PolitiFact.com
Statements about Federal Budget
Tom Leppert

Tom Leppert

Mostly True

Leppert presided, wasn’t alone

Says "we brought crime rate down by 30 percent" when he was mayor of Dallas.

Kurt Schrader

Kurt Schrader

True

When it comes to federal spending, Schrader’s meaning eclipses his choice of words.

In just a few decades, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, other mandatory spending programs, and paying interest due on the debt will eclipse our entire budget.

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan

Mostly True

Number mostly adds up, but political calculations also at work

Says U.S. Senate Democrats "have gone without any budget at all" for more than 1,000 days.

Barry Hinckley

Barry Hinckley

Half-True

$8 trillion is a fair projection, but he's just one vote

"Sheldon Whitehouse's failure of leadership, the adding of almost $8 trillion in debt in his first full term, is shameful..."

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich

Mostly True

Much better phrased than previous versions

"We balanced the budget with the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, and ultimately had four consecutive balanced budgets."

Bloggers

Bloggers

Mostly True

Data is generally correct, though dated

Republican-leaning states get more in federal dollars than they pay in taxes.

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich

False

Two during his tenure, two after he was gone

"When I was speaker, we had four consecutive balanced budgets."

Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum

Pants on Fire!

Number toss

Rick Santorum says Rick Perry requested 1,200 earmarks as governor of Texas.

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney

Pants on Fire!

Our horse cavalry ain't what it used to be, either

The U.S. military is at risk of losing its "military superiority" because "our Navy is smaller than it's been since 1917. Our Air Force is smaller and older than any time since 1947."

Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Pants on Fire!

Don't forget about the first President Bush

"The Republicans have never done anything really to balance the budget."

Restore Our Future

Restore Our Future

Pants on Fire!

Distortion after distortion

Says Newt Gingrich "co-sponsored a bill with Nancy Pelosi that would have given $60 million a year to a U.N. program supporting China’s brutal one-child policy."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Pants on Fire!

None of them said they wanted zero aid for Israel

"Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, and Newt Gingrich all say they would cut foreign aid to Israel — and every other country — to zero."

Ron Paul

Ron Paul

Half-True

Not so simple

Says that when Republicans held Congress and the presidency, they "doubled the size of the (U.S.) Department of Education."

Rob Portman

Rob Portman

Mostly True

Spike in increases hasn't persisted

Says federal spending has increased 21 percent over the past three years.

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman

False

Hard to copy ideas you've trashed

Says the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction proposal went from President Barack Obama's desk to "the garbage can."

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney

False

Repeal would ultimately increase deficit

Eliminating "Obamacare" ... "saves $95 billion a year."

Anna Little

Anna Little

Mostly False

Writing in CAPS still don’t make it right

"Bob Menendez just voted to increase the government's debt ceiling to $1.9 TRILLION! In his 19 years in Congress, Menendez has helped overspend America over $15 TRILLION into debt."

Kay Bailey Hutchison

Kay Bailey Hutchison

Mostly True

Unemployment: $20 million. Food stamps: $0.

Says taking millionaires off food stamps and unemployment would save $20 million.

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Half-True

Yes, but not specifically

"Santorum also voted for a teapot museum in North Carolina."

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Mostly True

No argument from Santorum

Says Rick Santorum voted for the Bridge to Nowhere.

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