Dole Campaign Press Release - Truth Watch

Checking the Facts from Our Prevaricating President

Claim: The Clinton Administration is responsible for the creation of 10.5 million new jobs.

The Truth: False. Two-thirds of the the jobs created were in states with Republican Governors who have striven to cut taxes and balance the budget. Jobs loss, not job creation, has been brought about by Clinton's increases in taxes and regulations. Since March, 1995, we've lost 331,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs; we lost 57,000 manufacturing jobs in September alone. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/4/96) The number of women working 2 full-time jobs has risen 10% since 1994. (Joint Economic Committee)

Claim: Wages are rising for the first time in a decade.

The Truth: False. Real wages have actually fallen slightly under Clinton--the real average hourly wage was $7.42 in 1992 and was $7.41 in the first half of 1996. Clinton has the lowest, average real wage during his tenure of any President in the last 30 years. (Joint Economic Committee) Women have been hardest hit. The typical weekly earnings of women have fallen 2.2% in three years under Clinton. In addition, the earnings gap has widened from a 23.7% difference in 1993 to 23.3% in 1996 (2nd quarter to 2nd quarter). (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Claim: The Clinton Administration is responsible for cutting the deficit in half.

The Truth: President Clinton had virtually nothing to do with deficit reduction. Indeed, before Clinton took office, there were already three factors at work bringing down the deficit: (1) the defense down-sizing initiated under President Bush after we won the Cold War; (2) the post-recession growth in tax revenues; and (3) the end of the S&L crisis. (House Budget Committee)

The Truth: In both his pre-election-year budgets (for fiscal year 1995 and 1996), President Clinton proposed higher spending than what actually occurred and increasing deficits. But Congress' spending restraints reduced deficits below the levels proposed by Clinton. (House Budget Committee, 10/7/96) Republicans, through their conscientious fiscal restraint, are responsible for a $50 billion reduction in the deficit. (House Appropriations Committee).

The Truth: Even Democrats admit that Clinton had little to do with the reduction in the deficit. Former Democrat Congressman Tim Penny said, "In reality, Clinton's 19993 five-year budget plan had little to do with the steep drop in the deficit for 1996." (The Weekly Standard, 7/22/96)

Claim: The Beady Bill has kept at least 60,000 felons, fugitives, and stalkers from getting handguns. Bob dole opposes it.

The Truth: This is absolutely false. A recent national survey of chiefs of police found that 85% believe that the Brady Act has not prevented any criminal from obtaining a handgun from illegal sources. (Wall Street Journal, 9/17/96) In the first 16 months of the Brady Law, only 7 persons nationally had been successfully prosecuted. (GAO, January 1996)

The Truth: According to the General Accounting Office, 38% alone of those turned down for were for administrative errors, while another 8% were turned down for traffic violations. (GAO, 1/96)

Claim: Republicans tried to cut Medicare by $270 billion.

The Truth: It is absolutely incredulous that Bill Clinton and Al Gore continue to call a 30% increase in Medicare a cut. Medicare spending per year increases at twice the rate of inflation under the Dole plan for $5200 per beneficiary in 1996 to $7000 in 2002. The only one who has ever suggested a "cut" in Medicare is Hillary Clinton who told the Senate Finance Committee that "zero growth" was the administration's target for Medicare spending. (Federal News Service, 9/30/96)

The Truth: There is only a 2% difference between the total spending on Medicare proposed by Senator Dole and that proposed by President Clinton ($1.510 trillion versus $1.479 trillion) over six years.

The Truth: There was only a 3% difference between the total spending on Medicare proposed by the Republicans in 1995 and the plan proposed by President Clinton. But Clinton vetoed the plan anyway.

The Truth: "Only in Washington do people believe that no one can get by on two times the rate of inflation. So, when you hear all this business about cuts, let me caution you that is not what is going on." (President Bill Clinton, speech before American Association of Retired Person, 10/5/93)

Claim: The Clinton Administration has improved quality of life for our soldiers and their families.

The Truth: Despite his supposed election year conversion, Bill Clinton has abandoned our soldiers. Over 60 percent of all military housing has been ruled unsuitable. (Defense Science Board Task Force on Quality of Life, 1995) Then at Ft. Hood Texas, an estimated 64 children, under the age of six, were living in quarters with lead- based paint, but due to funding shortages, repairs have been pushed off until FY 1997. (Rep. Floyd D. Spence, Chairman, "Military Readiness: The View From the Field," House National Security Committee, 12.94)

Claim: The Clinton Administration has increased control and enforcement at the border.

The Truth: Since President Clinton took office, the drug interdiction budget has been cut nearly 40% and cut 227 DEA agents. For 1995, Clinton proposed funding reductions at various law enforcement agencies that would have meant over 600 fewer drug enforcement agents. It was Congress that stepped in and restored some of this funding. (Heritage Foundation, 7/12/96; Investor's Business Daily, 6/26/96)

The Truth: On September 26, 1996, the AP reported, "The U.S. Customs Service which protects America's borders from illegal drugs, money and weapons has quietly cut 662 investigative jobs and brought thousands of few criminal cases since President Clinton took office, records show." (AP, 9/26/96)

Claim: Clinton's plan would extend the life of the Medicare trust fund 10 years.

The Truth: False. Medicare is scheduled to go bankrupt in 2001 if no changes are made. Bill Clinton's plan does not extend the life of Medicare until 2011.

According to CBO, without any accounting gimmicks, the Administration's plan would only add one year to the life of Medicare--until 2002. (House Budget Committee. 10/7/96)

Claim: Medicare Premiums would increase $270 under the Republicans.

The Truth: Misleading again; $170 of this amount is already scheduled to take place under current law, not as the result of any proposal from Republicans.

Claim: Bill Clinton claims that he has spoken out against drugs.

The Truth: In 193 and 1994, President Clinton made seven addresses to the Nation; none mentioned illegal drugs. The President's 1993 presidential papers reveal 13 reference to illegal drugs in a total of 1,628 presidential statements, addresses and interviews. Of 1,742 presidential statements and other utterances in 1994, illegal drugs were mentioned only 11 times. (House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 3/10/96)

Claim: We can't have any tax cut that's not paid for.

The Truth: Bill Clinton claims that his targeted tax cut is paid for, "line by line, dime by dime," and one of the ways he "pays" for his $1500 education tax credit is selling a portion of the spectrum. However, Clinton pledged that same portion of the spectrum to pay for increased spending for general education, the environment and technology in his FY 97 budget. (US News and World Report, 10/14/96)

Claim: Republicans cut Pell Grants, cut student loans.

The Truth: Not true. The Republican budget, vetoed by Clinton, would have increased total student loan volume by nearly 50%--from $24.5 billion in 1995 to $36.4 billion in 2002--and increased the maximum annual Pell Grant to $2,500--the highest in history. (House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities)

The Truth: Clinton and congressional Democrats cut the maximum Pell Grant by $100. (Education Finance Council) Additionally, Clinton's fist three budget proposals included proposals that would have wrecked higher education. They included proposals that would have cut college work study by $90 million, cut student supplemental opportunity grants by $85 million, cut State Student Incentive Grants by $73 million, and eliminate "Perkins" Student Loans and Guaranteed Student Loans altogether. (Education Finance Council)

The Truth: President Clinton's FY 1996 budget proposed the elimination of six scholarship programs, including the Christa McAuliffe Fellowships and the State Student Initiative grants. In his FY 1995 budget, Clinton tried to terminate the Perkins Scholarship program. (House Budget Committee)

Claim: I'm against quotes.

The Truth: Bill Clinton promised in 1992 that he would 'oppose racial quotas.' However, as President, Bill Clinton has done nothing but support quotas in government agency hiring, race-based university scholarships, and briefs filed by his Justice Department. After promising a review of federal affirmative action programs, the Clinton Administration did not recommend the elimination of one single program even though there are at least 168 different programs in existence. A year and half later, only one program has been eliminated. (Center for Equal Opportunity, 7/96)

Claim: Bill Clinton proposed $110 billion in tax cut that are fully paid for and are targeted to help working families.

The Truth: The President has proposed a tax hike, not a tax cut. The President's budget proposes new taxes of $188 billion and leaves a net tax increase of $64 billion over ten years. That's because the bulk of his tax cuts are temporary, but his tax increases are permanent. (Joint Committee on Taxation)

The Truth: The cornerstone of the President's tax cuts, the family tax credit and the deduction for higher expenses, are for five years only, 1996-2000. They sunset on December 31, 2000. "Coincidentally," his tax cuts last as long as his hoped-for next term. (Joint Committee on Taxation)

The Truth: Moreover, his $500 child tax credit is only $300 for 1997 and 1998 and applies only to children under 12 and under. The Dole child tax credit is $500, is permanent, and applies to children 18 and under.

Claim: The Republican budget made deep cuts in environmental protection.

The Truth: Clinton and Gore have asserted that the Republican budget made deep cuts in environmental protection. Despite an 8.5% increase in funding by the Republican Congress, Clinton's EPA has reduced enforcement budgets against polluters by 13% in the last three fiscal years. Waste site inspections are down 45% since the Bush Presidency; administrative actions against polluters are down 18% from FY91 to FY95; and in just the last year, civil penalties against polluters have fallen 39%. (House Commerce Committee; House Members' news conference on the Environment, 9/1196)

The Truth: Besides major, sweeping pro-environment legislation like Food Safety and Safe Drinking Water, the Republican 104th Congress enacted more than a dozen significant, pro-environment reforms, including legislation preventing exposure to toxins; cleaning up radioactive waste; recycling lands contaminated by hazardous wastes; expanding wildlife reserves and national parks, improving the quality of rivers, harbors, lakes and beaches; improving the aquatic environment; and strengthening our fisheries management programs. By contrast, the Democrat-controlled 103th Congress enacted no major environmental initiatives, and passed only one "environmental" bill of regional interest, the California Deser Protection Act. (House Commerce Committee)

Claim: 12 million working families have benefited from the Family and Medical Leave Act

The Truth: Bill Clinton's numbers are false. Estimates actually show that between 1.5 million and 3 million people have actually used the law-less than one-fourth of the number cited by Clinton. The fact is that most large and medium size companies already have maternity and sick leave policies. (Chicago Tribune, 9/27/96) Even Hillary Clinton acknowledge: "As many as 3 million workers used the Family and Medical Leave Act during the 18 months covered in the study." (Hillary Rodham Clinton, op-ed, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6/30/96).

The Truth: A Department of Labor study found that 88% of those covered by FMLA already had similar policies in place. (Investor's Business Daily, 10/2/96).

Claim: Manufacturing jobs have increased.

The Truth: Under Clinton, Factory Workers Are Being Laid Off. Under Clinton, 331,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since March, 1995, and 57,000 in September alone. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Claim: Bill Clinton claims the economy is strong.

The Truth: Clinton's "recovery" is the most sluggish in a century. Economic growth under Clinton averaged a dismal 1.3% in 1995 and 2.5% overall--the slowest expansion in more than 100 years (Joint Economic Committee). Of the 7 co-called "G-7" nations, our economic growth next year will be sixth. (International Monetary Fund)

The Truth: Under Clinton, people can't pay their bills. Credit card loan delinquencies have been up 7 consecutive quarters and are the highest since the American Banker Association began keeping score in 1974. (The American Banker, 9/18/96) More people are having to file Bankruptcy--1.1 million this year, the first million-bankruptcy year ever. (USA Today, 6/13/96)

The Truth: Wages have fallen under Bill Clinton, with women being affected the most--a 2.2% drop in wages under Clinton.

Claim: The trade deficit with Japan has gone down.

The Truth: Clinton has reached a record number of hollow agreements with Japan--they are unenforceable, vague, nothing more than publicity stunts. The deficit with Japan reached a historic high of $67.3 billion in 1994; in 1995, this trade deficit with Japan was $10 billion higher than when Clinton took office. (Bureau of Economic Analysis, Survey of Current Business, 6/95)