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Latest Fact-Checks In Federal Budget

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Karl Rove
Karl Rove
stated on January 10, 2010 the Washington Post
The Obama administration "raised discretionary spending by 24 percent from President George W. Bush's last full-year budget and will run up more debt by October than Bush did in eight years."
Half-True
January 15, 2010
David Axelrod
David Axelrod
stated on January 15, 2010 an op-ed in the Washington Post.
When President Bush took office in 2001, he inherited a $236 billion budget surplus, with a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion. When he ended his term, he left a $1.3 trillion deficit and a projected 10-year shortfall of $8 trillion.
Mostly True
By Catharine Richert • January 15, 2010
George LeMieux
George LeMieux
stated on January 8, 2010 a message on Twitter
"Why is January 8th an important date in American history? This day in 1835 is the only day in our history when we have not been in debt."
Mostly True
By Aaron Sharockman • January 12, 2010
Mike Pence
Mike Pence
stated on December 8, 2009 a speech on the House floor
"To use money from the TARP fund in the manner that is being discussed by the White House and congressional Democrats would be a violation of the law."
Half-True
December 8, 2009
Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
stated on November 17, 2009 her book, Going Rogue
Says she couldn't take stimulus money because it required "universal building codes."
False
November 16, 2009
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
stated on November 10, 2009 his radio show
The health care bills will be "mandated spending. You can't cut it, regardless of the budget circumstances."
Half-True
By Louis Jacobson • November 12, 2009
Wall Street Journal editorial page
Wall Street Journal editorial page
stated on November 2, 2009 an editorial
The House health care bill pays for "about six years of program with a decade of revenue, with the heaviest costs concentrated in the second five years."
Half-True
By Angie Drobnic Holan • November 6, 2009
Tom McClintock
Tom McClintock
stated on October 27, 2009 a speech on the House floor
Three presidents in the last century — Harding, Kennedy and Reagan — all cut taxes during recessions and produced "rapid and dramatic economic recoveries," while two, Herbert Hoover and Barack Obama, did "the opposite."
False
By Louis Jacobson • November 2, 2009
The Freedom Project
The Freedom Project
stated on October 19, 2009 a press release
"Democrats rang up a $1.42 trillion budget deficit in 2009 — the single largest in American history."
Half-True
By Catharine Richert • October 22, 2009
John Cornyn
John Cornyn
stated on October 18, 2009 an interview on CBS's Face the Nation
"The first installment of health care reform ... will raise the deficit by $250 billion."
Half-True
October 20, 2009
Cokie Roberts
Cokie Roberts
stated on October 4, 2009 appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos
Forty percent of gross domestic product "is state, local, or federal money."
Mostly True
By Louis Jacobson • October 6, 2009
Donna Brazile
Donna Brazile
stated on August 2, 2009 CNN's State of the Union with John King
Under President George W. Bush, the U.S. "spent $1.3 trillion on tax cuts for the wealthy" and "trillions" each on a war and on Medicare drug benefits.
Half-True
By Louis Jacobson • August 5, 2009
Joe Biden
Joe Biden
stated on July 9, 2009 a news release.
"Across the country, $174 billion of the Recovery Act have been committed in its first 130 days."
Mostly True
By Catharine Richert • July 15, 2009
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
stated on June 24, 2009 a town hall meeting
"Medicare and Medicaid are the single biggest drivers of the federal deficit and the federal debt by a huge margin."
Mostly True
By Angie Drobnic Holan • June 25, 2009
Michele Bachmann
Michele Bachmann
stated on May 6, 2009 a press release
ACORN "could get up to $8.5 billion more tax dollars despite being under investigation for voter registration fraud in a dozen states."
False
May 21, 2009
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
stated on May 7, 2009 a speech at the White House.
Pay-as-you-go "is the principle that helped transform large deficits into surpluses in the 1990s."
Half-True
By Bill Adair • May 7, 2009
John Boehner
John Boehner
stated on April 22, 2009 an opinion piece.
"About halfway through fiscal year 2009, Washington has run out of money."
True
By Angie Drobnic Holan • April 30, 2009
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
stated on April 14, 2009 a speech at Georgetown University
"Already we've identified $2 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade."
Mostly False
By Angie Drobnic Holan • April 21, 2009
Judd Gregg
Judd Gregg
stated on March 17, 2009 a speech on the Senate Floor.
On the propriety of budget reconciliation.
Half Flip
March 30, 2009
Robert Gibbs
Robert Gibbs
stated on March 26, 2009 a statement during a press briefing
The Republican leadership's budget proposal "doesn't contain any numbers."
True
By Angie Drobnic Holan • March 27, 2009
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