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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

A Fake Tom Price Quote

A Fake Tom Price Quote

Q: Did Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price say “it’s better for our budget if cancer patients die more quickly”?

A: No. That’s another made-up quote from a “news/satire” website.

No ‘First Grandma’ Pension

No ‘First Grandma’ Pension

Q: Will Marian Robinson, Barack Obama’s mother-in-law, receive a $160,000 government pension for babysitting her granddaughters during Obama’s time as president?
A: No. That false rumor originated from a fake news website.

Does Obama Want a Higher Pension?

Does Obama Want a Higher Pension?

No. Obama requested an additional $588,000 in FY2017 to cover pensions and other costs for four former presidents plus “new spending for new former President Barack Obama.”

The Clinton Furniture Flap

The Clinton Furniture Flap

Q: Did Bill and Hillary Clinton return furniture they took from the White House in 2001?
A: Yes. The Clintons returned more than $28,000 worth of items, which, they said, they thought were personal gifts given to them and not to the White House.

VA Funds and Syrian Refugees

VA Funds and Syrian Refugees

Q: Did President Obama cut benefits for veterans by $2.6 billion to give the money to Syrian refugees?

A: No. The Department of Veterans Affairs transferred funds to close a $2.6 billion gap in a health care program. The transfer is unrelated to Syrian refugee aid.

Presidential Vacations

Presidential Vacations

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?
A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.

Surge of ‘Unaccompanied Children’

Surge of ‘Unaccompanied Children’

Q: Did the Obama administration advertise in January to transport 65,000 foreign children apprehended at the border? Did it expect a surge of illegal immigration?
A: Yes. There’s been a sharp increase in unaccompanied children from Central America since FY 2012, and the U.S. projected a bigger increase this year.

About Those ‘Republican Cuts’

About Those ‘Republican Cuts’

Q: Would a “list of Republican budget cuts” by the “new Republican House” slash $2.5 trillion from federal spending over 10 years?
A: The list is real. But so far, there has been no action on the bill, which was sponsored by 33 conservative GOP House members.

Did Obama ‘Enact’ DREAM Act?

Q: Did President Obama “enact” the DREAM Act by executive order to give “amnesty” to 20 million illegal immigrants?
A: No. But the administration in 2011 adopted a policy of giving “particular care” before deporting students, military veterans and others deemed to be low risk. In 2011, it issued a new policy to allow certain illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to apply for two-year work permits.