CBS News checks some of the statements made by Speakers during the 2024 Democratic National Convention this week, which runs through Thursday, August 22, in Chicago.
On Thursday, the last evening of the convention, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept her party’s nomination and deliver her acceptance speech.
CBS News’ Confirmed team is doing the fact-checking this week. CBS News is reporting on the DNC live.
Fact-checking Harris’ claim that Trump’s tariff plan will cost families nearly $4,000 a year: Partly true, needs context
Vice President Kamala Harris: “(Trump) intends to impose a kind of national sales tax, a so-called Trump tax, that would raise prices for middle-class families by nearly $4,000 a year.”
Details: Harris cites an estimate of the potential costs that would be incurred if former President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported goods. Trump has advocated tariffs of at least 10% on most imports and at least 60% on Chinese imports.
Estimates of the potential cost and likely magnitude of the tariffs vary. An analysis by the Center for American Progress Action, a progressive policy think tank, estimates that a 20 percent tariff on most imports, combined with a 60 percent tax on Chinese goods, would mean a tax increase of about $3,900 a year for middle-income families.
The Tax Policy Center (TPC), a nonpartisan think tank, estimated that a 10 percent global tariff and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods would reduce average net income by about $1,800 in 2025.
Economists told According to CBS News, consumers would bear the brunt of higher import tariffs through higher prices for goods, effectively levying a tax on products made in other countries. In an interview with the New York Times, Robert Lighthizer, who served as Trump’s chief trade negotiator and still advises his campaign on trade issues, said the burden on American households could be offset by tax cuts.
By Emma Li
Fact check on Harris’ claim that Trump would give billionaires more tax breaks that would increase the debt by $5 trillion: Misleading
Harris: “(Trump) isn’t really fighting for the middle class. Instead, he’s fighting for himself and his billionaire friends. And he’s going to give them another round of tax cuts that will increase the national debt by as much as $5 trillion.”
Details: During his presidential campaign, Trump proposed comprehensive tax cuts for top earners and other taxpayers.
In 2017, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which permanently cut corporate tax rates and reduced individual tax rates for most households.
According to estimates by the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation of the US Congress and the Tax Policy Center, the majority of the population would benefit from these tax cuts.
Trump has announced plans to extend the income tax cut before it expires in 2025. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this move could cost $4.6 trillion over the next decade.
The Biden-Harris administration has suggested Extending some Trump-era tax breaks for families earning less than $400,000 a year.
Trump also called for other tax cuts, including Abolition of the tax on tipsa political proposal also supports by Harris.
By Laura Doan
Fact check on Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey’s claim that Democrats capped insulin costs for millions of Americans: True, but context is needed
Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania: “When the pharmaceutical industry drove up the cost of insulin, we passed a law to stop them. Now the price is capped at $35 a month for millions of Americans.”
Details: In 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires all Medicare Part D and Part B plans to cap the monthly cost of covered insulin products at $35.
Previously, the Trump administration had implemented a more limited voluntary program that allowed some Medicare Part D plans to cap out-of-pocket costs for certain insulin products at $35 a month. Health policy research site KFF found that fewer than half of all Part D plans participated in the Trump program. In 2022, over 800,000 insulin users had access to the $35 insulin cap under the Trump-era program, but after Mr. Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, far more Medicare Part D insulin users — 3.4 million — had their insulin costs capped in 2023, according to estimates from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
By Emma Li, Laura Doan and Amelia Donhauser
