Tale of the House Mouse

Many Republicans don’t like the stimulus bill. They’ve called it wasteful and pork-laden.

But they’ve also said it had money to protect San Francisco mice, and that it could prevent college students from holding Bible studies in their dorms.

We found both claims to be False.

• Several Republicans claimed this week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put $30 million in a bill to protect the salt marsh harvest mouse. We looked into the issue and found that was not the case. There’s no money for mice in the bill. There might — or might not — be money for a major coastal restoration project in California that could help out the mice. And a state agency submitted the project, not Pelosi. We rate the claim, made most plainly by Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, as False.

• Sen. Jim DeMint said a clause in the stimulus bill “would make sure that students could never talk openly and honestly about their faith.” We looked into this and found the bill contained standard language that says money can go to colleges for buildings, but not buildings for “sectarian instruction or religious worship; or in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission.” We rated DeMint’s statement False as well.