President Obama signed the health care bill into law this week — but we’re still fact-checking claims about it. In this episode, we look at two ads from groups that were pushing for passage of the legislation. Plus, we discuss various false claims about the 2010 Census.
(Click the play button below to listen to the podcast. Or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.)
For more on the stories discussed in this episode see:
"All Those in Favor …"
Year: 2010
Student Lenders’ Slippery Jobs Numbers
Would overhauling the student loan program really "jeopardize more than 30,000 private sector jobs," as claimed by those who oppose it? We find that figure to be a stretch. A widely quoted, independent expert says any job loss is likely to be much less, and that it’s possible no jobs will be lost at all.
The student-loan overhaul — under which the federal government would become the sole lender, ending the role of banks and other private sector lenders in this government program —
Misleading on Military Pay
Q: Did Obama propose a 1.4 percent pay increase for the military, the lowest since 1973?
A: Yes. Military pay raises are based on the Employment Cost Index, which grew very little this year.
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of March 16-March 22
This week, readers sent us comments about congressional ethics and the politics of the next generation.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
And Here We Go: Attack Ad Cites Health Care Vote
Republican businessman Scott Sipprelle, who is running to unseat Democratic Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey this fall, has launched one of the first TV ads attacking an incumbent on the recent health care vote.
In the 30-second spot, which is also the first TV ad of his campaign, Sipprelle says, "Rush Holt and Nancy Pelosi ignored you" and supported a "trillion dollar health care bill [that] creates a massive new federal bureaucracy that will hurt the quality of care and saddle us with more debt and higher taxes."
Enter the Lawyers
You knew they were coming, didn’t you?
Back in October, we were getting lots of e-mail asking if the health care overhaul bill was constitutional or not, particularly the part that requires each individual to have insurance. Our conclusion? We couldn’t really give one, of course, but we talked through some of the issues that could arise. See our post: "Health Care Overhaul: Constitutional?"
Now it looks as though we won’t have to wait very long for the wheels of litigation to start turning.
More Health Care Ads?
So now that President Obama is set to sign this health care bill into law, you won’t have to hear all kinds of claims about it, right? Well, not so fast. The end of the health care ad wars isn’t here yet.
Liberals are getting in the first shots — praising Democratic House members who voted their way, and attacking at least one Republican who didn’t. But we suspect there’s much more to come. Republicans are vowing to make the vote a major issue in the midterm elections in November.
Stimulus Saves First Lady’s Brother?
We figured that people would recognize this latest chain e-mail for the hoax that it is. It makes a ridiculously false claim about Craig Robinson, who is the head coach of Oregon State University’s men’s basketball team and First Lady Michelle Obama’s older brother. But judging from the number of times we’ve been asked about this since the beginning of March, we were wrong. The author of this bogus e-rumor must be suffering from a different kind of “March Madness”
Burrowing into “Borrowing”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its allies have launched a last-minute TV attack claiming that "Washington wants 600 billion in new borrowing for their health care bill," despite the fact that the Congressional Budget Office projects the bill will reduce the federal deficit over the next 10 years, and for the 10 years after that, as well.
The ad was announced Thursday, March 18 by Employers for a Healthy Economy, a coalition of business groups opposed to the legislation.
Future Fund’s Faulty Fusillade
The American Future Fund, a conservative advocacy group, is launching an offensive on multiple fronts against the proposed health care bill. Its television ad mixes bits of recycled images and false claims with new falsehoods, while its print ad sticks closer to the facts but begs some context.
Video Attacks
First off, the ad says that "liberals are crafting a secret health care bill behind closed doors." That’s absurd. The health care overhaul bills were passed months ago (the House version passed in November,