Fact Checker: No, 'billions and billions' are not 'pouring into NATO' because of President Trump.

No, ‘billions and billions’ are not ‘pouring into NATO’ because of President Trump.  President Trump frequently mischaracterizes the way NATO works. It was the case during the campaign, and it continues into his presidency — even though he’s now able to order up briefings on any subject he wishes. During Trump’s speech in Warsaw, he …   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The truth behind the rhetoric   No, ‘billions and billions’ are not ‘pouring into NATO’ because of President Trump.  President Trump frequently mischaracterizes the way NATO works. It was the case during the campaign, and it continues into his presidency — even though he’s now able to order up briefings on any subject he wishes. During Trump’s speech in Warsaw, he claimed that “billions and billions” of dollars have begun pouring into NATO because of his administration’s insistence that other member countries pay. But this is yet another case where Trump is quick to take credit for decisions others made prior to his election, or unrelated to his presidency. Trump is talking about indirect NATO spending — money the 29 member countries spend on their own defense budgets. These contributions are voluntary and not legally binding. Each country decides what to contribute based on their own defense capability. Defense spending by NATO countries have increased by the billions since 2014. But there’s no evidence the Trump administration had anything to do with these countries' independent decisions, which were made during the 2016 calendar year — before Trump became president. Moreover, it’s due to the 2014 agreement among member countries to stop cutting their defense spending, as a response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. We awarded Four Pinocchios to Trump. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this e-mail was forwarded to you, sign up here for the weekly newsletter. Hear something fact-checkable? Send it here, we’ll check it out.  (giphy.com) Will the Senate bill ’cause anyone currently on Medicaid to come off of it’? Medicaid financing is a big issue in the health-care debate. Senate Republicans released a new health-care bill yesterday, but the draft leaves in place deep Medicaid cuts that were proposed in the earlier version of the health-overhaul bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). A reader asked us to fact-check a claim by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said the early version of BCRA did not “cause anyone currently on Medicaid to come off of it.” Note his use of the word “currently” — this is key, because there is a constant churn in the Medicaid population. The population that is currently enrolled in Medicaid would not be the same population by the time BCRA takes effect. ADVERTISEMENT   McConnell is referring to how the BCRA does not require any states to cut or change their Medicaid program. If people lose coverage, it would be due to a state decision, not something “caused” by the proposal, his staff said. But this is misleading. Mandate or not, the bill would decrease federal reimbursement for Medicaid, and states would need to decide how to move forward with less federal money. This would create pressures on states to cut or eliminate coverage for certain populations, and some people would "come off" Medicaid. We awarded Three Pinocchios to McConnell. (giphy.com) Fact-checking is growing all around the world! Last week, Fact Checker attended the fourth annual Global Fact-Checking Summit, hosted by the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter Institute. Political fact-checking has existed in the United States for many years, but in recent years, it has exploded around the globe. The first meeting of fact-checkers from around the world took place in 2014, with 50 fact-checkers. Now, there are 126 fact-checking organizations in 49 countries. There are lots of cool projects and initiatives by fact checkers around the world. Check out our dispatch from the fact-checking summit, attended by 190 fact-checkers from 54 countries. We’re always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can also reach us via email, Twitter (@myhlee, @GlennKesslerWP or use #FactCheckThis), or Facebook (Fact Checker or myhlee). Read about our rating scale here, and sign up here for our weekly Fact Checker newsletter.  Scroll down for this week’s Pinocchio roundup. — Michelle Ye Hee Lee President Trump’s claim ‘billions and billions’ are ‘pouring into NATO’ because of his administration Trump's rhetoric goes way too far, earning him Four Pinocchios. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   McConnell’s claim that Senate GOP health bill would not ’cause anyone currently on Medicaid to come off it’ McConnell pushes the envelope with this claim, playing down the impact of the Senate GOP health-care overhaul proposal. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   Video: Every Russia story Trump said was ‘fake news’ or a ‘witch hunt’ President Trump continues to insist the Democrats are responsible for any story relating to Russian interference in the 2016 election, despite a year's worth of evidence to the contrary. By Meg Kelly  •  Read more »   Fact Checker’s guide to obstruction of justice, executive privilege and impeachment Trump's critics are quick to call for his impeachment and rush to judgment about whether he would face obstruction of justice charges, but it's not so simple. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   Fighting falsehoods around the world: A dispatch on the growing global fact-checking movement Political fact checking is exploding around the world. Our dispatch from the fourth Global Fact-Checking Summit in Madrid. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   The Energy 202 Your daily guide to the energy and environment debate. Sign Up »         Share Fact Checker:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Fact Checker. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071