PolitiFact.com
Statements about Federal Budget
Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

True

It's a well-off capital

"Seven of the 10 highest-income counties in the country ring the city" of Washington D.C.

Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann

Pants on Fire!

Overhead is 5 percent at most, not 70 percent

Of every "three dollars in food stamps for the needy, seven dollars in salaries and pensions (go to) the bureaucrats who are supposed to be taking care of the poor."

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan

Half-True

Which debt?

"Our debt is already bigger than our economy."

Rand Paul

Rand Paul

Mostly True

Study is more Mars than Maui

Says the federal government is supporting a study in Hawaii to "develop a menu for when we colonize Mars."

Steve Stockman

Steve Stockman

Mostly False

Program predates Obama, doesn’t hand out phones

Says president is ‘spending $2.2 billion to give away "ObamaPhones." ’

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan

False

Not when using the best measuring stick

The fiscal cliff agreement was "the largest tax increase in history."  

National Republican Congressional Committee

National Republican Congressional Committee

Pants on Fire!

A time warp leap in logic

Says "Kurt Schrader supports Obama’s sequester … but won’t cut $1.6 million to fund new video games."

Al Cardenas

Al Cardenas

False

Even by narrow definition, he's off

Of $60 billion Congress approved in response to Hurricane Sandy, "only 10 percent was for disaster relief."

Council for the National Interest

Council for the National Interest

Mostly True

Numbers right, "blank check" disputed

The United States gives $8 million a day to Israel and gives that country a blank check.

John Boehner

John Boehner

Pants on Fire!

Start by clicking "PLAN" on White House website

"There's no plan from Senate Democrats or the White House to replace the sequester."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Mostly True

Tax increases and spending cuts

Says a majority of Americans -- and Republicans -- support his approach for deficit reduction.

Ami Bera

Ami Bera

Mostly False

Sequester probably won't be burning down the house

Due to the sequester, "people are going to be unsafe. Homes are going to burn."

Arne Duncan

Arne Duncan

Mostly False

Literally, not really

"There are literally teachers now who are getting pink slips" because of sequestration.

Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy

Mostly False

Not what the best measure shows

Says the federal government is earning more tax revenue now "than any other time."

Raymond LaHood

Raymond LaHood

Mostly True

Prepare to wait

"There's going to be a slowdown and delays in flights" as a result of the sequester.

Mallard Fillmore

Mallard Fillmore

Mostly True

Gains made, then lost

Comic strip says government study shows Head Start "has little or no impact on the children it’s supposed to help."

Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson

Half-True

Cuts not immediate, for one thing

In a budget deal struck in 2011 "a trillion dollars of cuts went into effect immediately, and then a special committee was set up ... to get agreement on another $3 trillion of cuts."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Mostly False

Scare tactic

If the sequester hits, federal prosecutors will have to "let criminals go."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Half-True

Could be tens of thousands — or not

Says if Congress doesn’t avoid the sequester, "tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find child care for their kids."

Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor

Pants on Fire!

Pure fantasy

"The National Science Foundation spent $1.2 million paying seniors to play World of Warcraft to study the impact it had on their brain."

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