PolitiFact Georgia and the AJC Truth-O-Meter brought out the calculators last week for three fact checks that put our math skills to the test.
We calculated how much time Congress has spent in recess versus working in Washington. We cracked the books to check a claim about the amount of time school systems spend preparing for and administering standardized tests. And we scoured spreadsheets to determine the diversity in Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s appointments.
At the end of the week, we ran a claim about a U.S. senator’s position on universal gun background checks through the Flip-O-Meter to test his consistency on the issue.
Abbreviated versions of our fact checks are below, and full versions can be found at: www.politifact.com/georgia/.
To comment on our rulings or suggest one of your own, go to our Facebook page (
). You can also find us on Twitter (
).
—————-
U.S. Rep. John Barrow: Congress has spent 66 of the first 100 days of this term in recess.
Barrow, a Democratic House member from Augusta, made this claim in a letter denouncing the short amount of time Congress has spent in session this term.
We checked Barrow’s numbers with a calendar compiled by Steny Hoyer of Maryland, one of the most influential Democrats in the House of Representatives, which shows Congress held 34 sessions to vote in the first 100 days since it was convened. The Library of Congress calendar shows 41 days that Congress had been in session because it included “pro forma” days, or days when the House met for just a few minutes to conduct procedural matters.
Some sources attributed the low number of days in session to time spent on committee and legislation organization and fundraising, as well as the Republican-led House’s attempts to prevent the president from making appointments.
Our research found a few additional days the House was in session, albeit in very, very short meetings.
We rated Barrow’s claim Mostly True.
——————-
State Sen. Vincent Fort: About 3 percent of Gov. Nathan Deal’s appointments have been African-American.
Before the Georgia Legislature ended its 2013 session last month, Fort took Deal to task for what the lawmaker said was a lack of racial diversity amongst appointees to various state boards and positions.
Just nine of some 200 appointments since Deal was sworn in as governor in January 2011 were African-American, the senator said. Our research found that Deal had actually made more than 800 appointments. The research also showed that more than 7 percent of those appointments were African-Americans.
PolitiFact Georgia used the AJC’s voter database, which comes from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office and includes race, as the primary source for our research.
The senator’s overarching claim that Deal has appointed a relatively low percentage of minorities has merit. But he was wrong by a handful of percentage points. It was based on an incomplete sampling of Deal’s total appointees.
We rated Fort’s claim Half True.
—————————-
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten: “Schools in some states are spending up to 100 days a year doing test-prep or actual testing.”
Weingarten made this claim after 35 people, including former Superintendent Beverly Hall, were indicted last month for their alleged roles in a widespread test cheating scandal at Atlanta Public Schools.
Critics of standardized testing policies, including Weingarten, noted that scandals like Atlanta’s probably resulted partially from the pressure to succeed on standardized tests.
Upon initial review, basic testing calendars from some school districts bear out the claim. But a deeper delve into the data finds that the 100 days figure is cumulative, as not all students in each district take each test, tests are not administered each day during the multi-day testing windows, and in some cases, the tests do not cover an entire day.
Weingarten allowed herself some latitude by using broad phrasing, such as “some districts” and “up to 100 days” in her claim. But the thrust of her statement is misleading, according to education experts.
We rated Weingarten’s claim Mostly False.
———————————
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson: On allowing a vote on universal gun background checks in the U.S. Senate.
PolitiFact Georgia readers had us investigate whether Isakson, a Republican, reneged on earlier promises when he voted to allow that vote to go forward in the Senate.
Earlier this month, two senators proposed the amendment that would subject nearly all gun buyers to background checks.
Isakson said in a television interview that he had concerns about such legislation. But the senator, unlike many of his GOP colleagues, indicated he didn’t want a filibuster on the proposal. A filibuster allows unlimited debate continued on the grounds that any senator should have the right to speak as long as necessary on any issue.
“I think it deserves a vote up or down,” Isakson said in the CBS interview. He and Georgia’s other U.S. senator, Saxby Chambliss, also a Republican, voted to move the bill forward for a vote.
The background check measure eventually failed on a 54-46 vote. Senate rules required it to get at least 60 votes in order to succeed. Isakson voted against the legislation, but he did not waiver in his position that the proposal warranted a floor vote.
The senator received a rating of No Flip.
About the Author
