Pat Dollard

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DEBATE FACT #15: NO “SPECIFIC NUMBER” ON SMALL BUSINESSES AND BARACK OBAMA’S HEALTH CARE

Summary:

Barack Obama’s own campaign doesn’t know how many small businesses would be exempted under his health care plan.

The Facts:

Barack Obama’s Campaign Has Not “Put Out A Specific Number” When Asked To Identify Which Small Businesses Would Qualify For The Small Business Exemption And Tax Credit. “Under Obama’s health plan, businesses over an unspecified size would have to either make a ‘meaningful contribution’ to their employees’ health coverage or else pay an undefined percentage of payroll towards the costs of the national plan. Obama has also promised ‘small businesses’ that he would provide them with a refundable tax credit worth up to 50 percent of what they contribute towards their employees’ health premiums. ‘We haven’t put out a specific number,’ said Jason Furman, Obama’s director of economic policy, when asked by ABC News to identify who would be covered by Obama’s small business exemption and health-care tax credit.” (Gregory Wallace and Teddy Davis, “Obama Fuzzy On ‘Small Business’ Exemption,” ABC’s “Political Radar” Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 8/5/08)

DEBATE FACT #16: BARACK OBAMA’S “BORN ALIVE” RECORD

Summary:.

Barack Obama has an extreme voting record on “Born Alive.”

The Facts About Barack Obama’s Record:

In The Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama Voted At Least Six Times Against Legislation That Would Protect The Life Of A Child Born Alive During An Abortion Procedure. (S.B. 1082: Illinois Senate Health And Human Services Committee, Rejected, 4-6-0, 3/12/03, Obama Voted Nay; S.B. 1093: Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, Passed, 7-4, 3/27/01, Obama Voted Nay; S.B. 1094: Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, Passed, 7-4, 3/27/01, Obama Voted Nay; S.B. 1095: Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, Passed, 7-4, 3/27/01, Obama Voted Nay; S.B. 1662: Senate Floor Third Reading, Passed, 30-12-10, 4/4/02, Obama Voted Nay; S.B. 1663: Illinois Senate Judiciary Committ ee, Passed, 6-3-1, 3/5/02, Obama Voted Nay)

· “Abortion Opponents See Obama’s Vote On Medical Care For Aborted Fetuses As A Refusal To Protect The Helpless. Some Have Even Accused Him Of Supporting Infanticide.” (Ryan Keith, “Obama Record In State Legislature Offers Possible Ammunition For Critics,” The Associated Press, 1/17/07)

FactCheck.org: While Barack Obama Says He Would Have Voted For The Federal “Born Alive” Legislation, He Voted Against A “Nearly Identical” Bill In The Illinois State Legislature. “Obama opposed the 2001 and 2002 ‘born alive’ bills as backdoor attacks on a woman’s legal right to abortion, but he says he would have been ‘fully in support’ of a similar federal bill that President Bush had signed in 2002, because it contained protections for Roe v. Wade. We find that, as the NRLC said in a recent statement, Obama voted in committee against the 2003 state b ill that was nearly identical to the federal act he says he would have supported. Both contained identical clauses saying that nothing in the bills could be construed to affect legal rights of an unborn fetus, according to an undisputed summary written immediately after the committee’s 2003 mark-up session.” (Jess Henig, “Obama And ‘Infanticide,’” FactCheck.org, http://www.factcheck.org, 8/25/08)

· Barack Obama’s Campaign “Acknowledged That He Had Voted Against An Identical Bill In The State Senate.” “His campaign yesterday acknowledged that he had voted against an identical bill in the state Senate, and a spokesman, Hari Sevugan, said the senator and other lawmakers had concerns that even as worded, the legislation could have undermined existing Illinois abortion law.” (Russell Berman, “Obama Facing Attacks From All Sides Over Abortion Record,” The New York Sun, 8/18/08)

· FactCheck.org: Barack Obama’s Stated Reasons For Voting Against The Bill Are “Wrong.” “The statement was still on Obama’s Web site as of this writing, Aug. 25, long after Obama had accused his detractors of ‘lying.’ But Obama’s claim is wrong. In fact, by the time the HHS Committee voted on the bill, it did contain language identical to the federal act.” (Jess Henig, “Obama And ‘Infanticide,’” FactCheck.org, http://www.factcheck.org, 8/25/08)