Saturday, May 26th, 2012

Hits and misses at the final GOP debate

The four candidates in the June 12 primary squared off in Falls Church on Friday night. We checked a few of their claims.

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The Latest from PolitiFact Virginia

A scorecard separating fact from fiction

Prince William County "has cut violent crime in half" since instituting a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Promise: Train more doctors to practice in rural areas

Update: Lots of study, little action

George Allen and his colleagues in the Senate "turned the biggest surplus in the history of the United States into the biggest deficit in the history of the United States."

Says when he was governor, "we expanded participation in Virginia in early childhood programs by nearly 40 percent."

If Congress froze the current spending level and then cut it by 2 percent annually, "we could balance the budget in five years."

 The U.S. economy is "recovering slower than Europe "

Says the stimulus bill sent tax credits overseas, such as  "tens of millions of dollars to build traffic lights in China."

Says the stimulus bill sent tax credits overseas, such as "half a billion to an electric car company that created hundreds of jobs in Finland."

Says the stimulus bill sent tax credits overseas, such as "$1.2 billion to a solar company that's building a plant in Mexico."

Promise: Establish a health sciences high school

Update: First step taken

Says the Congressional Budget Office has estimated "every penny of the federal budget will go to interest on the debt and entitlement spending by 2025."

Promise: Promote health savings accounts

Update: List of HSA insurers put on hold

George Allen "voted for 40,000 earmarks."

Says a bill requiring ultrasounds before abortions "was supported by Republicans and Democrats."

 "Under President Obama, domestic oil production is at an eight-year high."  

"On most things except witch trials, Virginia will always have been first."

Tim Kaine "reduced higher education funding by 25 percent when he was governor, driving up tuition..."

Promise: Issue transportation bonds

Update: Sale of delayed road bonds began in 2010

Promise: Increase resources to fight Medicaid fraud

Update: Medicaid fraud unit has been expanded

The CBO says the cost of health care reform will rise to $1.8 trillion, "increasing the price to far greater than the $900 billion" originally projected. 

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Every day, reporters and researchers from the Times-Dispatch examine statements by Virginia elected officials and candidates and anyone else who speaks up on matters of public importance. We research their statements and then rate the accuracy on our Truth-O-Meter:

TRUE – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.

MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.

HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.

MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.

FALSE – The statement is not accurate.

PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.

For more details, see the Principles of PolitiFact and the Truth-O-Meter.

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