FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Modesto, CA – Today, Congressman Jeff Denham pulled his untruthful ad that contained an improper disclosure from the airwaves in the Central Valley. Congressman Denham tried to mask his Medicare position behind a statement that Politifact calls “Pants on Fire.”
“Congressman Jeff Denham wasn’t honest to the FCC, and he certainly hasn’t been honest to voters in the Central Valley about his Medicare position,” said Dan Krupnick, Campaign Manager, Jose Hernandez for Congress. “Congressman Denham tried to hide his plan to end Medicare behind a known lie, and he even tried to attack Jose Hernandez for supporting Medicare savings he voted for. With all this double-talk, no wonder the Modesto Bee said Congressman Denham hasn’t been ‘forthcoming’ about his position. As President Bill Clinton said, ‘It takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did…’ but the FCC, and voters, see through Congressman Denham’s politics as usual.”
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Background:
| Ad Claim | Fact-Check |
| For valley seniors there’s a clear choice for Congress | Denham Voted for the House Republican Budget Which Would Cost Seniors More Than $6,000. Denham voted for the Republican plan to “significantly increase the out-of-pocket costs of health care for Medicare beneficiaries. In fact, out‐of‐pocket health care costs will more than double under the Republican plan. Based on estimates from the non‐partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the typical 65-year-old’s out-of-pocket health care costs will increase from $6,154 to $12,513 in 2022—or an extra $6,359.” [Congressional Joint Economic Committee, 5/20/11; H. Con. Res. 34, Vote#277, 4/15/11; Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11]
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| Jose Hernandez wants to cut $716 billion from Medicare | PolitiFact Called the Claim that Democrats Cut Medicare by $700 Billion a “Pants on Fire” Lie. In a series of news releases dealing with the national health care reform law, the National Republican Congressional Committee claimed 37 House Democrats were “willing to jeopardize seniors’ access to coverage by gutting $741 billion from Medicare” to pay for a “big-government healthcare takeover.” PolitiFact wrote “There’s only one ruling for such heated and misleading claims: Pants on Fire!” [PolitiFact, 8/19/12]
The Affordable Care Act Does Not Cut Medicare Benefits. “The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that Obama pushed for doesn’t cut Medicare; it simply reduces projected future increases in costs by $700 billion over 10 years.” [Bloomberg, 8/13/12] The House Republican Plan Includes the Same $700 Billion in Medicare Savings.“The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that Obama pushed for doesn’t cut Medicare; it simply reduces projected future increases in costs by $700 billion over 10 years. […] Those same reductions in the future growth of Medicare are contained in the budget bills sponsored by Ryan and approved by the same House Republicans who now say they’ll campaign against the provision.” [Bloomberg, 8/13/12] |