Federal fact checks
Fact Check by Ballotpedia Federal Stories
August 24, 2018
501(c)(4) nonprofit One Nation aired an ad criticizing positions on immigration taken by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D), who is running for re-election against Republican Patrick Morrisey. According to the ad, “Senator Joe Manchin voted for a bill that would have given amnesty to millions who broke our laws...and he opposed funding for Trump’s border wall.” What are the facts about Sen. Manchin’s record on amnesty and funding a border wall?
August 8, 2018
Use of the term administrative state has increased considerably since Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, declared in February 2017 that the new administration was seeking "deconstruction of the administrative state." Jeremy Peters, a reporter for The New York Times, claimed in a March 2018 article on judicial nominations, “The Trump administration has a new litmus test: reining in what conservatives call ‘the administrative state.’” Is the term administrative state used only by conservatives?
June 29, 2018
Shelley Berkely, a former member of the U.S. House from Nevada, claimed that Nevada Senator Dean Heller (R) changed several of his policy positions in order to accommodate President Trump. Does Heller's legislative record support Berkley's claim?
April 10, 2018
Tucson Sentinel columnist Blake Morlock said Kyrsten Sinema, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate representing Arizona, has raised twice as much PAC money as Republican candidate Martha McSally, and claimed Sinema's leading contributors are banks. On the other hand, McSally has drawn three times the small dollar donations as Sinema, primarily from retirees, Morlock said. Is Morlock correct?
February 13, 2018
Nonprofit executive Alex Triantaphyllis (D), who is seeking the Democratic nomination to represent Texas' 7th Congressional District, claims on his website that "In recent years, nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies have been founded by immigrants or their children." Is Triantaphyllis correct?
February 5, 2018
Businessman Danny Tarkanian, who is challenging U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) in the Republican primary on June 12, 2018, said Heller “completely flipped” on his previous opposition to federal funding for abortion providers when he “promised on film that he would protect the funding of Planned Parenthood.” Is Tarkanian correct that Heller changed his position on funding for Planned Parenthood?
November 20, 2017
Gary Johnson, a former Libertarian Party candidate for president, recently claimed that "the largest group of American voters are actually neither Democrats or Republicans" and "the overwhelming majority would like to have more choices than just the two 'major' parties." Is Johnson correct about party affiliation and public opinion on the two-party system?
November 7, 2017
Following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a video by media company ATTN: claimed, "Regulations for flood-proof buildings [in the U.S.] have actually been cut." Is that accurate?
October 31, 2017
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Rep. Evan Jenkins are running in the Republican primary for the chance to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the 2018 election. Morrisey's campaign claimed in a press release that Jenkins has a "liberal record of supporting Hillary Clinton and voting for cap-and-trade."
October 13, 2017
In a news roundup, Sun-Sentinel reporter Dan Sweeney cited two articles about cutbacks in federal funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs. According to Sweeney, "Given both these stories, it now seems we're in the middle of a nationwide crackdown on programs to prevent teen pregnancy." Is Sweeney correct? Is there a nationwide crackdown on programs to prevent teen pregnancy?
October 11, 2017
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins are running in the Republican primary for the chance to challenge Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in 2018. The Jenkins campaign released an ad on July 31 claiming: “For months, Patrick Morrisey was #NeverTrump...and now he's lying about it.” The ad also claims that Morrisey “refused to endorse the presumptive GOP nominee” for 70 days after Trump won the West Virginia Republican primary on May 10, 2016.
October 5, 2017
Ben Ray Luján, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in August that candidates' positions on abortion would not be a deciding factor for the committee’s support in the 2018 House elections. Criticizing that stance, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards claimed, "It’s a shocking sort of misunderstanding of actually where the country is at, which is overwhelmingly supportive of abortion rights." Are Americans "overwhelmingly supportive of abortion rights"?
October 2, 2017
On August 10, President Trump announced his intention to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency. A day before, the San Francisco Chronicle claimed that a national emergency declaration "may be more symbolic than substantial, but it would give emphasis where it’s needed." Is a national emergency declaration more symbolic than substantial?
September 28, 2017
On September 22, President Trump claimed that the ratings for National Football League (NFL) games are “down massively,” which he attributed, in part, to players kneeling during the national anthem. Are NFL ratings down massively?
September 14, 2017
The United States Senate voted three times in July to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). All of the measures failed. Commenting on the apparent change of position among Republicans who voted against repeal, Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebr.) claimed, “With just one exception, every member of the Republican majority already either voted for repeal or explicitly campaigned on repeal.” Is Sasse correct?
September 11, 2017
House Republicans recently voted to revoke a regulation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that prohibits banks from requiring customers to engage in arbitration. Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) claimed, "According to the CFPB’s own study, the average recovery for members of a class action lawsuit is a paltry $32, contrasted with the average $5,389 recovery for consumers who use arbitration.” Is Rothfus correct?
August 29, 2017
Ralph Northam, the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia, has faced criticism for not opposing construction of natural gas pipelines in the state. Referring to the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) during a recent debate, Northam said, "At the end of the day...FERC will make that final decision." Is he correct?
August 16, 2017
Rep. Dave Brat claimed the media is biased for giving more attention to the Trump administration's alleged Russian connections than to the topic of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's connections to foreign money through the Clinton Foundation. Brat said, "Why is that? Well, maybe it's because 97 percent of the donations from mainstream [media] folks go to the Democrat Party." Do 97 percent of journalist donations go to Democrats?
August 14, 2017
Mary Clare Amselem, an education policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, claimed that "Economists have found that virtually unrestricted access to federal student aid encourages colleges and universities to raise their tuition prices." Is Amselem correct that research shows federal student aid increases tuition?
July 26, 2017
An ad by the Senate Leadership Fund criticized Rep. Mo Brooks for not endorsing Donald Trump in the 2016 election. In response, the Brooks' campaign issued a press release claiming that "Brooks endorsed President Trump once he was the GOP nominee." The Brooks campaign did not provide Ballotpedia with proof that he endorsed Donald Trump. Officials of the Senate Leadership Fund, in response to Ballotpedia’s request for evidence that their ad was accurate, cited several articles in which Brooks reportedly declined to endorse Trump.
July 12, 2017
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said, "From 2000 to 2014, this country saw a reduction in CO2 emissions by over 18 percent through leadership, innovation, and technology." Is Pruitt correct?
June 30, 2017
In a commentary in The Hill, National Milk Producers Federation CEO Jim Mulhern said referring to plant-based products such as beverages made of soy and almonds, “None of these fake milks match the natural, consistent and high levels of nutrients, vitamins and minerals contained in the real thing.” Is this true?
June 27, 2017
New York Times correspondent Claire Cain Miller wrote, "As many American parents know, hiring care for young children during the workday is punishingly expensive, costing the typical family about a third of its income." According to research examined by Ballotpedia, child care does not cost the typical family a third of its income. However, some single-parent families do pay a larger proportion of their income for child care.
June 21, 2017
Discussing the Paris Climate Agreement, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said, "India didn't have to take any steps in the agreement to reduce CO2 emissions until they received $2.5 trillion in aid. China didn't have to take any steps until the year 2030." India estimated a financial need of at least $2.5 trillion by 2030 to reduce emissions. China has pledged to reach peak CO2 emissions by 2030, at the latest, and outlined other programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
June 15, 2017
In response to the release of President Trump's budget proposal, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said, “During his campaign, Donald Trump said over and over and over that he would not cut Social Security. ...Budget is out today and now we’ve seen it, right here—cut Social Security $73 billion over the next ten years.” Trump promised several times as a candidate not to cut Social Security. His administration has said that he was referring only to Social Security retirement benefits. Trump’s budget proposes to reduce by $72.5 billion over ten years the projected spending growth for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. He did not propose to cut current spending levels or to reduce Social Security retirement benefits.
May 31, 2017
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was pressed by Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson for his position on the American Health Care Act. Defending his record as governor, Walker said, "Everyone living in poverty for the first time in our state's history is now covered under Medicaid in the state of Wisconsin." Walker is correct that the state's BadgerCare Plus program covers all adults with incomes up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level and all children in households with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
May 22, 2017
At a speaking event following the passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said of the bill, "Being a woman is going to be now a pre-existing condition in this country." Richards’ claim is inaccurate. The House bill, as currently written, states that insurers would be prohibited from considering gender in calculating premiums. The health conditions that insurers could consider in rate-setting would not only affect women or affect all women.
May 22, 2017
Jon Ossoff's campaign website describes him as "a small business owner, executive, and entrepreneur." Political opponents including a senior contributing editor for the blog RedState and America Rising PAC are questioning that claim. Is Ossoff a small business owner? He is registered with the United Kingdom government as the managing director of a London-based documentary film company, and owned 50 percent of the company shares as of 2016. The company qualifies as a small business under UK law.
May 15, 2017
Democrat Rob Quist and Republican Greg Gianforte are competing to fill Montana’s at-large House seat. Gianforte claimed that Quist has “advocated for a national gun registry." Gianforte referred to an interview in which Quist was quoted as stating, in response to an apparent question about assault rifles: “So maybe there should be some legislation to register those types of things. You register your car to drive, why not register guns.” Although the article indicated that Quist was referring to registration of assault rifles, Gianforte claimed Quist advocated for a “national gun registry.”
May 5, 2017
California Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez's campaign website claims that under his bill, AB 908, "California will once again lead the nation in Paid Family Leave and ensure that the program works for all." When the bill takes effect in 2018, California law will provide the highest proportion of earnings as payments under the state’s paid family leave statute, and the state’s eligibility requirements will be the least restrictive. New York will offer a longer leave period.
April 27, 2017
According to Representative Mia Love (R-Utah), the threat of human trafficking has become “epidemic.” Estimates of human trafficking incidents range from thousands to millions worldwide. Human trafficking rates are much lower than those of other violent crimes. Researchers say that the low numbers may be the result of underreporting or difficulties distinguishing cases of human trafficking from other crimes.
April 25, 2017
At a town hall debate on health care, Sen. Bernie Sanders claimed, "if you were a family of four during the eight years under George Bush, your premiums doubled." One employer survey found that the average annual employee contribution to cover a family of four increased 54 percent between 2001 and 2008, and another found a 27 percent increase between 2003 and 2008.
April 21, 2017
Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended the Trump administration's decision to not release White House visitor logs ahead of schedule: “We're following the law as both the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act prescribe it." Is he correct? Yes. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in 2013 that White House visitor logs for the president, his advisers, and immediate staff are governed by the Presidential Records Act, and need only be made public beginning five years after the end of an administration.
April 14, 2017
Bob Gray, a Republican candidate for Georgia's 6th Congressional District, claimed: "Unfortunately, only 1 in every 15 legal immigrants arrives in the United States with a skills-based visa. The majority of the remaining immigrants are either low-skilled or unskilled." One in 15 lawful permanent residents received employment-based visas. The majority of remaining lawful permanent residents were not necessarily low-skilled or unskilled. Rather, they were authorized to enter the U.S. under a non-employment related preference category.
April 13, 2017
The Value in Electing Women political action committee claimed that Georgia’s former Secretary of State Karen Handel reduced the department’s budget by nearly 20%. While she was in office, the department’s budget decreased by 24.1 percent. At least 7.3 percent of that reduction is attributable to statewide budget changes. Handel was responsible for implementing those across-the-board cuts as well as initiating other cost-cutting.
April 3, 2017
In opposition to an executive order directing the EPA to reconsider the Clean Power Plan, a coalition of attorneys general claimed: "Addressing our country’s largest source of carbon pollution … is both required under the Clean Air Act and essential to mitigating climate change’s growing harm." The EPA has projected that the CPP would reduce CO2 emissions by hundreds of tons per year, but former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy told Congress that the reductions would not make a measurable difference in climate change.
March 24, 2017
Rep. Buddy Carter claimed that "[of] the 20 million who have gained insurance as a result of Obamacare, 14 and a half million of those have come through Medicaid expansion." Rep. Carter is incorrect, and his mistake is a common one. 20 million represents net health care coverage gains as of early 2016, not number of distinct individuals who gained coverage through government exchanges and Medicaid expansion. HHS estimates that 11.2 million adults (not 14.5 million as Carter claimed) were enrolled in Medicaid under the expansion criteria as of 2016.
March 22, 2017
A C-SPAN presidential historian survey rated former President Obama as 8th-best in economic management. An editorial in The Oklahoman responded: "the sluggish growth of the Obama years is one of the major strikes against his presidency." Of the previous 11 expansion periods, GDP grew at the slowest rate under the Obama administration, and employment and salaries grew more during five other expansion periods.
March 9, 2017
At a CNN debate between Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Bernie Sanders, Cruz responded to what he said is Sanders' frequent praise of the Canadian healthcare system by claiming that "In 2014 over 52,000 Canadians left Canada to get health care in the United States and other countries." According to research by Fraser Institute, 45,619 Canadians sought non-emergency medical treatment outside of Canada in 2015, the latest year of available data. However, 52,513 Canadians did so in 2014, as Cruz claimed.
March 8, 2017
DNC Chair Tom Perez claimed that President Trump “made it harder for first-time homebuyers to buy a home” and “tried to make it harder for people to save for retirement.” Perez apparently was referring to two actions: 1) Suspension of a pending reduction in FHA mortgage insurance premiums; and 2) review of a regulation that would require all retirement advisers to act as fiduciaries. Neither the premium rate reduction nor the fiduciary rule were in effect when the president took action.
March 6, 2017
In response to reports that the Trump administration is seeking to decrease the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, Elizabeth Thompson, vice president for climate and political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement that this "goes against the wishes of the American public—67 percent of whom think EPA should stay the same or should be strengthened." Thompson correctly cited the results of a January 2017 Ipsos/Reuters poll. Other polls have found that a majority of Americans support government efforts to protect the environment, although favorability and job ratings of the EPA have been mixed.
March 2, 2017
President Trump tweeted that over his first month in office the federal debt fell $12 billion, compared to a $200 billion increase over former President Obama's first month. Ballotpedia verified Trump's figures, though small fluctuations in the size of the federal debt are constant.
February 28, 2017
Sen. Ted Cruz thanked Sen. Harry Reid for lowering the number of votes needed to confirm a presidential nominee, saying the change allowed three of President Trump's Cabinet nominees to be approved with fewer than 60 votes, and it might be used to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. The change allowed six Trump nominees to be confirmed, but the new rule does not apply to U.S. Supreme Court confirmations.
February 21, 2017
Commenting on the election of President Donald Trump, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote, “The truth is that people are right to be angry. Angry that wages have been stagnant for a generation, while basic costs like housing, health care, and child care have skyrocketed.” According to data compiled by the federal government, Warren is incorrect about wages, but she is correct that costs for housing, health care, and child care have all risen.
February 17, 2017
Referring to President Trump’s executive order, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” Univision's Jorge Cancino claimed that it contains "a clause making it a crime to help an undocumented immigrant." However, executive orders are statements of policy and have no power to make law. The clause referenced by Cancino is a directive by Trump to the Secretary of Homeland Security to enforce existing immigration law, in this case the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Mother Jones in December, Tim Murphy stated that Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of the Interior, has “demonstrated a pointed skepticism about climate change," but that "It wasn't always that way." Zinke signed a letter in 2010 urging then-President Obama and congressional leaders to act on renewable energy and climate change. The letter does not address the extent to which human activity influences climate change, a question that has consistently been the crux of Zinke’s position. In 2009, Zinke said that the extent of human influence has not been determined, which is consistent with his more recent statements.
Writing for
February 2, 2017
During a confirmation hearing for Jeff Sessions’ Attorney General appointment, Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono referred to “the Supreme Court's decision that did away with major parts of the Voting Rights Act.” In Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court struck down section 4(b), which prescribes the formula for determining which states and political subdivisions are subject to federal preclearance for new voting laws under Section 5. The decision rendered Section 5 unenforceable until an updated formula is established, but it did not do away with Section 5.
January 30, 2017
Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder is facing accusations that CKE Restaurants, Inc., regularly violated labor law during his tenure as CEO. In The Hill, John Logan claimed, “According to a major study by the Department of Labor, 60 percent of CKE restaurants had at least one Fair Labor Standards Act violation.” There was no Labor Department study. The 60 percent figure is from a Bloomberg BNA analysis, which examined Labor Department reports on 60 of CKE’s 2,935 Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., restaurants.
January 26, 2017
In press release announcing his opposition to the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, claimed DeVos owed Ohio taxpayers $5 million. Brown is incorrect. He was referring to unpaid fines levied against a PAC, for which DeVos had served as a director. But Ohio law does not hold officers of a PAC personally liable for fines levied against the PAC.
January 25, 2017
Bishops of the Episcopal Church of Massachusetts expressed opposition to the nomination of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "We wonder why a person who has consistently and adamantly opposed all laws and policies that provide even minimal ‘protection’ to the environment should be entrusted with leading such an agency." This is inaccurate. Although he has challenged federal environmental regulations, Pruitt has also supported various initiatives.
January 20, 2017
A Heritage Foundation video questioned government estimates of the number of people insured by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). "The administration’s estimates are based purely on survey data, not actual calculations on the change in coverage in different markets." The Department of Health and Human Services stated in a March 2016 report that its latest estimate of coverage provided under the ACA is based on data obtained from two surveys: the National Health Interview Survey and the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
January 19, 2017
Ian Millhiser, Justice Editor at Think Progress, recently claimed that “Nearly 36,000 people could die every year, year after year, if the incoming president signs legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act.” He said he based his conclusion on two studies: one predicting that 29.8 million people will lose health insurance if parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are repealed, and another that calculated one less death per year for every 830 adults that gained health insurance under Massachusetts’ reform plan. The methodology of each study precludes it as the basis of a credible prediction about the effects from repeal of Obamacare.
January 17, 2017
In a Facebook post, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich criticized Donald Trump’s intention to appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner as a senior advisor to the president. Reich wrote, "Kings and despots install family members around them, to protect their power and money. Presidents do not – at least not until now." Reich is wrong. At least 11 presidents have appointed family members to executive branch positions.
January 16, 2017
During an interview with the BBC, CIA Director John Brennan said, it “would be almost unprecedented,” for Donald Trump to terminate an international agreement made by a previous administration, such as the Iran nuclear deal. Brennan is incorrect. At least nine presidents have terminated international agreements.
January 12, 2017
The draft of an EPA report noted that researchers identified instances of local impact on drinking water resources, but “did not find evidence” of widespread, systemic impacts by fracking. The final report also identified local impacts, but it stated researchers could not calculate or estimate the extent of broader impacts because of “significant data gaps and uncertainties in the available data.”
January 9, 2017
Reacting to Ryan Zinke’s nomination as Secretary of the Interior, Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said, “Mr. Zinke has repeatedly voted to block efforts to designate new national parks.” Zinke is a co-sponsor of HR 3946, which limits the President’s ability to designate national monuments, not national parks. He has also voted on amendments to bills which would limit funds for the designation of new national monuments, not national parks.
January 3, 2017
After Ryan Zinke’s nomination as Secretary of the Interior, National Parks Conservation Association president and CEO, Theresa Pierno, stated, “Mr. Zinke has advocated for state control of energy development on federal lands.” Zinke co-sponsored legislation empowering states to regulate energy development on federal lands, and also said that states have more expertise in resource development than the federal government.
January 2, 2017
As Donald Trump’s electoral victory appeared certain on election night, CNN’s Van Jones said, “This was a white-lash against a changing country. It was a white-lash against a black president, in part.” Exit polling indicates that white voters made up a slightly smaller proportion of the electorate in this election than in 2012. Donald Trump won a smaller percentage of white voters, and a larger percentage of black, Latino, and Asian voters, than Mitt Romney did in 2012.
December 29, 2016
New York Times reporters Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz claimed that there are many locations across the United States where only one insurer is offering coverage through the government exchanges. They are correct; according to a recent Health and Human Services report and data from Healthcare.gov, a single insurer is offering coverage through ACA exchanges in five entire states and more than 1,000 counties.
December 23, 2016
In a Christian Science Monitor commentary, Ben Lilliston, director of climate strategies at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, noted the “rapidly rising costs to governments of dealing with climate-related events like Hurricane Matthew." But there has not been a tested determination of the storm's precise cause, and research is inconclusive about whether storms have increased in either number or severity due to climate change.
December 23, 2016
Donald Trump criticized the relatively low unemployment rate as deceptive, saying, "the millions of people that gave up looking for work...they're not considered in that number that's less than 5 percent." Trump is correct. The unemployment rate does not count people who have not looked for work in four weeks.
December 16, 2016
Sen. Johnny Isakson claimed that most of the people with insurance through government exchanges chose bronze plans while a Politico reporter claimed that most chose silver. Isakson was incorrect. Nearly 70 percent of plan holders have silver plans.
November 22, 2016
Media outlets have claimed that only a small number of Americans will be affected by premium rate hikes averaging 22 percent under the Affordable Care Act. Although a majority of enrollees will not directly pay the higher premiums, the costs don’t disappear. They are shifted to taxpayers instead, as are billions of dollars in other ACA costs.
November 5, 2016
In a debate on September 7, 2016, Senator Ayotte claimed that Governor Hassan voted to support “sanctuary cities” while a state senator. Is Ayotte’s claim accurate? Yes. In 2008, then-state Senator Hassan voted against Senate Bill 353 (SB 353), which would have prohibited New Hampshire and its subdivisions from serving as a sanctuary for illegal aliens.
November 3, 2016
Yes. Gallagher supports a plan by economist Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute that is intended to avert the looming insolvency of Social Security by setting a minimum benefit pegged to the poverty threshold of $950 per month.
October 10, 2016
America’s $14 trillion public debt was mentioned several times during the September 26, 2016, debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. In one instance, Trump claimed that the Obama Administration has “doubled [the debt] in a course of almost eight years.”
Is that claim accurate? The public debt has doubled (in dollar terms) during President Obama’s tenure, but Congress shares responsibility with the White House for the increase.
September 29, 2016
Does Tom Nelson have a record of “pushing big tax hikes and spending increases” on Wisconsin taxpayers? That was the claim made by Republican Governor Scott Walker in August 2016, who endorsed Nelson’s Republican opponent, Mike Gallagher, in the state’s 8th district race. Ballotpedia researched Nelson’s history on taxes and spending, and found Governor Walker’s claim to be accurate.
September 26, 2016
The House voted on the bill three times in 2010. Garrett was the only member of the New Jersey delegation to vote against the bill in July and September. But he voted in December to approve a version amended in the Senate that was ultimately sent to the president and signed into law.
September 13, 2016
North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr is running for a third term, which he has said will be his last. He is facing a challenge from Democrat Deborah Ross. At an August 4th event, Ross sought to make the case that Burr posed a threat to Social Security. "He has voted to cut Social Security," Ross was quoted as saying by The Fayetteville Observer. Is Ross’ claim accurate? No. The votes cited by the Ross campaign were procedural measures that had no direct effect on Social Security funding or benefits.
August 26, 2016
In an August 8 campaign ad, Conner Eldridge has criticized John Boozman for “mailing it in” during his time in Congress. “And after 14 years in Washington, he’s only passed five bills naming five post offices,” the ad states. Is it true? Not quite. Based on information from Congress.gov, four (not five) of the 211 bills Boozman has sponsored have been enacted. The Eldridge campaign erroneously included a fifth bill that actually was sponsored by another senator, and listed the wrong number for one of Boozman’s bills.
August 20, 2016
Yes. While in Congress, Shea-Porter joined other Democrats in signing at least four letters to Obama Administration officials and others expressing concern over the potential adverse impacts of Trade Promotion Authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She was also a member of the House Trade Working Group, which has opposed the prevailing “international trade model,” including the 2007 accord with Peru, which she voted against.
August 19, 2016
Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) came out against the TPP in a July 27 video. Democratic candidate Carol Shea-Porter claimed he had changed his position because he had signed on to a March 2015 letter and voted in favor of TPA, also in 2015. But the March 2015 letter simply expressed support for free trade, and did not endorse TPP. The letter also urged the president to fight for passage of TPA. While Guinta did vote for TPA, his support for TPA does not translate into support for TPP. He can still vote against the deal.
August 17, 2016
U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar claimed that 4.7 million policies have been cancelled as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Ballotpedia was unable to identify an official tracking of policy cancellations related to Obamacare, and found that there are a variety of estimates. Some of the estimates do include millions of policies, but the exact number appears to be unknown. The 4.7 million figure cited by Gosar came from an Associated Press report.
August 10, 2016
State funding for public higher education has indeed declined in recent years, and tuition revenues have increased. However, those two data points alone do not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between declining state funding and higher tuition. Other variables, including higher spending and increases in federal funding should also be considered.
August 8, 2016
Feingold was the only Senator to vote against the original USA Patriot Act, which was approved 98-1 on October 25, 2001. The House earlier approved the legislation by a vote of 357-66, with 62 Democrats voting against it along with three Republicans and Independent Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
August 5, 2016
Ross was twice quoted by the media as ”seriously concerned” about the possible ramifications of a sex offender registry. She also cited the sex offender registry legislation as a defeat for the NC-ACLU in a legislative memo to her staff. During a February interview she was asked about her time “lobbying against creating a Sex Offender Registry in North Carolina.” In response, Ross only stated her current support for the registry. However, Ross disavowed the claim in an unaired portion of a June 3 interview. Two former members of the N.C. Senate, who authored sex offender registry legislation, have also defended Ross.
July 29, 2016
Is it true? Yes. According to a report released July 1, incidents of violent crime in California—which include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—rose 10 percent between 2014 and 2015.
July 27, 2016
Saying he would oppose Ted Cruz’s re-election in 2018, Donald Trump told a crowd, "[M]aybe I'll set up a Super PAC if he decides to run. Are you allowed to set up a super PAC if you are the president to fight somebody?" The answer is yes, but it would be subject to limitations that would not apply to a super PAC established by a non-officeholder.
July 12, 2016
Did Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke equivocate on selling or transferring public lands? No. While he voted for a bill that would allow states to manage up to 4 million acres of National Forest System land, the bill does not authorize the sale or transfer of federal lands to states.
June 24, 2016
Is it true that Schumer has never held a private-sector job after graduating from college? Yes. Schumer’s official biography states that after graduating from law school he won a seat in the New York State House and has served in elected office ever since. But he did hold at least one job in the private sector before college.
June 17, 2016
While fifteen states have laws that reference how bound delegates should vote at a national convention, Trump won 542 delegates in those states, meaning 1,930 of the convention's delegates are either not pledged to Trump or are not covered by any laws regarding how they vote. That is 693 more delegates than a candidate needs to win the nomination.
June 10, 2016
We found Clinton’s claim that the District of Columbia v. Heller decision prohibits federal, state, and local governments from imposing “reasonable regulations” on the Second Amendment to be false.
June 7, 2016
Yes. Superdelegates do not vote for a nominee until the Democratic National Convention, which begins July 25. Since superdelegates are free to vote however they want, some could change their minds.
June 7, 2016
While some discretionary funded programs under DOD, Homeland Security and the VA would have been suspended, many would have continued. Additionally, other types of federal spending would have remained unaffected by the shutdown.
June 3, 2016
Yes. The uninsured rate varies substantially by state, and by demographic group. But national estimates place the total number of uninsured at approximately 30 million.
June 1, 2016
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is accused challenger Ted Strickland, former governor of Ohio, of having cut funding for certain safety net programs in the 2010-2011 fiscal years. We determined that Portman's claim is only partially accurate.
May 27, 2016
There is polling data that complements Sanchez’s claim, but we have not identified research that proves or disproves it. To the best of our knowledge, Sanchez has not identified the source of the figures cited in her claim.
May 23, 2016
We found that Wright has raised at least $134,400 from individuals and businesses engaged in real estate out of a total amount of funding of $587,294 raised between February 17, 2015, and March 31, 2016. That represents nearly 23 percent of his total funding for that period, which is the largest single share by industry.
May 16, 2016
We determined that Knight voted for an amendment that would, if enacted, exempt faith-based employers from some anti-discrimination labor laws. However, neither sexual preference nor gender identity is cited in the statutes from which these religious-affiliated groups are exempted.
May 13, 2016
After examining requirements and deadlines for appearing on the November general election ballot in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, we confirmed it’s still possible for an independent candidate to qualify for enough state ballots to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to become president.
May 12, 2016
While the act did contain several "tough-on-crime" measures, the rise in federal and state prison populations—both in total and for African American males—was already underway by 1994.
April 30, 2016
Has U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers been a reliable vote for the president as a member of the House? Her voting record suggests otherwise. Ellmers has voted against Obama between 74 and 90 percent of the time every year she has been in Congress.
April 29, 2016
A campaign manager for Young's opponent Marlin Stutzman’s claimed that Young is "voting for more debt and deficit spending." An examination of Young’s record on debt and deficit spending, however, shows that the claim distorts Young’s record.
April 26, 2016
Can the rules be changed so that the candidate with a plurality, rather than a majority, of delegates wins the nomination? Yes. Any convention rule can be changed if a majority of the delegates vote in favor of doing so. But long-standing tradition makes it unlikely that the threshold for victory will be lowered.
April 22, 2016
With 19 years on the federal bench, Merrick Garland does have more federal judicial experience than any previous Supreme Court nominee. But regularly selecting federal judges as nominees is a relatively recent development in the history of the high court.
April 19, 2016
Have the rules governing the 2016 GOP Convention been established? No. But there is a process in place for how those rules are established and who will make those decisions.
April 14, 2016
Is hard money is a greater share of political spending than outside money? We found the claim was true.
April 12, 2016
Clinton's claim is technically correct, but her presentation of the facts distorts reality.
April 8, 2016
Representative Mike Honda claims that "violating an ethics rule is not breaking a law." Is he right?
April 4, 2016
Nevada Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, who is running for higher office, promised to oppose tax increases when he was fist elected. Did he keep that promise?
March 24, 2016
Curbelo voted to freeze the maximum Pell Grant award for 10 years at $5,775, but we found the claim that he voted for "drastic cuts" to education to be inaccurate.
March 22, 2016
No. We found the claim that those Blum's vote could lead to cuts in Social Security benefits “of as much as 45 percent” to be false.
March 14, 2016
We found that the claim is technically accurate but somewhat misleading.
March 7, 2016
We examine the NRSC's claims on this topic and find that from 2009 to 2014 Masto, a 2016 Senatorial candidate, took, on average, six trips per year.
March 3, 2016
We researched the claim and found that Caforio moved to the district in November 2015, a month before he announced his plans to run for office.
February 26, 2016
Not quite. Many delegates and superdelegates remain up for grabs.
February 15, 2016
Harry Reid says it would be “unprecedented in recent history” for the Supreme Court to have a year-long vacancy on the bench.
February 4, 2016
He did support Common Core in his first few years as governor. He reversed his position in 2015.
January 27, 2016
They were part of his presidency but not the campaign.
January 27, 2016
Pretty close. We counted 739 in total.
January 26, 2016
We examine Democratic candidate Russ Feingold's claim and find it to be mostly true.
January 26, 2016
No, according to most conventional measures and definitions of near poverty.
January 20, 2016
Some of them do, but the stances of others are less clear.
January 19, 2016
We examine U.S. House candidate Ro Khanna's claims on this topic.
January 14, 2016
Yes, but the average age at which justices typically leave office has been steadily increasing.
January 7, 2016
A pro-Marco Rubio super PAC claims New Jersey's "tax burden" is the highest in the nation. True, but what does that mean?
January 5, 2016
Ohio lost more than 350,000 jobs under Strickland. But is the former governor to blame?
December 23, 2015
Sestak mischaracterizes Toomey's stance on Syrian refugees.
December 23, 2015
A U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona says there are only 36 miles of fencing along the border.
December 17, 2015
Did Mark Kirk call for the mass incarceration of African Americans and suggest that "we just drive faster through African American neighborhoods"?
December 17, 2015
200,000 or 100,000?
December 11, 2015
How many amendments has Grayson passed and is that a useful measure of legislative effectiveness?
December 3, 2015
The state lost more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs between 1994 and 2015, but NAFTA wasn't necessarily the cause.
November 20, 2015
Days before the general election, the focal point of the race shifts to Syria.
November 17, 2015
We look into four claims the candidates made about legislative salaries in a recent gubernatorial debate.
November 13, 2015
Vitter has passed five bills into law in sixteen years. But how unique is that number?
November 12, 2015
It was more recent than many think.
November 6, 2015
We examine two of the senator's statements on U.S. public opinion.
October 30, 2015
Did the deficit increase from 2007 to 2011 and decrease from 2012 to 2015?
October 30, 2015
About half a percent.
October 25, 2015
About 20 percent of them have since 2011.
October 2, 2015
Was John Kasich the only Republican candidate in the House to unseat a Democratic incumbent in the 1982 midterm elections?
