A popular meme takes aim at prominent lawmakers by referencing the number of bills they’ve had passed. But it uses an erroneous number — and omits context.
A Misleading Claim About Lawmakers’ Effectiveness
The Preexisting Conditions Debate Isn’t Over
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said that all of the congressional Republican health care plans had “covered preexisting conditions,” adding that “the debate about preexisting conditions is over.” But the protections in the 2017 plans were not as comprehensive as those in the ACA.
Democratic Medicare Spin
Democratic lawmakers claim the president’s proposed 2020 budget would “ransack” or “slash” Medicare and Medicaid, likening it to an “assault on Medicare” and “the health care of seniors and families across America.” Experts agree the proposed cuts to Medicaid are significant, but many of the Medicare proposals echo those of Barack Obama and wouldn’t directly affect beneficiaries.
Social Posts Spin Sanders Photo
A viral hoax claims that Sen. Bernie Sanders was arrested in 1963 for “throwing eggs” at black civil rights protesters. He was arrested while protesting on behalf of civil rights.
FactChecking Sanders’ CNN Town Hall
In a televised town hall, newly announced presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders repeated several misleading claims that we have written about in the past.
Did the Uninsured Increase by 7 Million?
Democrats have embraced a new talking point: “7 million Americans have become uninsured” under President Donald Trump. That’s backed up by a Gallup survey. So far, one other measure has picked up a statistical change in the uninsured rate, but others haven’t. We’ll go through the numbers.
Sanders’ ‘Fact-Check’ Video Distorts Facts
A “fact-check” video posted on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ official social media accounts misrepresents employment data in an attempt to prove President Donald Trump “wrong” about the economy. The data actually show employment continues to improve under Trump.
Sanders’ Tweet on Retirement Savings
Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted that “more than half of older workers have no retirement savings.” But that figure includes retirees, not just “older workers,” and does not include workers with pension plans.
How Potent Is Methane?
Two federal agencies this month took steps that would allow the oil and gas industry to release more methane, a greenhouse gas, into the environment. Critics warned that methane is more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping the Earth’s heat, but some gave wildly divergent figures to describe how much more potent.
Video: ‘Medicare-for-All’ Claims
CNN’s Jake Tapper examines claims made by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about the cost of “Medicare-for-all.”