Media Matters Daily Summary 03-29-10

Samuelson misleads to claim CBO estimate of health reform "is misleading"
Asserting that health care reform has "sown the seeds" of a "budget crisis," Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson claimed CBO's estimate that the law will reduce deficits by $143 billion over 10 years "is misleading" because of the so-called "doc fix" and because the law includes 10 years of revenue to pay for six years of spending to support his claim. In fact, the "doc fix" costs are unrelated to the health care reform law, and CBO found that the law would continue to reduce deficits in the decades following 2019. Read More

Quick Fact: Fox's Carlson again falsely suggests health reform requires everyone to enroll in exchanges
Discussing an amendment that would require the president and other White House officials to enroll in the insurance exchanges established by the health care reform law, Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson stated, "[W]hy in your mind would the president and other lawmakers not want to enroll in what they want all other Americans to have?" However, the health care reform bill does not require "all other Americans" to participate in the exchanges, and, contrary to Carlson's suggestion, "members of Congress and congressional staff" are required to participate. Read More

Media invent Obama hypocrisy on recess appointments
Several media reports have suggested President Obama is hypocritical for making recess appointments because he criticized President Bush in 2005 for bypassing the Senate when he appointed John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But Obama was not generally criticizing recess appointments; rather, he -- along with at least two Republicans -- specifically argued that a recess appointment for such a high-profile diplomatic position could affect the United States' credibility and leverage in the U.N. Read More

Right-wing media falsely claim health center provision will fund abortion
Right-wing media sources have falsely claimed that funding for community health centers (CHCs) included in the recently-passed health care reform legislation will fund abortions. In fact, CHCs do not perform abortions, and the Department of Health and Human Services states that federal regulations ban the use of the CHC funds for abortions except in cases already allowed under current law.
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Quick Fact: Fox News falsely claims Liu says "reparations [are] on the table"
Fox News' website, the Fox Nation, falsely claimed that in a video clip, Obama appeals court nominee Goodwin Liu said: "Reparations are on the Table." In fact, in the 2008 discussion to which the Fox Nation was referring, Liu actually suggested that people should deal with the legacy of slavery by working at the community level on issues like "access to food, health care, problems with their houses." Read More

Mattera's video attacks on Franken and Grayson based on falsehoods
In videos promoted on BigGovernment.com, right-wing author Jason Mattera confronted Democratic lawmakers Rep. Alan Grayson and Sen. Al Franken and sharply criticized them over their support for specific provisions in the House and Senate versions of the health care bill. However, Mattera's attacks are based on falsehoods and distortions of the bills - Mattera himself even debunks one of the attackes levied against Sen. Franken. Read More