Email David Baumann
The latest Truth-O-Meter items from David Baumann
"Whether in Illinois or Washington, Barack Obama has bridged partisanship to bring about significant reform."
"Hillary's baby bond proposal would give $5,000 to each of the 4-million babies born in the U.S. each year, totaling $20-billion per year, multiplied by four years = $80-billion."
"If Sen. Hillary Clinton could enact all of her campaign proposals, taxpayers would be faced with financing more than $777.6-billion in new spending over one White House term."
"Mayor Giuliani's lawsuit killed the line-item veto."
"John McCain is right on that one. The line-item veto is the best tool the president has to rein in excessive spending."
"With the resources it takes to execute just over three months of the Iraq war, we could fully fund the expansion of health care for needy children that Bush vetoed."
"With one stroke of his pen, President Bush has denied health insurance to 3.8 million kids who were due to get it under this bipartisan expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program."
"Another one he should veto is the SCHIP program, which he should say 'Take the C out of, because now it's for everybody, like every other entitlement program.'"
"We spent approximately $20-billion of that money on pork barrel, earmark projects. Maybe if we had done it right, maybe some of that money would have gone to inspect those bridges and other bridges across the country."
"Earmarked dollars have doubled just since 2000, and more than tripled in the last 10 years."
Recent stories from David Baumann
Spend-O-Meter vs. Truth-O-MeterOnce you accept some assumptions about how they did the math, the RNC does a pretty good job crunching Clinton's numbers.
Sparring over spendingIt's true that Rudy Giuliani sued to end the president's line item veto, it's just not clear how much that means.
Keeping it simple, sometimes wrongThe candidates from both parties want to distill the SCHIP debate into nuggets that satisfy their base voters.
Still fighting the last warSen. John McCain has a history of attacking 'earmarked' spending, but his facts are in the past, too.
Romney: turning over the turnaround labelIn a rich biography of success, he sometimes overstates his record.
Does Obama practice what he preaches?The freshman senator calls for bipartisanship. But when he votes, it's nearly always with his party.
Thompson's gun claim low on ammoHe says more guns mean less crime. But the academic research is inconclusive.
David Baumann is deputy editor of Congressional Quarterly's Weekly Report. He has covered Washington for almost 20 years and covered Congress for 14 years for National Journal Magazine and CongressDaily. He was a member of a team that won a 2005 National Headliner Award for a National Journal special report on "The State of Congress." He has a B.A in Political Science from George Washington University and a master's degree in journalism from Indiana University. He lives in Annapolis with his wife, his 22-year-old daughter having flown the coop.
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PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on our Truth-O-Meter. We’re also tracking more than 500 of Barack Obama’s campaign promises and are rating their progress on our new Obameter. >> More
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