Bernie Sanders is wrong -- twice -- in claim about defense budget voting record

[lapucelle]

Tuesday morning, the U.S. Senate voted 86-8 in favor of the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020, sending it to the president for his signature.

The day before senators passed the legislation, Sanders published an op-ed in the Washington Post panning the proposal, writing he opposes the bill as he as "all previous Trump military budgets."

Hours after the Tuesday vote, the Vermont senator and Democratic candidate for president doubled down, posting a video to his campaign’s social media accounts, in which Sanders explained how cutting defense spending could pay for his proposed social programs.

Sanders begins his video with a claim about his voting record on Trump’s defense spending proposals

snip===================================================================

Sanders’ presidential campaign declined to comment on the statement, referring questions to Sanders’ Senate office. Keane Bhatt, Sanders’ Senate spokesperson, pointed to the Vermont independent’s votes against the defense budget bill for fiscal years 2019, 2018, and 2017.

Bhatt deferred back to the campaign on the first part of Sanders’ claim that he is the only candidate in the Democratic primary to vote against all of Trump’s military spending bills. The campaign did not respond with evidence to support this part of the statement.

snip===================================================================

Sanders’ Senate office also said his vote against the defense spending bill fiscal year 2017 was evidence he has voted against all of Trump’s military budget bills. However, the Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017 was signed by former President Barack Obama on Dec. 23, 2016, and not by Trump.

A survey of Sanders’ record on Trump’s defense spending bills has him voting against the first two but missing the vote earlier this week. The Vermont independent also missed the chance to vote on this year’s military spending bill in June when the Senate moved it to the House of Representatives.

snip==================================================================

Our Ruling

In a campaign video that has been viewed almost 320,000 times on Twitter alone, Sanders made the statement that he has voted against all of Trump’s defense budgets and that he is the only candidate in the Democratic primary to do so.

It is true the Vermont senator has publicly opposed all of the president’s military spending packages, but he has not voted against all of them. Sanders is also wrong to say he is the only candidate in the Democratic primary who has voted against the proposals. In fact, Gabbard is the only candidate who can make that claim.

We rate this statement as False.

https://www.politifact.com/vermont/statements/2019/dec/20/bernie-sanders/bernie-sanders-wrong-twice-claim-about-defense-bud/

[PhoenixDem]

1. Damn straight ... K&R n/t

[empedocles]

2. I fear that BS will still be wrong, come October, - like 2016.

[Lucky Luciano]

4. Missing the vote is inaccurate on his part, but publicly panning the budget makes his stance known.

His vote was not consequential to trying to defeat the bill - if it was, I would call that gaslighting...or if he voted for it and then claimed he didn’t.

[George II]

7. Not being consequential isn't an excuse for not voting. He has missed 239 consecutive votes.....

.....going back to June 28, more than half the legislative year. Surely at least some of those votes could have been "consequential", don't you think?

[lapucelle]

9. His stance on funding F-35 fighter jets is well known.

Why Bernie Sanders is backing a $1.5 trillion military boondoggle

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/12/why-bernie-sanders-is-backing-a-15-trillion-military-boondoggle.html

Antiwar candidate Bernie Sanders faces backlash over the $1.2 trillion war machine he brought to Vermont

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/bernie-sanders-faces-backlash-over-war-machine-he-brought-to-vermont.html

[liberal N proud]

5. He wrote the damn bill

[lapucelle]

8. There was $11,500,000,000 for more F-35s in the budget.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/21/trump-signs-738-billion-defense-bill.html

[George II]

6. As a matter of fact, he hasn't voted against anything or, alternately for any bills since June 28...

His last vote in the Senate was on June 28, vote number 189. There have been 428 votes in the Senate since January 8. He's now missed 239 consecutive votes, and participated in less than 45% of the votes this year.

[Hortensis]

10. Typical belying of rhetoric by actions.

Examine almost any issue and you'll find them.

Different candidates draw different types of people. Some, like Trump as an outstanding example, count on their followers determinedly believing everything they say and not checking their records.

Others, like the candidates I like, know that's not going to work with theirs.

[Cha]

11. Mahalo for this, lapucelle!

[Blue_true]

12. I guess not showing up to vote counts as a vote against by Bernie. nt

[Cha]

13. This needs more exposure..

Thank you!

[betsuni]

14. K&R

[ehrnst]

15. Fact checking is the job of the free press. No politician is excepted. (nt)