Myths/Obamacare/Nancy Pelosi said we have to pass it to find out what's in it
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Revision as of 01:32, 21 July 2015 by Woozle (talk | contribs) (Created page with "category:Nancy Pelosi category:Obamacare category:Fox News category:distortions category:out of context {{hdr/myth|Nancy Pelosi said we have to pass Obamac...")
| Myth: Nancy Pelosi said we have to pass Obamacare in order to find out what's in it. |
Myth
It is frequently claimed (implicitly or explicitly) that Nancy Pelosi said that the only way to find out the full contents of the Obamacare bill would be to pass it, and then the contents would be made available to the public. Pelosi is often quoted as saying "we have to pass it to find out what's in it."
Example
- "PELOSI: WE HAVE TO PASS BILL SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT'S IN IT" — Fox News[1]
- "the Democrats have to pass their terrible health care bill so that the American people can actually find out what's in it." – GOP email[2]
- "WE have to pass a bill to know what is in it" — attributed to Nancy Pelosi on social media[3]
Reality
Although Politifact rated this as "mostly true"[4], they were far too charitable. In context it's clear that Pelosi was not saying "you can't read the bill's text until it has passed", but rather something like "we've heard all the arguments on both sides about what will happen if this is passed, but the only way to be sure is pass it and find out."
Footnotes
<references> [1] [4] [2] [3] </reference>
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 2010-03-09 Pelosi: "We Have to Pass the Bill So That You Can Find Out What Is In It" (Fox News): text on screen says "PELOSI: WE HAVE TO PASS BILL SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT'S IN IT"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2010-03-12 email sent by the GOP – but Politifact is apparently the only source for this
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 2015-07-20 comment on a Google+ thread by user dan stone
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 2010-03-15 Texas GOP says Speaker Nancy Pelosi said people will know contents of terrible health-care plan after it passes