Q: Is Sen. Elizabeth Warren part Native American? Is that how she got jobs as a professor at Ivy League law schools?
A: Warren has released a report of a DNA test that claims to “strongly support” her statement that she has Native American ancestry, and no one has proved that she was ever hired because of her racial background.
President Donald Trump claimed that the Republican tax plans in Congress would “cost me a fortune.” He has offered no proof of that, and it’s highly doubtful. Several provisions of the tax bills would benefit wealthy individuals like Trump.
The president’s speech on the Republican tax plan oversold the benefits of tax cuts and strayed from the facts on other issues.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says the Republican tax plans will be a “job-killer,” but most economic analyses of the plans suggest, on balance, modest job growth.
Sen. Bill Cassidy claims he has a way to prevent the Senate tax plan from raising health insurance premiums. He doesn’t.
Q: Has the Food and Drug Administration announced that vaccines cause autism?
A: No. FDA statements are grounded in scientific evidence. There is no evidence that vaccination is linked to autism.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton falsely claimed that the amended Senate tax bill eliminating the penalty for not buying health insurance would have “no impact on anyone” who buys coverage through the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act.
Q: Does the National Institutes of Health fund research on human-animal chimeras, or organisms that are part-human, part-other animal?
A: With some exceptions, the NIH doesn’t fund research on human-animal chimeras. But the agency has proposed a rule to widen the scope of research it funds in this area.
An estimated 13 million fewer Americans would have health insurance by 2025 if the health care law’s individual mandate is repealed. But that doesn’t mean that all 13 million would be kicked off their insurance plans, as some Democrats claim.
Q: Did President Donald Trump shut down a service dog training program for veterans?
A: No. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center ended its contract with the program and told us that the president was not a factor.