IRS probe so far yields partial, partisan ‘facts’
The House Oversight Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat are overreaching in recent statements about the committee’s investigation of the IRS.... Read more»![]()
A TV ad opposing the Senate immigration bill uses inflated numbers in an oversimplified, one-sided appeal to fears about job security.... Read more»![]()
The House Oversight Committee chairman and the ranking Democrat are overreaching in recent statements about the committee’s investigation of the IRS.... Read more»![]()
An ad calling for the abolishment of the IRS incorrectly claimed that the federal agency’s budget increased by $2 billion. In fact, it’s down by nearly $1 billion during President Barack Obama’s first term.... Read more»![]()
President Obama incorrectly claims that the Senate has taken three times longer to confirm his court nominees than those of his predecessor, George W. Bush. The president made the claim recently as he announced that he would nominate three judges to fill vacancies on the federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.... Read more»![]()
Critics of a bipartisan Senate bill to overhaul the nation’s immigration system falsely claim that it will cost an additional $6.3 trillion, citing a study by a conservative group that opposes the bill. However, the report is not an analysis of the bill, and it says the cost of keeping the status quo “could run into the trillions” – so the net cost would be substantially lower than $6.3 trillion.... Read more»![]()
Conservative critics of the Affordable Care Act are misrepresenting a study examining the health benefits of expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income people. In Arizona, a group calling itself American Commitment has launched a series of 30-second Web ads claiming that “a recent study shows that Medicaid doesn’t even improve physical health.” But that’s a distortion.... Read more»![]()
While there has been plenty to find fault with in the revelation that the IRS targeted some tea party groups seeking tax exempt status, some of the Republican rhetoric has been an overreach.... Read more»
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An ad from Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns accuses Sen. Jeff Flake of breaking a promise to strengthen background checks because he voted against a bill that would have expanded background checks. But Flake did not promise to expand background checks, and he voted in favor of a bill that he argues (though others contest) would have strengthened the system.... Read more»
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Vice President Joe Biden falsely claimed that U.S. workers “are three times as productive as any worker in the world.” He’s not even close. By the standard measure for productivity, American workers ranked third in the world behind Norway and Ireland in 2011.... Read more»![]()
The Internal Revenue Service is not exactly an “independent agency,” as President Obama claimed during a May 13 press conference. In fact, it is a bureau of the Treasury Department, an executive agency within the federal government.... Read more»![]()
President Obama says the May 8 House hearing on Benghazi and subsequent reporting about it produced no new information. That’s largely the case, but the president misrepresented some facts at his May 13 press conference in dismissing the House investigation as a “political circus.”... Read more»![]()
Lawmakers on both sides of the immigration debate have falsely claimed that “some” or “all” of the 9/11 hijackers were in the U.S. on student visas. Only one of the 19 hijackers came to the U.S. on a student visa. The rest arrived here on tourist or business visas.... Read more»![]()
Sen. John McCain exaggerated when he claimed that about 25 percent of prisoners released from Guantanamo have returned to terrorist activities in “leadership positions.”... Read more»![]()
In touting conservative policies in Republican-controlled states, Jeb Bush claimed, “The Southeast is leading a renaissance in American manufacturing.” Not so. The Midwest has experienced a 9 percent increase in manufacturing jobs since the sector began its recovery in February 2010. That’s double the growth rate of the nine states in the Southeast.
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A group with ties to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hijacks the credibility of news organizations in a misleading ad that supports a bipartisan immigration overhaul bill. The ad, featuring Sen. Marco Rubio, attributes several quotes to media outlets, but the quotes come from opinion pieces written by backers of the immigration bill.... Read more»![]()
A Democratic video says 240 House members “voted in 2011 that climate change was a ‘hoax.’ ” Not exactly. The 2011 vote was ultimately a referendum on who should set climate change policy — the Environmental Protection Agency or Congress. It was not a vote on whether climate change is a “hoax.”... Read more»![]()