PolitiFact Staff Writer
Louis Jacobson is a staff writer for PolitiFact. He has served as deputy editor of Roll Call and as founding editor of its legislative wire service, CongressNow. He is also a contributing editor at National Journal magazine, where he spent more than a decade covering politics, policy and lobbying. In 2004, Jacobson originated the Out There column on politics in the states, which has run in Roll Call and stateline.org.
The latest Truth-O-Meter items from Louis Jacobson
The Democratic health care bill will "collect higher taxes for 10 years and provide health care for only 6 years."
A national poll found that among people who oppose the Democratic health care reform bill, "almost 40 percent" opposed it not because it goes too far, but because "they don’t think it goes far enough. ... They will not be unhappy when we pass health care reform."
"Under the ruling of the Supreme Court, any lobbyist could go into any legislator and say, if you don't vote our way on this bill, we're going to run a million-dollar campaign against you in your district."
"The economy began its nose dive when Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007."
"Health insurance companies' costs are only 4 percent of all health care spending."
"We are the only industrialized nation that relies heavily on a for-profit medical insurance industry to provide basic health care."
"When we started this health care debate a year ago, 85 percent of the American people had health insurance, and 95 percent of the 85 percent were happy with it."
George W. Bush was "the least popular president in modern history."
"President Obama's bill won't bring down the costs (of health care) for average Americans -- or really for very few Americans, if any."
"The lifespan of the average American is less than that of people in nations that spend far less (on health care). ... To put it bluntly, we spend more and die sooner."
Recent stories from Louis Jacobson
Top 5 lies about health careWe look at five persistent talking points that don't have much to them.
Top 10 facts to know about health care reformWe boil down more than a year's worth of reporting and research to ten important points.
Fact-checking the new Mitt Romney book "No Apology"Republican Mitt Romney lays out his ideas for America in his new book. We check the facts.
GOP health care reform: A simple explanation, updatedWe revisit our analysis of the Republican health care plan to cover the latest updates.
Fact-checking Obama's bipartisan health care reform meetingWe're watching the president's health care summit with our Truth-O-Meter handy.
The nuclear optionsHarry Reid says science has settled the question of what to do with nuclear waste. It hasn't.
A stimulus report cardOne year after the passage of the economic stimulus, we assess how many jobs have been created and how much money has gotten into the economy.
The Sunday VeepstakesCurrent and former vice presidents faced off on the Sunday news shows, and we check the facts.
Obama's budget reshapes the U.S. space agendaPresident Barack Obama's 2011 budget changes priorities for space exploration. We measure the moves against his campaign promises.
Having their cake ... 'and voting against it, too'We check Obama's claim that Republicans voted against the economic stimulus and then boasted about the programs it provided.
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