We found a larger-than-usual number of deceptions on the Sunday shows this week, from whoppers to cherry-picked statistics, on subjects as diverse as immigration, the Reagan tax cuts and the new health care law. Here’s our rundown.
A Tax Hike for 50 Percent of Small-Business Owners?
On CNN’s "State of the Union," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was wrong when he said that letting the Bush tax cuts expire for upper-income earners would affect "the income of 50 percent of small businesses."
Stories by Brooks Jackson
Director Emeritus, FactCheck.org
Jobs Jabs
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid is slugging it out with his Republican opponent Sharron Angle over the state’s dismal unemployment rate. It’s a fair fight. Their dueling ads are totally accurate. But each leaves key facts unsaid.
Angle’s 60-second ad first aired July 9, and a 30-second version is also airing. It presents a gloomy, menacing picture of the Nevada economy with shaky, blue-tinged shots of melancholy faces, accompanied by background music fit for a funeral. There is no announcer.
Hoover, Truman & Ike: Mass Deporters?
Q: Did Eisenhower deport 13 million illegal immigrants? Did Hoover and Truman use mass deportations to open jobs for U.S. citizens?
A: No. Nothing close to 13 million persons were deported during any administration. All three of these presidents wrestled with a rising tide of illegal immigration,
CLASS Act
Q: Did Congress slip a $150 to $250 monthly tax into the new health care law to pay for home care for the elderly?
A: No. The new CLASS Act program is voluntary. Premiums are estimated to be $123 per month for workers who choose to participate. It covers home care for those who become disabled at any age,
Fact-Checking Obama’s Oil Speech
In his June 15 speech to the nation on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Barack Obama overstated some things, including how quickly he assembled a government team to work with BP. Here are some statements that we found to be less than accurate.
Administration Response
In explaining the administration’s response to the oil spill, Obama said "just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation’s best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge —
Sunday Replay
This Sunday’s round of political talk shows left a few misimpressions, among them the notion that nothing like the BP blowout had happened before. We clear up the confusion.
Barbour on Blowouts
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told "Fox News Sunday" viewers that the BP oil spill is the first time that "anything like this" has happened. Actually, a similar offshore blowout occurred in 1979, gushing thousands of barrels of crude oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico,
Sunday Replay
Did someone in the White House commit a federal misdemeanor by getting involved in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary? A leading Republican House member says yes, but he’s contradicted by a former U.S. attorney general from the Bush administration.
That’s our first subject in this holiday-delayed issue of "Sunday Replay," where we regularly dissect factual claims made on weekend public affairs shows. We also fact-checked a few statements about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
More Census Nonsense
Here are a couple of new falsehoods being circulated about the Census, to add to the bogus claims we told you about back in March:
It’s not true that Census workers can demand that your landlord let Census workers into your apartment when you are absent, as claimed by a conservative former House member.
And it’s also not true that the Census Bureau is artificially inflating official employment figures by causing temporary hires to be counted multiple times,
Health Care Law and W-2 Forms
Q: Does the new health care law require workers to pay income tax on the value of employer-provided health insurance?
A: No. The value will appear on employees’ W-2 forms for information purposes, but will not be considered taxable income.
Another Zero Pay Increase for Congress
Contrary to persistent Internet rumors — which we debunked in "Zero Pay Raise for Congress, Too" on Sept. 25, 2009, and again in "Retribution Fabrication" on Jan. 8 — there was no pay raise for members of Congress this year. Congress voted over a year ago to deny itself the automatic increase that would have gone into effect in January.
And now there will be no pay raise for House or Senate members next year, either.