 15px 11px}.ay{background-color:black}.az{color:white}.ba{border:none}.bb{font-family:"Founders Grotesk X-Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif}.bc{font-size:27px}.bd{text-transform:uppercase}.be:hover{background-color:#fff}.bf:hover{color:black}.bh{z-index:1}.bi{background:#fff}.bj{padding-top:5px}.bk{padding-bottom:5px}.bl{border-bottom:1px solid #000}.bm{background-color:#fff}.bn{transition:padding .2s ease-out}.bq{display:none}.br{right:0}.bs{padding:8px 20px}.bt{font-family:"Founders Grotesk", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif}.bu{text-align:center}.bv{transition:opacity .6s cubic-bezier(.19, 1, .22, 1)}.bw{opacity:0}.by{height:33px}.bz{margin:0 5px}.ca{transition:all .3s ease-out}.cb{transform-origin:left center}.cd{display:block}.ce{width:auto}.cf{height:100%}.cg{border:0}.ch{width:45px}.ci{height:35px}.cj{padding:0 14px}.ck{cursor:pointer}.cl{width:17px}.cm{height:4px}.cn{margin-bottom:2px}.co{transition:all .2s ease-in}.cp{background-color:#000}.cq{margin-top:2px}.cr{margin-right:10px}.cs{padding:4px 15px 5px}.ct{border-radius:3px}.cu{border:1px solid black}.cv{background-color:white}.cw{color:black}.cx{font-size:16px}.cy:hover{background-color:black}.cz:hover{color:white}.da{top:100%;}.db{height:calc(100vh - 56px)}.dc{padding-top:30px}.dd{padding-left:20px}.de{padding-right:20px}.df{transition:all .6s cubic-bezier(.19, 1, .22, 1)}.dl{margin:0 0 15px}.dm{font-family:"Founders Grotesk Mono", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif}.dn{font-size:14px}.do{list-style-type:none}.dp{margin:0 0 35px}.dq{padding:0}.dr{text-decoration:none}.ds{color:#000}.dt{font-size:36px}.du:hover{text-decoration:underline}.dv{bottom:0}.dw{padding:16px 20px}.dy{display:relative}.dz{padding-top:33px}.eb{margin-left:auto}.ec{margin-right:auto}.ed{padding-top:13px}.ee{padding-bottom:13px}.el{z-index:2}.em{border-top:none}.en{pointer-events:none}.eo{margin-left:20px}.ep{margin-right:20px}.fe{display:inline-block}.ff{padding:5px 10px 5px 0}.fg{cursor:default}.fh::before{display:block}.fi::before{content:""}.fj::before{width:100%}.fk::before{padding-top:56%}.fl{transform-origin:center}.fm{right:20px}.fn{left:20px}.fo{transform:translateX(0%) translateY(0%) rotate(0deg)}.ft{left:15.000000000000002%}.fy{background-image:url(https://vice-prod-news-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?resize=768:*)}.fz{background-position:right top}.ga{background-size:100% auto}.gb{background-repeat:no-repeat}.gn{transform:translateX(0%) translateY(-20%) rotate(0deg)}.gq{right:50%}.gs{text-align:left}.gt{display:inline}.gu{-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone}.gv{font-weight:normal}.gw{text-transform:none}.gx{font-size:25px;font-size:9vw}.gy{line-height:0.91}.gz{margin-left:-0.14em}.ha{margin-right:-0.14em}.hb{padding:0 0.14em}.hh{bottom:.06em}.hi{margin-top:24px}.hj{max-width:72%}.hk{padding:0 0.34em}.hl{margin:0 -0.3em}.hm{font-size:22px}.hn{line-height:1.25}.ho{box-shadow:0 2px 0 #fff, 0 -2px 0 #fff}.hq{margin-top:9px}.hs{font-size:28px}.ht{line-height:1.1}.hu{box-shadow:none}.hv{top:-9999px}.hw{left:-9999px}.hx{max-width:720px}.ia{margin-right:-15px}.ib{height:14px}.ic{margin-right:15px}.ie{padding-right:150px}.ig{padding:0 3px}.ih{margin-top:25px}.ii{margin-top:-170px}.ij{padding-top:150px}.ik{padding-bottom:25px}.il{background:linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(255,255,255,0) 0%, rgba(255,255,255,1) 60%);}.im{padding:10px 22px}.in{background:#ffd700}.io{font-size:30px}.ip:hover{color:#fff}.iq:hover{background:#000}.ir{left:-10000px}.is{top:auto}.it{width:1px}.iu{height:1px}.iv{margin-top:42px}.iw{margin-bottom:42px}.ix{padding:5px 0}.iy{background-color:#e6e6e6}.ja{padding:7px 20px 11px}.jb{font-size:12px}.jc{padding-top:32px}.je{max-width:1600px}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 768px)">.e{padding-top:24px}.ae{margin-bottom:12px}.af{font-size:40px}.au{width:75%}.bg{width:25%}.bo{padding-top:31px}.bp{padding-bottom:31px}.bx{display:block}.cc{transform:scale(1.2, 1.2)}.ea{padding-top:35px}.fu{left:15.000000000000002%}.fv{right:0}.fw{top:0}.fx{bottom:0}.gj{left:0}.gk{background-image:url(https://vice-prod-news-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?resize=1024:*)}.gl{background-position:right top}.gm{background-size:100% auto}.gr{right:50%}.hp{font-size:24px}.hr{display:none}.id{height:20px}.if{font-size:18px}.iz{margin-bottom:54px}.jd{padding-top:60px}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 1024px)">.x{padding:0}.eh{margin-top:26px}.ei{margin-bottom:26px}.ej{padding-left:0}.ek{padding-right:0}.ev{position:absolute}.ew{width:100%}.ex{max-width:960px}.ey{top:13px}.ez{left:auto}.fa{right:auto}.fb{margin-left:50%}.fc{margin-right:0}.fd{transform:translateX(-50%)}.hf{font-size:95px}.hg{margin-left:-0.14em}.hy{padding-left:20px}.hz{padding-right:20px}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 600px)">.dg{left:auto}.dh{width:350px}.di{height:auto}.dj{border-left:1px solid #000}.dk{border-right:1px solid #000}.dx{display:none}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)">.ef{margin-top:26px}.eg{margin-bottom:26px}.eq{position:absolute}.er{left:20px}.es{right:20px}.et{margin-left:0}.eu{margin-right:0}.hd{font-size:60px;font-size:9vw}.he{margin-left:-0.14em}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 959px)">.fp{transform:translateX(0%) translateY(0%) rotate(0deg)}.go{transform:translateX(0%) translateY(-20%) rotate(0deg)}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 960px)">.fq{transform:translateX(0%) translateY(0%) rotate(0deg)}.fr{right:0}.fs{left:0}.gp{transform:translateX(0%) translateY(-20%) rotate(0deg)}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 400px) and (max-width: 767px)">.gc{background-image:url(https://vice-prod-news-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?resize=960:*)}.gd{background-position:right top}.ge{background-size:100% auto}.gf{top:0}.gg{bottom:0}.gh{left:0}.gi{right:0}</style><style type="text/css" data-fela-type="RULE" media="(min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 767px)">.hc{font-size:47px;font-size:9vw}</style></head><body><noscript><iframe
          src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TJ7KXW5"
          height="0"
          width="0"
          style="display:none;visibility:hidden"
        /></noscript><div id="VICENews"><div class="page-wrapper a b c d e" data-reactroot=""><header class="f g h i j"><div class="k l m j n o"><aside class="newsletter-promo k h j p q r s t"><div class="u v w x"><h1 class="y z ab ac ae af">Sign up for our weekly newsletter tracking the Trump administration.</h1><form action="/mailchimp/subscribe" method="post" novalidate="" class="ag ah"><label for="email-input" hidden="" style="display:none">Email Address</label><input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email Address" value="" class="ai aj ak al am b c an ao ap aq ar as at au"/><input type="submit" value="Subscribe" name="subscribe" class="av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg"/></form></div></aside></div><div class="a bh bi"><div class="a u v l"><nav class="a bh j u v bj bk bl bm bn bo bp ag ah"><div class="callout-header bq k i br v bs bt c bu bv bw bx"><style>
  .callout-header strong, .callout-header b { font-family: "Founders Grotesk Bold", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-weight: bold }
  .callout-header em, .callout-header i { font-style: italic; }
  .callout-header a { color: black; text-decoration: none }
  .callout-header a:hover { color: black; text-decoration: underline }
  .callout-header p { margin: 0; }
</style><p>Watch <b>VICE News Tonight</b> on HBO weekdays at 7:30.</p></div><a href="/en_us"><div class="ai by bz ca cb cc"><img src="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/logo.svg" alt="VICE News" class="cd ce cf cg"/></div></a><button class="a av ch ci cj ba al ck ao"><div class="cd cl cm cn co cp cb"></div><div class="cd cl cm cn co cp cb"></div><div class="cd cl cm cn co cp cb"></div></button><button class="a bq av cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx bt ao cy cz bx">Subscribe</button></nav><nav class="k l da br i db dc dd de bl bm df q bw dg dh di dj dk"><div class="dl dm dn bd">Topics</div><ul class="do dp dq"><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/vice-news-tonight" class="dr ds dt ck du">VICE News Tonight</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/money" class="dr ds dt ck du">Money</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/donald-trump" class="dr ds dt ck du">Donald Trump</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/technology" class="dr ds dt ck du">Technology</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/immigration" class="dr ds dt ck du">Immigration</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/drugs" class="dr ds dt ck du">Drugs</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/features" class="dr ds dt ck du">Features</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/terrorism" class="dr ds dt ck du">Terrorism</a></li></ul><div class="dl dm dn bd">About</div><ul class="do dp dq"><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/page/featured-correspondents-and-reporters" class="dr ds dt ck du">Featured reporters</a></li><li><a href="https://news.vice.com/en_us/page/where-to-watch-vice-news-tonight" class="dr ds dt ck du">Where to watch</a></li></ul><aside class="callout-menu k dv i br dw bt t dx"><style>
  .callout-menu strong, .callout-menu b { font-family: "Founders Grotesk Bold", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-weight: bold }
  .callout-menu em, .callout-menu i { font-style: italic; }
  .callout-menu a { color: black; text-decoration: none }
  .callout-menu a:hover { color: black; text-decoration: underline }
  .callout-menu p { margin: 0; }
</style><p>Watch <b>VICE News Tonight</b> on HBO weekdays at 7:30.</p></aside></nav></div></div></header><section class="dy l dz ea"><div class="o"><article class="a l eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek"><div class="a cd el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd"><div class="label-topic fe ff dm cx bd bm fg ds">hurricane harvey</div></div><div><div><div class="frames a l j u v fh fi fj fk"><div class="frame k h dv i br o"><div class="background-layer k fl h dv fm fn fo fp fq fr fs"><div class="k ft br h dv fu fv fw fx"><div class="background cd k h i j cf fy fz ga gb dv br gc gd ge gf gg gh gi fw fx gj fv gk gl gm"></div></div></div><div class="headline-layer k fl h dv fm fn gn go gp fr fs"><div class="k i gq h dv gj gr fw fx"><div class="alignment k j gs dv fx"><h2 class="headline gt gu b gv gw ds bm gx gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg"><span class="a hh">Shifting winds</span></h2><div class="subhead text-size--regular bq hi gs hj bx"><p class="text-size--regular gt hk hl gu bt hm gv hn ds bm ho hp">Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey </p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="subhead dd de cd hq hr"><p class="dd de gt hk hl gu bt hs gv ht ds al hu hp">Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey </p></div></div></div></article></div><article class="a bh"><h1 class="k hv hw">Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey</h1><div class="hx v dd de hy hz"><div class="av"><div class="ia"><a class="fe ib ic id"><img src="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/facebook-icon.svg" alt="Share on Facebook" class="cd ce cf cg"/></a><a class="fe ib ic id"><img src="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/twitter-icon.svg" alt="Share on Twitter" class="cd ce cf cg"/></a><a href="mailto:?subject=From%20VICE%20News%3A%20Texas%20Republicans%20flip-flop%20on%20hurricane%20relief%20after%20Harvey&amp;body=https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/a3jyq8/texas-republicans-flip-flop-on-hurricane-relief-after-harvey" class="fe ib ic id"><img src="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/images/email-icon.svg" alt="Share via email" class="cd ce cf cg"/></a></div></div><div class="ie bt dn if">By <a class="ig b an dr ds" href="/en_us/contributor/alex-thompson">Alex Thompson</a> Aug 29, 2017</div></div><style scoped="">
  .post-content b,
  .post-content strong {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk Bold", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
  }

  .post-content p {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 1.111em;
    line-height: 1.35;
    max-width: 720px;
    margin: 1.45em auto;
    padding: 0 20px;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content p {
      font-size: 1.222em;
      line-height: 1.42;
    }
  }

  .post-content hr {
    position: relative;
    max-width: 680px;
    height: 1px;
    margin: 0 20px;
    border-style: none;
    background: #000;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content hr {
      margin: 2em auto;
    }
  }

  .post-content p a,
  .post-content li a {
    position: relative;
    margin: .67em 0;
    padding: 0 .15em;
    text-decoration: none;
    border-bottom: 3px solid #ffd700;

  }

  .post-content p a:hover,
  .post-content li a:hover {
    border-color: #000;
  }

  .post-content p a u,
  .post-content li a u {
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  .post-content a {
    font-weight: 700;
    position: relative;
    margin-bottom: .5em;
    text-decoration: none;
    transition: all .6s cubic-bezier(.19, 1, .22, 1);
    text-decoration: none;
    color: #000;
  }

  .post-content ul,
  .post-content ol {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    /*font-size: 1;
    line-height: 1.35;*/
    max-width: 720px;
    margin: 1em auto 2em;
    /*padding-right: 20px;*/
    padding-left: 2.2em;
    /*list-style-position: inside;*/
  }

  .post-content li {
    font-size: 1.111em;
    line-height: 1.35;
    padding: 0 20px 1.45em 10px;
  }

  .post-content li:last-child {
    padding-bottom: 0;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content ul,
    .post-content ol {
      font-size: 1.111em;
      line-height: 1.2;
    }

    .post-content li {
      font-size: 1.222em;
      line-height: 1.42;
      margin-left: 2em;
    }
  }

  .post-content ol {
    counter-reset: item;
    list-style: none;
  }

  .post-content ol li {
    counter-increment: item;
    padding-left: 0.5em;
  }

  .post-content ol li:before {
    content: counter(item) '.';
    display: inline-block;
    width: 1.5em;
    margin: 0 0 0 -1.5em;
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk Bold", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
  }

  .post-content .article__media {
    display: block;
    width: 100%;
    height: auto;
    display: table;
    margin: 0;
  }

  .post-content figure + h2,
  .post-content figure + h3,
  .post-content figure + h4,
  .post-content figure + h5,
  .post-content figure + h6 {
    margin-top: 36px;
  }

  .post-content .article__media {
    display: block;
    max-width: 680px;
    height: auto;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
  }

  .post-content .article__media.full-width {
    display: block;
    max-width: none;
    height: auto;
    display: table;
    margin: 0;
  }

  .post-content .article__media.feed-width,
  .post-content .iframely-embed {
    max-width: 960px;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
  }

  .post-content .article__image,
  .post-content .article__image img {
    display: block;
    width: 100%;
    height: auto;
  }

  .post-content .article__image-caption {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk Mono", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: .778em;
    line-height: 1.1;
    position: relative;
    position: relative;
    width: 100%;
    max-width: 720px;
    margin-top: 10px;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    padding: 0 20px;
  }

  .post-content .float-right-m {
    position: relative;
    top: 6px;
    float: none;
    width: 100% !important;
    max-width: 400px;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    padding: 0;
    max-width: 400px;
  }

  .post-content .float-left-m {
    position: relative;
    top: 6px;
    float: none;
    width: 100% !important;
    max-width: 400px;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    padding: 0;
    max-width: 400px;
  }

  .post-content .article__embed--vice {
    position: relative;
    padding-bottom: 56%;
  }

  .post-content .article__embed--vice iframe {
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content .float-right-m {
      width:auto !important;
      float: right;

      margin: 2em;
      margin-right: calc(100vw/2 - (680px/2));
      padding-right: 0;
    }
    .post-content .float-right-m figcaption {
      padding: 0;
    }
    .post-content .float-right-m.out-xl {
      margin-right: calc(100vw/2 - (680px/2));
    }

    .post-content .float-left-m {
      width: auto !important;
      float: left;
      margin: 2em;
      margin-left: calc(100vw/2 - (680px/2));
      padding-left: 0;
    }

    .post-content .float-left-m figcaption{
      padding: 0;
    }

    .post-content .float-left-m.out-xl {
      margin-left: calc(100vw/2 - (680px/2));
    }
  }

  @media (min-width: 1024px) {
    .post-content .float-right-m.out-xl {
      margin-right: calc(100vw/2 - 960px/2);
    }
    .post-content .float-left-m.out-xl {
      margin-left: calc(100vw/2 - 960px/2);
    }
  }

  .post-content figcaption {
      font-family: "Founders Grotesk Mono", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
      font-size: .778em;
      line-height: 1.1;
      position: relative;
      position: relative;
      width: 100%;
      max-width: 720px;
      margin-top: 10px;
      margin-right: auto;
      margin-left: auto;
      padding: 0 20px;
  }

  .post-content .float-right-m figcaption,
  .post-content .float-left-m figcaption {
    margin-left: auto;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-top:10px;
    width:100%;
  }

  .post-content figcaption .credit {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: .86em;
    display: block;
    clear: both;
    margin-top: .15em;
  }

  .post-content h1 {
    font-size: 2em;
    margin: .6em 0;
  }

  .post-content h2 {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk X-Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 1.778em;
    line-height: 1;
    margin: .6em 0 0;
    text-transform: uppercase;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content h2 {
      font-size: 2em;
    }
  }

  .post-content h3 {
    font-size: 1.111em;
    margin: .6em 0 0;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content h3 {
      font-size: 1.333em;
    }
  }

  .post-content h4 {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk X-Condensed", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 1.25em;
    line-height: 1;
    margin: .6em 0 0;
    text-transform: uppercase;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content h4 {
      font-size: 1.75em;
    }
  }

  .post-content h5 {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk Mono", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 1.111em;
    margin: .6em 0 0;
  }

  .post-content h6 {
    font-size: 1.111em;
    margin: .6em 0 0;
  }

  .post-content h1,
  .post-content h2,
  .post-content h3,
  .post-content h4,
  .post-content h5,
  .post-content h6 {
    max-width: 720px;
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
    padding: 0 20px;
  }

  .post-content h1 + p,
  .post-content h2 + p,
  .post-content h3 + p,
  .post-content h4 + p,
  .post-content h5 + p,
  .post-content h6 + p {
    margin-top: .6em;
  }

  .post-content .text-center {
    text-align: center;
  }

  .post-content .article__blockquote {
    font-family: "Founders Grotesk Mono", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 1;
    line-height: 1;
    padding: 0;
    max-width: 680px;
    margin: 2em 20px;
    padding-left: 2em;
    border-left: 5px solid #000;
  }

  @media (min-width:720px) {
    .post-content .article__blockquote {
      margin: 2em auto;
    }
  }


  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content .article__blockquote {
      font-size: 1.333em;
    }
    .post-content .article__pull-quote {
      line-height: 1.05;
      position: relative;
      top: -4px;
      float: right;
      width: 450px;
      margin-top: 0;
      margin-right: calc(100vw/2 - (680px/2));
      margin-bottom: 0;
      padding: 0 48px 48px 48px;
      padding-right: 0;
      border-left: 0;
      font-family: "Founders Grotesk Bold", "Helvetica Neue", Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
      font-size: 2.778em;
      margin: 0;
    }

  }

  @media (min-width: 1024px) {
    .post-content .article__pull-quote {
      margin-right: calc(100vw/2 - 960px/2);
    }
  }

  .post-content .DV-container {
    width: 90%;
    margin: 0 auto;
  }

  @media (min-width: 768px) {
    .post-content .DV-container {
      max-width: 960px;
    }
  }

  .post-content .js_dynamic-embed {
    position: relative;
    overflow: hidden;
    margin: 25px auto;
    margin: 0 auto;
  }

  .post-content .arve-wrapper { margin: 0 auto; text-align: center; }

  .post-content .js_dynamic-embed iframe,
  .post-content .js_interactive iframe {
    border: none;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
  }

  .post-content .js_dynamic-embed.text-width { max-width: 680px; }
  .post-content .js_dynamic-embed.page-width { max-width: 100%; }

  .twitter-tweet {
    margin-right: auto;
    margin-left: auto;
  }
</style><div class="a l"><div class="post-content ih"><div style="clear: both"></div><p><span>Nothing is above politics, not even a deadly hurricane flooding a major American city. </span></p><p><span>That was one of the lessons in 2013 in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which caused over $70 billion worth of damage, mostly in New York City and New Jersey, and killed 72 people. Politicians uniformly and very publicly mourned the loss of life and sent thoughts and prayers. But when it came to sending money in the form of a $51 billion aid package, 216 Republicans in both chambers of Congress balked at the cost. </span></p><div class="odd-unit__container__container"><div class="vmp-ad"></div></div><div data-ref="article" data-pos="rec-article" data-sharethrough-id="TRvu6FWtytUDF777ZkvU2Fyu"></div><p><span>Twenty-three of those Republicans are from Texas, where <a href="https://news.vice.com/story/hurricane-harvey-by-the-numbers">Hurricane Harvey</a> has already inflicted tens of billions of dollars in damage and killed 15 and counting this week. The storm broke the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/29/harvey-marks-the-most-extreme-rain-event-in-u-s-history/">rainfall record</a> for the U.S. mainland on Tuesday with over 50 inches of rain. And it’s still raining. </span></p><p><span>And with their home state affected, many of those same Republicans are singing a different tune on disaster relief now that Harvey’s damage is expected to exceed $30 billion.</span></p><p><span>No formal relief plan has been submitted to Congress, but already the state’s two senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, are not driving nearly so hard a bargain. They have not said if they will require spending cuts to pay for the Harvey relief, and they’re arguing that they only voted against the Sandy relief in 2013 because there was too much non-Sandy spending in the bill and not because there weren’t offsetting cuts.</span></p><div style="clear: both"></div></div><div class="a bh ii ij ik bu il"><button class="im ds in ba b io an dr ip iq">Read more</button></div><div class="k ir is it iu o"><p>Nothing is above politics, not even a deadly hurricane flooding a major American city. </p><p>That was one of the lessons in 2013 in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which caused over $70 billion worth of damage, mostly in New York City and New Jersey, and killed 72 people. Politicians uniformly and very publicly mourned the loss of life and sent thoughts and prayers. But when it came to sending money in the form of a $51 billion aid package, 216 Republicans in both chambers of Congress balked at the cost. </p><p>Twenty-three of those Republicans are from Texas, where Hurricane Harvey has already inflicted tens of billions of dollars in damage and killed 15 and counting this week. The storm broke the rainfall record for the U.S. mainland on Tuesday with over 50 inches of rain. And it’s still raining. </p><p>And with their home state affected, many of those same Republicans are singing a different tune on disaster relief now that Harvey’s damage is expected to exceed $30 billion.</p><p>No formal relief plan has been submitted to Congress, but already the state’s two senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, are not driving nearly so hard a bargain. They have not said if they will require spending cuts to pay for the Harvey relief, and they’re arguing that they only voted against the Sandy relief in 2013 because there was too much non-Sandy spending in the bill and not because there weren’t offsetting cuts.</p><p>Cruz insisted this week that “two-thirds” of the past package included spending unrelated to Sandy. That’s not true. The majority of the bill’s money was directed toward Sandy reconstruction. Still, the bill also included funds for previously declared disasters and gave $17 billion to Community Development Block Grants that could be awarded to disaster events other than Sandy.</p><p>This sudden openness to federal relief money has angered Democrats and Republicans alike. </p><p>“Ted Cruz & Texas cohorts voted vs NY/NJ aid after Sandy but I’ll vote 4 Harvey aid. NY wont abandon Texas. 1 bad turn doesnt deserve another,” tweeted Republican Peter King of New York. </p><p>“The congressional members in Texas are hypocrites,” Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey told reporters Monday. “Even though I’m sure there’s going to be some temptation by New Jersey House members in particular to drag their feet a little bit based upon what these folks in Texas did to us during Sandy, I’m going to be urging all our members to rise above that and provide the aid as quickly as possible.” </p><p>Many New York and New Jersey members of Congress have been nursing a grudge for years against those who voted against the Sandy bill, with some even keeping a list of names called “the Comeuppance Caucus,” the Texas Tribune reported.</p><p>Despite the resentment, it appears likely that a Harvey relief bill will pass Congress this fall and will ultimately be signed by President Donald Trump. Vice President Mike Pence told a Houston radio station on Monday that “we’re confident the Congress of the United States is going to be there to provide the resources necessary” to rebuild Southeast Texas.</p><p>It was a striking comment coming from Pence. In 2005 following Hurricane Katrina — which caused over $100 billion in damage — then Congressman Mike Pence opposed a relief bill unless it came with cuts to Medicare and Social Security, cuts he likely knew would sink the bill because Congress hates cutting entitlements. “Congress must insure that a catastrophe of nature will not be a catastrophe of debt for our children and grandchildren,” he said on the House floor. </p><p>How the winds shift. </p></div></div></article><div class="article-od-wrapper bq"><div class="ad-container cd iv iw ix bu iy iz"><div class="v ja u dm jb bd gs">Advertisement</div></div></div><section class="o jc jd"></section></section><div class="cd je v o" id="OneByOneAd_post_a3jyq8"></div></div></div><script>window.VN_DATA={props:{"unit":{"id":"a3jyq8","title":"Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey","topic":"hurricane harvey","allTopics":["news","donald-trump"],"dek":"","slug":"texas-republicans-flip-flop-on-hurricane-relief-after-harvey","locale":"en_us","streamFormat":"custom","postFormat":"short-form","type":"post","date":1504028907000,"url":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/a3jyq8/texas-republicans-flip-flop-on-hurricane-relief-after-harvey","coauthors":[{"id":"584782ad3bbbf901f856ad14","slug":"alex-thompson","display_name":"Alex Thompson"}],"editors":[],"displayTitle":false,"wordCount":null,"uid":"5a3435c7ebf56806b8317164","nsfw":false,"primaryCategory":{"id":"59a01fa425778656b707fe08","name":"hurricane harvey","slug":"hurricane-harvey"},"content":{"fullPost":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNothing is above politics, not even a deadly hurricane flooding a major American city. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat was one of the lessons in 2013 in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which caused over $70 billion worth of damage, mostly in New York City and New Jersey, and killed 72 people. Politicians uniformly and very publicly mourned the loss of life and sent thoughts and prayers. But when it came to sending money in the form of a $51 billion aid package, 216 Republicans in both chambers of Congress balked at the cost. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"odd-unit__container__container\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"vmp-ad\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv data-ref=\"article\" data-pos=\"rec-article\" data-sharethrough-id=\"TRvu6FWtytUDF777ZkvU2Fyu\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTwenty-three of those Republicans are from Texas, where \u003ca href=\"https://news.vice.com/story/hurricane-harvey-by-the-numbers\"\u003eHurricane Harvey\u003c/a\u003e has already inflicted tens of billions of dollars in damage and killed 15 and counting this week. The storm broke the \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/29/harvey-marks-the-most-extreme-rain-event-in-u-s-history/\"\u003erainfall record\u003c/a\u003e for the U.S. mainland on Tuesday with over 50 inches of rain. And it’s still raining. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd with their home state affected, many of those same Republicans are singing a different tune on disaster relief now that Harvey’s damage is expected to exceed $30 billion.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNo formal relief plan has been submitted to Congress, but already the state’s two senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, are not driving nearly so hard a bargain. They have not said if they will require spending cuts to pay for the Harvey relief, and they’re arguing that they only voted against the Sandy relief in 2013 because there was too much non-Sandy spending in the bill and not because there weren’t offsetting cuts.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCruz insisted this week that “two-thirds” of the past package included spending unrelated to Sandy. That’s not true. The majority of the bill’s money was directed toward Sandy reconstruction. Still, the bill also included funds for previously declared disasters and gave $17 billion to Community Development Block Grants that could be awarded to disaster events other than Sandy.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis sudden openness to federal relief money has angered Democrats and Republicans alike. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Ted Cruz \u0026amp; Texas cohorts voted vs NY/NJ aid after Sandy but I’ll vote 4 Harvey aid. NY wont abandon Texas. 1 bad turn doesnt deserve another,” \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RepPeteKing/status/901626021732024320\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003etweeted\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Republican Peter King of New York. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"odd-unit__container__container\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"vmp-ad\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“The congressional members in Texas are hypocrites,” Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://savejersey.com/2017/08/video-christie-swipes-texas-hypocrites-disaster-aid/\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003etold reporters Monday\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. “Even though I’m sure there’s going to be some temptation by New Jersey House members in particular to drag their feet a little bit based upon what these folks in Texas did to us during Sandy, I’m going to be urging all our members to rise above that and provide the aid as quickly as possible.” \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMany New York and New Jersey members of Congress have been nursing a grudge for years against those who voted against the Sandy bill, with some even keeping a list of names called “the Comeuppance Caucus,” the \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/28/tempers-flare-texas-gop-delegation-over-hurricane-funding/\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTexas Tribune reported.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDespite the resentment, it appears likely that a Harvey relief bill will pass Congress this fall and will ultimately be signed by President Donald Trump. Vice President Mike Pence told a Houston radio station on Monday that “we’re confident the Congress of the United States is going to be there to provide the resources necessary” to rebuild Southeast Texas.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt was a striking comment coming from Pence. In 2005 following Hurricane Katrina — which caused over $100 billion in damage — then Congressman Mike Pence opposed a relief bill unless it came with cuts to Medicare and Social Security, cuts he likely knew would sink the bill because Congress hates cutting entitlements. “Congress must insure that a catastrophe of nature will not be a catastrophe of debt for our children and grandchildren,” he said on the House floor. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"odd-unit__container__container\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"vmp-ad\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow the winds shift. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","protected":false,"readMore":true,"readMoreExcerpt":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNothing is above politics, not even a deadly hurricane flooding a major American city. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat was one of the lessons in 2013 in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which caused over $70 billion worth of damage, mostly in New York City and New Jersey, and killed 72 people. Politicians uniformly and very publicly mourned the loss of life and sent thoughts and prayers. But when it came to sending money in the form of a $51 billion aid package, 216 Republicans in both chambers of Congress balked at the cost. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"odd-unit__container__container\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"vmp-ad\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv data-ref=\"article\" data-pos=\"rec-article\" data-sharethrough-id=\"TRvu6FWtytUDF777ZkvU2Fyu\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTwenty-three of those Republicans are from Texas, where \u003ca href=\"https://news.vice.com/story/hurricane-harvey-by-the-numbers\"\u003eHurricane Harvey\u003c/a\u003e has already inflicted tens of billions of dollars in damage and killed 15 and counting this week. The storm broke the \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/08/29/harvey-marks-the-most-extreme-rain-event-in-u-s-history/\"\u003erainfall record\u003c/a\u003e for the U.S. mainland on Tuesday with over 50 inches of rain. And it’s still raining. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd with their home state affected, many of those same Republicans are singing a different tune on disaster relief now that Harvey’s damage is expected to exceed $30 billion.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNo formal relief plan has been submitted to Congress, but already the state’s two senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, are not driving nearly so hard a bargain. They have not said if they will require spending cuts to pay for the Harvey relief, and they’re arguing that they only voted against the Sandy relief in 2013 because there was too much non-Sandy spending in the bill and not because there weren’t offsetting cuts.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","readMoreRemainder":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCruz insisted this week that “two-thirds” of the past package included spending unrelated to Sandy. That’s not true. The majority of the bill’s money was directed toward Sandy reconstruction. Still, the bill also included funds for previously declared disasters and gave $17 billion to Community Development Block Grants that could be awarded to disaster events other than Sandy.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis sudden openness to federal relief money has angered Democrats and Republicans alike. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Ted Cruz \u0026amp; Texas cohorts voted vs NY/NJ aid after Sandy but I’ll vote 4 Harvey aid. NY wont abandon Texas. 1 bad turn doesnt deserve another,” \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RepPeteKing/status/901626021732024320\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003etweeted\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Republican Peter King of New York. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"odd-unit__container__container\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"vmp-ad\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“The congressional members in Texas are hypocrites,” Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://savejersey.com/2017/08/video-christie-swipes-texas-hypocrites-disaster-aid/\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003etold reporters Monday\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. “Even though I’m sure there’s going to be some temptation by New Jersey House members in particular to drag their feet a little bit based upon what these folks in Texas did to us during Sandy, I’m going to be urging all our members to rise above that and provide the aid as quickly as possible.” \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMany New York and New Jersey members of Congress have been nursing a grudge for years against those who voted against the Sandy bill, with some even keeping a list of names called “the Comeuppance Caucus,” the \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/28/tempers-flare-texas-gop-delegation-over-hurricane-funding/\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTexas Tribune reported.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDespite the resentment, it appears likely that a Harvey relief bill will pass Congress this fall and will ultimately be signed by President Donald Trump. Vice President Mike Pence told a Houston radio station on Monday that “we’re confident the Congress of the United States is going to be there to provide the resources necessary” to rebuild Southeast Texas.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt was a striking comment coming from Pence. In 2005 following Hurricane Katrina — which caused over $100 billion in damage — then Congressman Mike Pence opposed a relief bill unless it came with cuts to Medicare and Social Security, cuts he likely knew would sink the bill because Congress hates cutting entitlements. “Congress must insure that a catastrophe of nature will not be a catastrophe of debt for our children and grandchildren,” he said on the House floor. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"odd-unit__container__container\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"vmp-ad\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow the winds shift. \u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","readMoreLabel":"Read more","searchable":"\u003cp\u003eNothing is above politics, not even a deadly hurricane flooding a major American city. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat was one of the lessons in 2013 in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which caused over $70 billion worth of damage, mostly in New York City and New Jersey, and killed 72 people. Politicians uniformly and very publicly mourned the loss of life and sent thoughts and prayers. But when it came to sending money in the form of a $51 billion aid package, 216 Republicans in both chambers of Congress balked at the cost. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-three of those Republicans are from Texas, where Hurricane Harvey has already inflicted tens of billions of dollars in damage and killed 15 and counting this week. The storm broke the rainfall record for the U.S. mainland on Tuesday with over 50 inches of rain. And it’s still raining. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd with their home state affected, many of those same Republicans are singing a different tune on disaster relief now that Harvey’s damage is expected to exceed $30 billion.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo formal relief plan has been submitted to Congress, but already the state’s two senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, are not driving nearly so hard a bargain. They have not said if they will require spending cuts to pay for the Harvey relief, and they’re arguing that they only voted against the Sandy relief in 2013 because there was too much non-Sandy spending in the bill and not because there weren’t offsetting cuts.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCruz insisted this week that “two-thirds” of the past package included spending unrelated to Sandy. That’s not true. The majority of the bill’s money was directed toward Sandy reconstruction. Still, the bill also included funds for previously declared disasters and gave $17 billion to Community Development Block Grants that could be awarded to disaster events other than Sandy.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis sudden openness to federal relief money has angered Democrats and Republicans alike. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ted Cruz \u0026 Texas cohorts voted vs NY/NJ aid after Sandy but I’ll vote 4 Harvey aid. NY wont abandon Texas. 1 bad turn doesnt deserve another,” tweeted Republican Peter King of New York. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The congressional members in Texas are hypocrites,” Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey told reporters Monday. “Even though I’m sure there’s going to be some temptation by New Jersey House members in particular to drag their feet a little bit based upon what these folks in Texas did to us during Sandy, I’m going to be urging all our members to rise above that and provide the aid as quickly as possible.” \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany New York and New Jersey members of Congress have been nursing a grudge for years against those who voted against the Sandy bill, with some even keeping a list of names called “the Comeuppance Caucus,” the Texas Tribune reported.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite the resentment, it appears likely that a Harvey relief bill will pass Congress this fall and will ultimately be signed by President Donald Trump. Vice President Mike Pence told a Houston radio station on Monday that “we’re confident the Congress of the United States is going to be there to provide the resources necessary” to rebuild Southeast Texas.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was a striking comment coming from Pence. In 2005 following Hurricane Katrina — which caused over $100 billion in damage — then Congressman Mike Pence opposed a relief bill unless it came with cuts to Medicare and Social Security, cuts he likely knew would sink the bill because Congress hates cutting entitlements. “Congress must insure that a catastrophe of nature will not be a catastrophe of debt for our children and grandchildren,” he said on the House floor. \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow the winds shift. \u003c/p\u003e"},"social":{"description":"","title":"Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey","socialImg":"https://news2-images.vice.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?crop=1xw:0.8438705529361338xh;center,center","categories":"news, donald trump","standoutPost":false,"standoutPostURL":""},"customCover":{"version":1,"coverType":"layers","hideOverflow":true,"layers":[{"layerType":"background","layout":{"x":0,"y":0,"alignHoriz":"right","alignVert":"top","width":0.85,"height":1,"rotation":0,"scale":1,"opacity":1},"scaleDimension":"width","image":"https://vice-prod-news-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg","animationStartLayout":null,"imgLarge":"https://vice-prod-news-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?resize=1024:*","imgMedium":"https://vice-prod-news-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?resize=960:*","imgSmall":"https://vice-prod-news-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/08/RTX3D8LW.jpg?resize=768:*"},{"layerType":"headline","layout":{"x":0,"y":-0.2,"alignHoriz":"left","alignVert":"bottom","width":0.5,"height":"auto","rotation":0,"scale":1,"opacity":1},"content":"Shifting winds","color":"#000","bgColor":"#fff","font":"normal","textAlign":"left","sizeClass":"text-size--regular","subheadContent":"Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey","animationStartLayout":null}]}},"title":"Texas Republicans flip-flop on hurricane relief after Harvey \u0026ndash; VICE News","primaryNav":[{"title":"VICE News Tonight","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/vice-news-tonight"},{"title":"Money","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/money"},{"title":"Donald Trump","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/donald-trump"},{"title":"Technology","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/technology"},{"title":"Immigration","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/immigration"},{"title":"Drugs","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/drugs"},{"title":"Features","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/features"},{"title":"Terrorism","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/topic/terrorism"}],"secondaryNav":[{"title":"Featured reporters","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/page/featured-correspondents-and-reporters"},{"title":"Where to watch","path":"https://news.vice.com/en_us/page/where-to-watch-vice-news-tonight"}],"callout":"\u003cp\u003eWatch \u003cb\u003eVICE News Tonight\u003c/b\u003e on HBO weekdays at 7:30.\u003c/p\u003e","customLogo":null,"isInteractiveTakeover":false,"adUnit":"/16916245/news.vice.com","slug":"texas-republicans-flip-flop-on-hurricane-relief-after-harvey","locale":"en_us","surrogateKeys":"articles/3 2/bn0x.gvf=PmshAIg 6/b1n8uahIrdoLe6eg 22/b1n8tV1EXlLCVmeN 40/b1n8Tpi2_6Z=ZTpF 40/b1n8_+6A8IWX82q5 40/bi8.v69Kyb_8vS-Q 11/b6R3Vx4d5K._k5cZ links/3 20/bn0B+LbJ8gIyt1P- 35/b1n8tKYDaS_EXTaw 20/bn0DAzzJE_2V.FTE 20/bn0DJNUiSlk2J=.5 20/bn0DMLHX4BVDYsia 20/bn0DOINaZraU47q6 20/bn0DRKtDnIxvPyM- 20/bn0DSWOzs8NJpPRl 20/bn0DUpsVC1j+ZBoU 20/bn6hxMpzY8Jvk-yd 20/bn6hDKfmmMqtsgd3 sites/single/3"}, page: "story"};</script><script src="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/js/jquery-3.2.1.min.js" defer=""></script><script src="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/static/js/arve-public.8.0.2.js" defer=""></script><script src="https://vice-news-statics-cdn.vice.com/_client/vice.bundle.ac05f03f4e263a6ecec7.js" async=""></script><script type="text/javascript" src="//vice-d.openx.net/w/1.0/jstag?nc=16916245-vicenews"></script><script type="text/javascript">var gs_channels="DEFAULT";
var gsurl=window.location!=window.top.location?document.referrer:window.location;
    document.write('<scr'+'ipt type="text/javascript" src="//vice-useast.gscontxt.net/main/channels.fcgi?url='+encodeURIComponent(gsurl)+'"></scr'+'ipt>');</script><script>
    var gptadslots = {};
  var globalAdSlots = {};
  var googletag = googletag || {};
  googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || [];
  (function(){ var gads = document.createElement('script');
    gads.async = true; gads.type = 'text/javascript';
    var useSSL = 'https:' == document.location.protocol;
    gads.src = (useSSL ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js';
    var node = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
    node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node);
  })();
  </script><script class="kxct" data-id="JLnYxtki" data-timing="async" data-version="1.9" type="text/javascript">// Krux source: /snippet/controltag?confid=JLnYxtki&site=VICE%20News&edit=1
    window.Krux ||
      ((window.Krux = function() {
        window.Krux.q.push(arguments);
      }).q = []);
    (function() {
      var k = document.createElement('script');
      k.type = 'text/javascript';
      k.async = true;
      var m,
        src =
          (m = location.href.match(/kxsrc=([^&]+)/)) &&
          decodeURIComponent(m[1]);
      k.src = /^https?:\/\/([a-z0-9_\-.]+\.)?krxd\.net(:\d{1,5})?\//i.test(src)
        ? src
        : src === 'disable'
          ? ''
          : (location.protocol === 'https:' ? 'https:' : 'http:') +
            '//cdn.krxd.net/controltag?confid=JLnYxtki';
      var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
      s.parentNode.insertBefore(k, s);
    })();</script><script>window.Krux ||
      ((window.Krux = function() {
        window.Krux.q.push(arguments);
      }).q = []);
    (function() {
      function retrieve(n) {
        var m,
          k = 'kx' + n;
        if (window.localStorage) {
          return window.localStorage[k] || '';
        } else if (navigator.cookieEnabled) {
          m = document.cookie.match(k + '=([^;]*)');
          return (m && unescape(m[1])) || '';
        } else {
          return '';
        }
      }
      window.Krux.user = retrieve('user');
      window.Krux.segments =
        (retrieve('segs') && retrieve('segs').split(',')) || [];
    })();</script><script>(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');

ga('create', 'UA-599058-105', 'auto');
ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script>
    window._sf_startpt = new Date().getTime();
    window._sf_async_config = {
      uid: 8233,
      domain: 'news.vice.com',
      useCanonical: true,
      sections: 'Change this to your Section name',
      authors: 'Change this to your Author name',
    };
    (function() {
      function loadChartbeat() {
        window._sf_endpt = new Date().getTime();
        var e = document.createElement('script');
        e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript');
        e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript');
        e.setAttribute('src', '//static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js');
        document.body.appendChild(e);
      }
      var oldonload = window.onload;
      window.onload =
        typeof window.onload != 'function'
          ? loadChartbeat
          : function() {
              oldonload();
              loadChartbeat();
            };
    })();
    </script><script>
!(function(t, n) {
      t[n] = t[n] || {
        nlsQ: function(e, o, c, r, s, i) {
          return (
            (s = t.document),
            (r = s.createElement('script')),
            (r.async = 1),
            (r.src =
              ('http:' === t.location.protocol ? 'http:' : 'https:') +
              '//cdn-gl.imrworldwide.com/conf/' +
              e +
              '.js#name=' +
              o +
              '&ns=' +
              n),
            (i = s.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]),
            i.parentNode.insertBefore(r, i),
            (t[o] = t[o] || {
              g: c,
              ggPM: function(n, e, c, r, s) {
                (t[o].q = t[o].q || []).push([n, e, c, r, s]);
              },
            }),
            t[o]
          );
        },
      };
    })(window, 'NOLBUNDLE');
    window.statickInstance = NOLBUNDLE.nlsQ(
      'P4C26DB7F-B32A-4668-8912-D429AFC4EC9D',
      'nlsnstaticInstance'
    );

    var aId = 'news.vice.com' + window.location.pathname;
    var nielsenMetadata = {
      type: 'static',
      assetid: aId,
      section: 'vice-news',
    };

    window.statickInstance.ggPM('staticstart', nielsenMetadata);
    </script><script>var _qevents = _qevents || [];
    (function() {
      var elem = document.createElement('script');
      elem.src =
        (document.location.protocol == 'https:'
          ? 'https://secure'
          : 'http://edge') + '.quantserve.com/quant.js';
      elem.async = true;
      elem.type = 'text/javascript';
      var scpt = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
      scpt.parentNode.insertBefore(elem, scpt);
    })();

    _qevents.push({
      qacct: 'p-6EzWtvBV9sFU3',
    });</script><noscript>
      <div style={{ display: 'none' }}>
        <img
          src="//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-6EzWtvBV9sFU3.gif"
          height="1"
          width="1"
          alt="Quantcast"
        />
      </div>
    </noscript><script>
    var _sf_startpt = new Date().getTime();
    var _comscore = _comscore || [];
    _comscore.push({ c1: '2', c2: '8568956' });
    (function() {
      var s = document.createElement('script'),
        el = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
      s.async = true;
      s.src =
        (document.location.protocol == 'https:' ? 'https://sb' : 'http://b') +
        '.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js';
      el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
    })();
    </script><noscript>
      <div>
        <img
          src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&amp;c2=8568956&amp;cv=2.0&amp;cj=1"
          alt=""
        />
      </div>
    </noscript><script type="text/javascript" src="https://vice-publishers-cdn.vice.com/AT_CH/OEWA/oewa_pixel_updated.js" async=""></script><script type="text/javascript" src="https://advice-ads-cdn.vice.com/DE/viceIVW-CS.js" async=""></script><script>
    window._atrk_opts = {
      atrk_acct: 'x5HVh1aUXR00Gi',
      domain: 'vice.com',
      dynamic: true,
    };
    (function() {
      var as = document.createElement('script');
      as.type = 'text/javascript';
      as.async = true;
      as.src = 'https://d31qbv1cthcecs.cloudfront.net/atrk.js';
      var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
      s.parentNode.insertBefore(as, s);
    })();
    </script><noscript>
      <img
        src="https://d5nxst8fruw4z.cloudfront.net/atrk.gif?account=x5HVh1aUXR00Gi"
        style={{ display: 'none' }}
        height="1"
        width="1"
        alt=""
      />
    </noscript></body></html>