President Barack Obama, with the help of Vice President Joe Biden, forged a compromise with Congress on taxes.
Fiscal cliff deal gets to heart of Obama’s tax promises
The deal reached in Washington to avoid overnight tax increases and spending cuts struck at the core of President Barack Obama's promises on taxes.
A scorecard separating fact from fiction
Promise: Extend child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes
Update: Variety of child and family tax cuts extended or made permanent in fiscal cliff bill
Promise: Extend the Bush tax cuts for lower incomes
Update: Lower rates are permanent, thanks to fiscal cliff
Promise: Repeal the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes
Update: Tax rates rise for incomes over $450,000
Promise: Tax carried interest as ordinary income
Update: Effort to increase taxes on 'carried interest' falls short again
AIG has fully repaid the federal government "plus a profit of more than $22 billion."
Promise: Freeze the 2009 estate tax law
Update: Obama, Republicans split the difference on estate tax rates
Promise: Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch
Update: Congress permanently indexes the AMT for inflation
Promise: Increase the capital gains and dividends taxes for higher-income taxpayers
Update: Tax on capital gains, dividends goes up to 20 percent for families earning $450,000 or more
Promise: Phase out exemptions and deductions for higher earners
Update: 'Fiscal cliff' bill limits tax breaks for higher-income taxpayers
Promise: Restructure and streamline USAID
Update: Obama better coordinates foreign aid, but restructuring stalls
Promise: Fully fund debt cancellation for heavily indebted poor countries
Update: Obama funds debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries
Promise: Better integrate efforts of federal agencies with the military through new Mobile Development Teams
Update: Military-civilian teams have operated in far-flung corners of Afghanistan
Promise: Revise regulations for export of aerospace technology
Update: At last moment, Senate, House approve bill changing regulations
Promise: Improve communications systems for first responders
Update: $7 billion for broadband network on its way, but challenges persist
Deleting duplication on the Obameter
As we continue wrapping up our work on the 2008 Obameter promises, we found a duplication.
President Barack Obama’s promise to "restore 24-month limit ...
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PolitiFact honored with Vigilance in Journalism award
PolitiFact has been award the 2012 Irene Miller Award for Vigilance in Journalism by the Pinellas County, Fla., chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union ...
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Some GOP health care pledges moot; we delete them
As we finish rating the 2010 campaign promises made by House Republicans on our GOP Pledge-O-Meter, we’ve determined that a few of them don ...
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We want to hear your suggestions and comments.
For tips or comments on our Obameter and our GOP-Pledge-O-Meter promise databases, please e-mail the Obameter. If you are commenting on a specific promise, please include the wording of the promise.
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TRUE – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.
MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.
HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.
MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.
FALSE – The statement is not accurate.
PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.
For more details, see the Principles of PolitiFact and the Truth-O-Meter.
We’re also tracking campaign promises of President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress. You can track the progress on our Obameter and our GOP Pledge-O-Meter.
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PolitiFact is tracking and rating the campaign promises of the Republican leadership and President Barack Obama.
The GOP Pledge-O-Meter follows dozens of promises made in 2010 by Republican leaders in their speeches and in the Pledge to America, their blueprint for the 112th Congress.
The Obameter follows more than 500 promises made by Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign.
Rating their promises
Beyond the Truth-O-Meter
Fact-checking around the Web
- New Jersey — Says "10 days after Hurricane Katrina, this chamber passed two separate bills amounting to $60 billion. It has been nearly two months since we had Superstorm Sandy, and nothing has passed." — Robert Menendez
- Ohio — "The problem with raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans is that more than half of them are small business owners." — John Boehner
- Wisconsin — Among Milwaukee Public Schools students, "86 percent are behind in reading and 80 percent are behind in math." — Don Pridemore
- Georgia — "Connecticut has the fifth toughest gun control laws in the country, including an assault weapons ban that bans 35 different weapons." — Jack Kingston
- Ohio — "Individuals with mental illnesses die an average of 25 years earlier than those without a mental illness." — Terry Russell
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