The Debt Limit Dance

Every few years, Congress and the White House bring the U.S. government to the brink of default -- and then a deal emerges. 

Sometimes, the deal doesn't happen until there is a government shutdown -- which happened for 16 days in 2013.

There are even financial consequences after a deal is struck -- which happened in 2011, when Standard & Poor’s Rating Services downgraded the United States’ credit rating from AAA to AA+, saying the bipartisan compromise to raise the debt and control spending was inadequate.

This year, the U.S. reached the current debt limit of $31.4 trillion on Jan. 19, and the Treasury Department has warned Congress that the nation could run out of money on June 1. Both sides seem confident that a deal will be reached, but as Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over till it's over."

This week, Director Eugene Kiely takes a look at the current state of affairs and looks back at how the last 10 debt limit disputes were resolved.  

Typically, negotiations have dragged on for months and, contrary to what you may have heard, both parties have used the debt limit negotiations to extract budget concessions from the White House. And, contrary to what you may have heard, both parties sought to increase spending. 

The longest any negotiation lasted during the previous 10 debt limit increases was nearly eight months (2015) and the largest debt limit increase was $6.41 trillion (2019). 

Read the full story, "Debt Ceiling Talks Go Down to the Wire — Again."

Reader: Did Adam Schiff visit Epstein's Island?

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: There is no record of Rep. Adam Schiff ever visiting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean. That’s entirely made up by a self-described satirical website called America’s Last Line of Defense. The website says on its “about us” page: “Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.” The problem, of course, is that not everyone who hears about or even reads the story sees the disclaimer. That's how rumors start. It is particularly a problem on social media platforms when only a headline is visible or when the "story" is republished on another website.

Schiff, who was the House intelligence committee chairman when Donald Trump was president, has been the target of such false claims for years. In 2019, we wrote about a doctored photo that purportedly showed Schiff with Epstein. In 2018, we wrote that Schiff and liberal billionaire George Soros are not in-laws. 

If you want information about notable people who associated with Epstein, you should read the Wall Street Journal’s series published in April. The Journal says the series is "based on thousands of pages of emails and schedules largely from 2013 to 2017." (Note: The Journal has a paywall.)

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Viral Video Makes False Claim About Global Oil Supply": Oil is formed in a process that takes millions of years, and there is a finite amount on the planet, scientists say. But a TikTok video shared claims that there is an “unlimited” supply of oil, and people are being “taught” otherwise to keep them “in a fear state.” 
• "DeSantis’ Law Requiring Online Vendors to Charge Sales Tax Wasn’t a New Tax": A TV ad misleadingly accuses Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of increasing taxes. But the law in question didn’t create a new tax. Instead, it implemented a more effective way of collecting an existing tax.
• "Michelle Obama Not a 2024 Presidential Candidate, Contrary to Online Posts": President Joe Biden has said he will seek a second term, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson have said they will challenge him for the 2024 Democratic nomination. But social media posts falsely claim that the party “just confirmed Michelle Obama will be its nominee.” There is no evidence that the former first lady is a candidate.
• "Post Mischaracterizes GOP Opposition to Oregon Bill on Reproductive Health Care for Minors": An Oregon bill that would eliminate parental consent for minors to access reproductive health care, including abortion, has been criticized by conservatives. But a liberal social media post mischaracterizes their opposition by claiming Republicans said girls “should be allowed to be forced to give birth to their rapist’s baby if the rapist is their father.”

• "Los beneficios de la vacuna contra el COVID-19 superan los riesgos, contrariamente a afirmaciones erróneas de un cardiólogo británico": Docenas de estudios respaldan el uso de vacunas de ARNm contra el COVID-19, que tienen un buen perfil de seguridad y funcionan bien para prevenir enfermedades graves y la muerte. Sin embargo, citando un estudio defectuoso, un cardiólogo británico conocido por difundir información errónea ha argumentado engañosamente que la vacuna es dañina y que “nunca debiese haber sido aprobada”.