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Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson was first elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida in 2000. He lost re-election to Gov. Rick Scott in 2018. Nelson previously served in the Florida Legislature, Congress and as state Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner.  

Bill Nelson Website

Scorecard

true
0% 4 Checks
mostly true
0% 11 Checks
half true
0% 9 Checks
mostly false
0% 5 Checks
false
0% 1 Checks
Pants on Fire
0% 0 Checks
For more details, see the Principles of PolitiFact

Latest Fact-Checks By Bill Nelson

Clear
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on September 7, 2018 a Facebook post
Says Florida Gov. Rick Scott "subtracted $1.3 billion from public schools."  
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • September 28, 2018
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on July 23, 2018 a Senate floor speech
Says detained immigrant parents separated from their children at the border are being charged "as much as $8 a minute to call their children."
Mostly False
By Miriam Valverde • July 26, 2018
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on June 21, 2018 an ad
Says he "actually wrote the bipartisan law that makes it illegal to drill off Florida’s coast."
Mostly True
By Allison Graves • June 29, 2018
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on February 2, 2018 a tweet
"Violent crime in Puerto Rico is on the rise as nearly one-third of the island remains without power."
Half-True
By Allison Graves • February 7, 2018
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on March 7, 2017 an online post
On filibusters for U.S. Supreme Court nominees.
No Flip
By Amy Sherman • March 9, 2017
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on November 16, 2016 a Senate floor speech
Says Donald Trump said he intends "to open up additional areas off the coast to oil drilling" during the campaign.
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • November 22, 2016
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on June 23, 2016 an email statement
The House Zika bill "limits access to birth control services needed to help curb the spread of the virus" in Puerto Rico.  
Half-True
By Jon Greenberg • June 28, 2016
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on June 13, 2014 his campaign website
"Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a bill that gives Florida's public officials an easy way to avoid disclosing their personal finances."
Half-True
By Joshua Gillin • June 23, 2014
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on April 8, 2014 remarks at a committee hearing
"My state of Florida is now the third-largest state. We have surpassed New York in population."
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • April 14, 2014
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on September 19, 2013 a "Tampa Bay Times" op-ed
"Many state and federal agencies have such ‘navigators’ involved in helping folks maneuver through the often complex processes associated with filing benefits claims, for example -- even buying health insurance."
True
By Amy Sherman • September 30, 2013
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on June 7, 2013 a letter to Gov. Rick Scott
If Gov. Rick Scott activates "the National Guard in anticipation of a federal disaster, the state’s costs, including the costs to recall any furloughed guardsmen, will be fully reimbursable by FEMA."
Mostly False
By Katie Sanders • June 18, 2013
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on May 30, 2013 an op-ed
Says Gov. Rick Scott returned "$1 million in federal funding that would have helped the state cover the cost of overseeing insurance rates under the new health care law."
Mostly True
By Katie Sanders • June 11, 2013
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on February 21, 2013 an interview on Central Florida News 13
In a budget deal struck in 2011 "a trillion dollars of cuts went into effect immediately, and then a special committee was set up ... to get agreement on another $3 trillion of cuts."
Half-True
By Becky Bowers • February 25, 2013
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on October 17, 2012 a debate in Davie, Fla.
Says Connie Mack "wrote a letter to the Department of Transportation in order to get $29 million in stimulus for his congressional district."
True
By Brittany Alana Davis • November 2, 2012
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on October 17, 2012 a debate
Says Connie Mack was "the only member of the Florida delegation that voted against a bill to help NASA."
Mostly True
By Brittany Alana Davis • November 1, 2012
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on October 17, 2012 a U.S. Senate debate
Says Connie Mack initially said he would have voted "yes" for the Paul Ryan budget plan, and then, "you said it was stupid and you would vote no. And then your folks corrected you, and you changed your position again, yes."
Half-True
By Amy Sherman • October 29, 2012
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on October 17, 2012 a debate
Says Connie Mack’s Penny Plan would cut "over $200 billion out of Medicare, over $1 trillion out of Social Security. ... $3 trillion out of defense."
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • October 24, 2012
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on October 17, 2012 the Florida U.S. Senate debate
Says Connie Mack voted to redefine "rape" as "forcible rape."
Half-True
By Jon Greenberg • October 19, 2012
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on October 11, 2012 a TV attack ad
Says Connie Mack "is protecting Chevron oil from a multi-billion dollar lawsuit over pollution of rivers and rainforests."
Half-True
By Katie Sanders • October 18, 2012
Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
stated on October 17, 2012 in a debate in Davie, Fla.
Says Connie Mack takes two homestead exemptions, "directly contrary to Florida’s Constitution."
Mostly False
By Katie Sanders • October 18, 2012
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Latest Fact-Checks About Bill Nelson

Rick Scott
Rick Scott
stated on September 18, 2018 an ad
Says Bill Nelson "skipped 45 percent of the hearings on national security."
Mostly True
By Amy Sherman • October 1, 2018
Rick Scott
Rick Scott
stated on September 19, 2018 a campaign appearance
Says Sen. Bill Nelson is a socialist.
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman • September 27, 2018
Rick Scott
Rick Scott
stated on July 30, 2018 in a campaign ad
Says Bill Nelson "doesn’t pay payroll taxes for his employees. He doesn’t even provide them with health benefits. It’s stealing money from Medicare and Social Security."
Mostly False
By Katie Akin • August 16, 2018
Republican Party of Florida
Republican Party of Florida
stated on April 9, 2018 a website
"Out of 860 bills (Sen. Bill Nelson has) introduced in Congress, only 10 have passed."
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • April 20, 2018
Rick Scott
Rick Scott
stated on February 23, 2018 a press conference
Says Sen. Bill Nelson "hasn’t done anything on gun safety or school safety, and nothing on gun control."
False
By Amy Sherman • February 28, 2018
National Republican Senatorial Committee
National Republican Senatorial Committee
stated on August 14, 2017 a Spanish-language radio ad
Says Sen. Bill Nelson "has aligned himself with communists and dictators," "went to Venezuela to admire Chávez’s revolution" and "supports murderers."
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman • August 17, 2017
National Republican Senatorial Committee
National Republican Senatorial Committee
stated on July 5, 2017 a Facebook ad
"Elizabeth Warren doesn't think Obamacare goes far enough: ‘The next step is single payer.' Does Sen. Nelson agree? He has in the past ... Sen. Nelson votes with Warren 90 percent of the time."
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • July 19, 2017
Connie Mack
Connie Mack
stated on October 26, 2012 a fundraising email
"Bill Nelson actually voted in favor of higher taxes 272 times."
False
By Amy Sherman • November 1, 2012
Connie Mack
Connie Mack
stated on October 17, 2012 a debate
"I’ve got a 94 percent" career voting record in Congress while Bill Nelson has "a 92 percent voting record."
True
By Amy Sherman • October 19, 2012
Connie Mack
Connie Mack
stated on October 17, 2012 a U.S. Senate debate
Says Bill Nelson voted "98 percent of the time" with Barack Obama.
Mostly True
By Brittany Alana Davis • October 18, 2012
Connie Mack
Connie Mack
stated on October 17, 2012 in a debate in Davie, Fla.
"Bill Nelson voted for higher taxes 150 times."
False
By Amy Sherman • October 18, 2012
Connie Mack
Connie Mack
stated on October 17, 2012 the Florida U.S. Senate debate
Says Bill Nelson voted to cut $700 billion out of Medicare to pay for Obamacare.
Mostly False
By Jon Greenberg • October 18, 2012
American Crossroads
American Crossroads
stated on October 2, 2012 a TV commercial
Says Bill Nelson sold agricultural land "for home development, pocketing at least $1.4 million."
Mostly False
By Katie Sanders • October 10, 2012
American Crossroads
American Crossroads
stated on October 2, 2012 a TV commercial
Bill Nelson "leased land that he owned for six cows, taking advantage of an agricultural tax loophole to dodge $43,000 in taxes just last year."
Half-True
By Katie Sanders • October 10, 2012
American Crossroads
American Crossroads
stated on September 25, 2012 a television ad
Says Bill Nelson "cast the deciding vote for Obamacare cutting Medicare spending by $700 billion and letting an unelected board decide what gets covered here." 
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • October 9, 2012
National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
stated on September 4, 2012 an anti-Nelson mailer
Bill Nelson voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor, "who signed a Supreme Court opinion saying Americans do not have an individual right to own firearms."
Mostly True
By Katie Sanders • September 26, 2012
National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
stated on September 4, 2012 on NRA ILA's website
"Bill Nelson voted for a ban on millions of commonly owned firearms, which included many popular hunting and target rifles."
False
By Amy Sherman • September 25, 2012
Connie Mack
Connie Mack
stated on August 9, 2012 a video on his campaign website
Says Bill Nelson "voted to raise our taxes 150 times."
False
By Amy Sherman • August 20, 2012
American Commitment
American Commitment
stated on July 5, 2012 a TV ad
Bill Nelson’s vote for the Affordable Care Act "cuts $500 billion from Medicare to pay for new government programs."
Mostly False
By Joshua Gillin • August 9, 2012
Connie Mack
Connie Mack
stated on July 24, 2012 a letter from the campaign to the Tampa Bay Times
Twenty two years ago, when he was running for governor, Bill Nelson missed 56 percent of his votes in the U.S. House.
True
By Amy Sherman • July 26, 2012
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