“And so many of the people in the arena here were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them. What I’m hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas.”

– Barbara Bush, touring the Houston Astrodome.

Housing might scare Barbara to death?

The unprecedented cash card program initially will benefit stranded people who have been moved to major rescue centers such as the Houston Astrodome.

“They are going to start issuing debit cards, $2,000 per adult, today at the Astrodome,” said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry.