Q: Can members of Congress retire and receive their full pay after serving one term?
A: No. Only senators are eligible for a pension after one term, but it won’t be their full salary.
Congressional Pensions Update
Ask FactCheck
Have a question for FactCheck? Ask us.
If you have a question about a social media post, we may have already answered it on our Debunking False Stories page.
Or see the most popular questions on our Viral Spiral page.
Does ACA Give Incentive to Hire Immigrants?
Q: Did Obama’s executive actions on immigration include a $3,000 bonus to employers for each immigrant they hire instead of U.S. citizens?
A: Not exactly. In very limited cases, employers may avoid the Affordable Care Act’s penalty if they hire immigrants who are not eligible for health care subsidies. But the law bars employers from discriminating against employees based on eligibility.
No ‘New World Order’
Q: Did President Obama call for a “new world order” in a speech in Europe?
A: No. Video of Obama’s speech was edited to change the meaning of what he said.
Presidential Vacations
Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?
A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.
Surge of ‘Unaccompanied Children’
Q: Did the Obama administration advertise in January to transport 65,000 foreign children apprehended at the border? Did it expect a surge of illegal immigration?
A: Yes. There’s been a sharp increase in unaccompanied children from Central America since FY 2012, and the U.S. projected a bigger increase this year.
Spinning Statistics on School Shootings
Q: Have there been 74 school shootings since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut?
A: No. The group making this claim uses a broad definition that more than doubles the number of school shootings.
Roots Not Related to Ambassador Stevens
Q: Is Charles Roots a cousin of the late U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, and did he write the “true story” about Stevens’ death?
A: No. Roots is not related to Stevens, and he says he is “disgusted” by a story attributed to him about Stevens’ death.
Medicare Under Observation
Q: Is it true that, under the Affordable Care Act, “Medicare will not pay anything” for patients receiving only “observation” care in hospitals?
A: No. Medicare will pay a significant portion of observation care costs after copayments and deductibles are met. Nothing has changed as a result of the ACA.
False Tax Claims
Q: Did Democrats increase federal income tax rates in 2014 under Obamacare?
A: No. Tax increases mentioned in a viral email went into effect a year earlier, as part of a budget deal supported by many Republicans as well as most Democrats.
A False Claim of a Medicare Change
Q: Does the Affordable Care Act require Medicare beneficiaries over age 75 to be admitted to the hospital by their primary care physician?
A. No. There is no such requirement in the law.