The well known expression “politics stop at the water’s edge” does not seem to apply to Americans for Prosperity’s response to disaster relief in recent years.

During Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the resulting floods, the water’s edge caused billions of dollars of damage in the Northeast, yet AFP played politics with critical relief for the thousands of people impacted by the storm, opposing multiple proposals for Hurricane Sandy relief in the aftermath of the storm, citing a lack of offsets for the expenditures to aid victims. “Unless the legislation is fully offset with other spending reductions, I urge you to vote NO on the Hurricane Sandy disaster-aid supplemental,” wrote AFP’s director of policy in a message to lawmakers in January 2013.

What’s more, AFP vociferously opposed an amendment to the Hurricane Sandy supplemental appropriations bill that aimed to provide $33 billion in funding to protect key infrastructure against future disasters, again railing on the need for offsets. The group claimed it was “simply wrong” for lawmakers to consider funding for these long-term projects within the “emergency” relief package.