Let the budget battling begin

By Louis Jacobson
Published on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 at 5:27 p.m.

Related rulings:

"Within a few years, we will be spending more on interest payments than on national security."

Mitch Daniels, Friday, February 11th, 2011.

Ruling: False | Details

"Our debt to GDP ratios, our deficit to GDP ratios are quickly approaching the countries we have been reading about for the last year and a half. We are not far behind Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain and all these countries we have been reading about."

Jim Jordan, Thursday, January 20th, 2011.

Ruling: Half-True | Details

"Over the last two years since President Obama has taken office, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs."

John Boehner, Tuesday, February 15th, 2011.

Ruling: False | Details

Under the White House’s budget proposal, "we will not be adding more to the national debt" by the middle of the decade.

Barack Obama, Tuesday, February 15th, 2011.

Ruling: False | Details

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President Barack Obama held a press conference at the White House on Feb. 15, 2011, to discuss the budget he released the day before, as well as other issues.

The release of the annual presidential budget proposal on Feb. 14, 2011, precipitated a flurry of claims and counter claims about the nation’s fiscal picture. Over the next day or two, we’ll be checking statements about the budget.

Our first statement is something President Barack Obama said in a Feb. 15, 2011, press conference. We rated it False.

Our second fact-check was a statement by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in a Feb. 15, 2011, press conference  that "over the last two years since President Barack Obama has taken office, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs." That rated a False as well. 

Our colleagues at PolitiFact Ohio checked an earlier statement by Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, that the U.S. debt to GDP ratio was approaching those of such financially troubled nations as Ireland and Greece. The rating? Half True.

Also, we checked a claim by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels that said within a few years, the government will be spending more on interest paper than national security. We found the numbers don't back that up. We rated it False.