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Sen. Sessions Repeats Debunked Claim About Christmas Bomber
On March 12, 2010, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) penned a column in the New York Daily News in which he claimed that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab stopped talking after he was read his rights. In reality, the failed underwear bomber was Mirandized after he stopped talking and later resumed talking to the authorities.
March 11, 2010 10:17 am ET
GOP Earmark Banners Requested Over $240M In Earmarks Since 2008
On March 10, 2010, ten Republican congressional leaders released a joint statement announcing their intention to ban earmarks because they have "become a symbol of a broken Washington." Yet despite their new found disdain for the earmarking process, those same ten Republican leaders have requested over $240 million in earmarks since 2008.
March 10, 2010 6:12 pm ET
Rep. Blunt Misrepresents GOP Health Care Plan
During a March 10, 2010 appearance on CNN's Rick's List, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) painted a deceptively rosy picture of the Republicans' health care alternative. Despite Blunt's claims, the Republican plan leaves 52 million Americans without health coverage, allows insurers to deny coverage for preexisting conditions, and does less than the Democratic bill to reduce the federal budget deficit.
March 10, 2010 4:12 pm ET
Senate Republicans Twist Sen. Durbin's Remarks On Health Care Premiums
On March 10, 2010, the Senate Republican Conference published a blog post twisting remarks by Sen. Dick Durbin to make it appear as if he was contradicting President Obama's statement two days earlier. While Durbin said "next year's" premiums would increase slightly after the bill is enacted, he stressed that they would increase more rapidly without reform. The president, on the other hand, discussed the long-term impact of the bill.
March 10, 2010 2:56 pm ET
Sen. Kyl Spreads GOP Lies On Fox News
As Congress inches closer to casting the last votes on health care reform, Republicans are out fighting against reform in full force. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) appeared on Fox News today with a simple goal: throw out as many GOP talking points as possible. Of course, the problem with those talking points is that they're all wrong.
March 09, 2010 4:19 pm ET
After Voting Against Jobs Bill, Rep. Broun Criticizes Lack Of A Jobs Bill
During a floor speech on March 9, 2010, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) chided the 111th Congress for "not pass[ing] any legislation that would create jobs" during its second session. However, just last week the House voted on and passed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which Broun opposed.
March 09, 2010 3:33 pm ET
Chamber Of Commerce Couldn't "Afford" To Buy Any Facts For Their New Ad
The Chamber of Commerce's health care group, Employers for a Healthy Economy, has created a new anti-health care reform ad. Titled "Afford," the Chamber of Commerce clearly didn't pony up the dough for any actual facts in the short spot.
March 09, 2010 2:32 pm ET
Chamber of Commerce Lies About Health Care Reform
On March 9, 2010, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a blog post falsely claiming the Democratic plan for reforming health care would increase premiums, increase the deficit, and kill jobs. In reality, the plan would reduce the deficit, lower premiums, and create up to 4 million American jobs.
March 09, 2010 12:38 pm ET
GOP Leader Alert Wrongly States Health Care Reform Will Kill Jobs
In a "GOP Leader Alert" sent on March 9, 2010, House Minority Leader John Boehner's office repeated the false claim that the Democratic health care reform legislation would kill jobs. In reality, the plan would create up to 4 million American jobs over the next ten years.
March 08, 2010 1:56 pm ET
Rep. Boehner Sticks To False GOP Health Care Talking Points
Responding to the president's remarks on March 8, 2010, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) repeated multiple debunked claims about Democrats' health care reform legislation. In reality, the plan would rein in insurance company abuses, lower costs, and create up to 4 million American jobs.
March 08, 2010 10:37 am ET
Senate Republicans Falsely Cite CBO
On March 8, 2010, the Senate Republican Conference attacked HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for falsely citing the Congressional Budget Office. The Senate Republicans misrepresented a CBO disclaimer, implying the nonpartisan office declined to provide out year budget estimates. In reality, Sebelius was citing the CBO accurately.
March 08, 2010 9:17 am ET
Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - March 7, 2010
On yesterday's political talk shows, Republican members of Congress used their time in the spotlight to blandly reiterate the weak GOP talking points on a variety of issues. Senators McConnell and Hatch, however, went even further and made outrageously false claims about Democratic health care reform legislation.
March 05, 2010 1:43 pm ET
Republicans Skew Sen. Reid's Comments On Jobs
During a Senate floor speech on March 5, 2010, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) reacted positively to the day's news that fewer Americans than expected had lost their jobs in February. Taking Reid's comments out of context, Republicans are falsely claiming Reid believes it is a "good thing" that 36,000 Americans lost their jobs.
March 05, 2010 12:40 pm ET
American Solutions Misrepresents Harvard Report On Reducing Carbon Emissions
On March 3, 2010, Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future falsely stated a report published by Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs claimed "the price of gas will rise to $7 per gallon" to meet emissions reduction targets. In reality, the Belfer Center was recommending additional fuel taxes in order to facilitate reductions in carbon emissions, not analyzing the impact of current proposals.
March 04, 2010 11:56 am ET
Rep. Bachmann Accuses Obama Of Trading Judicial Nomination For Health Care Support
During an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" last night, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) accused President Obama of trading judicial nominations for votes in favor of health care reform. Specifically, Bachmann suggested that Obama nominated Rep. Jim Matheson's (D-UT) brother to the U.S. Court of Appeals in order to win the congressman's support for reform. However, Bachmann's allegation is undermined by the fact that prominent conservatives from Utah have praised the nomination.
March 04, 2010 11:25 am ET
Rep. Broun Wrongly Claims Health Care Reform Will "Kill Jobs"
While speaking on the House floor on March 4, 2010, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) falsely claimed the president's plan for health care reform would "kill jobs in America." Additionally, he repeated the debunked claim that President Obama's economic adviser Christina Romer said the bill would cost 5.5 million jobs. In reality, reduced health care costs resulting from the legislation's passage would create up to 4 million American jobs over the next ten years.
March 04, 2010 9:50 am ET
NRCC "Code Red" Robocalls Spread Debunked Health Care Smears
In a last ditch attempt to derail Democratic efforts to expand health care coverage, the National Republican Congressional Committee is launching a robocall campaign to spread lies and scare voters. In contrast to the NRCC's lies, health care reform will lower health insurance premiums and create up to 4 million American jobs.
March 03, 2010 5:03 pm ET
Rep. Boehner Falsely Claims Health Care Reform Is "An Out-And-Out Job Killer"
On March 3, 2010, House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement in which he called health care reform "an out-and-out job killer." In reality, reduced health care costs resulting from the legislation's passage would create up to 4 million jobs over the next ten years.
March 03, 2010 4:42 pm ET
Rep. Blackburn Repeats Untrue Talking Points Against Clean Energy
During a Republican Press Conference on March 2, 2010, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn repeated a plethora of false rightwing talking points claiming efforts to shift the United States toward a clean energy economy would harm the economy and kill jobs. In reality, investing in clean energy would boost America's economy by $111 billion and create up to 1.9 million jobs.
March 03, 2010 12:07 pm ET
FLASHBACK: GOP Fired Parliamentarian Who Objected To Their Use Of Reconciliation
Congressional Republicans are stepping up their efforts to portray the reconciliation process as an unprecedented threat to minority rights. However, as Democrats push forward with health care reform, it's important to remember that Republicans not only used reconciliation when they were in power, but actually took the extreme step of firing the Senate parliamentarian who objected to their use of the procedure.
