The federal government is heading to a shutdown, if Congress doesn’t pass funding legislation by the time the clock strikes midnight on Sept. 30. We’ll explain what that means and what government services could be affected.
In an interview with Robert Mangino of KDKA in Pittsburgh, FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely discusses our recent stories on Sen. Kamala Harris, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and President Donald Trump.
The partial government shutdown will reduce real GDP by $3 billion, on net, the CBO estimates. At least twice, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said CBO put the cost at $11 billion, neglecting to explain that the agency figures the economy will regain $8 billion of that this year.
Nancy Pelosi did not spend $497 million on office renovations during the government shutdown. That claim originated from a self-described satirical website, but it has now spread to other websites and social media posts without a disclaimer.
There is no evidence that “18 million illegal immigrants” received “government checks” during the government shutdown this month, contrary to Facebook posts.
A claim that the Bush administration approved $50 billion for construction of a border wall is false.
The weekslong partial government shutdown has led to around 800,000 federal employees not working or working without pay. It also has led to some false or questionable claims from Democrats about the shutdown’s impact on a host of federal services.
Viral Facebook posts say that former President Barack Obama “shut down the government to force Obamacare.” That’s misleading.
In a contentious Oval Office meeting, President Donald Trump and the Democratic congressional leaders — Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer — disagreed over funding for a border wall, mangling some facts in the process.
Q: Did Sen. Chuck Schumer take $500,000 in donations from immigrant advocacy groups before the government shutdown?
A: No. That rumor originated on a satirical website.