Bill Maher: ‘Unfair’ for states like Texas to request federal aid after Harvey

HBO host Bill Maher complained that it “seems a little unfair” for residents of conservative states like Texas to rely on federal assistance in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. 

“These places that got flooded, like Texas, okay, they have a low tax base,” Maher said on his show “Real Time” on Friday. “So, the federal government bails them out. Their governors, their legislators they don’t believe in climate science.

“It seems like the responsible folks in this country, the people who pay a little more taxes and the people who believe in climate change are bailing out the people who hate government, except when they need government when they’re in trouble,” he continued. “That seems a little unfair.

{mosads}

“Suddenly, socialism is not such a bad idea when you’re standing in toxic floodwater.”

Maher’s comments came just two weeks after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in southeast Texas, bringing with it historic floodwaters that devastated the Gulf Coast. 

Congress voted this week to approve a stopgap spending measure that, in addition to keeping the government running past September, included more than $15 billion for hurricane and emergency relief. 

Some conservatives, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), have faced criticism recently for pleading for federal assistance in the region despite voting against a more than $50 billion relief package in 2012 for victims of Hurricane Sandy, which struck New York and New Jersey.