CBS News is verifying some of the claims made by speakers at the 2024 Democratic National Convention this week, which runs in Chicago through Thursday, Aug. 22.
On Thursday, the final night 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 covers the DNC live.
Fact-checking Harris’ claim that Trump’s tariff plan would cost families nearly $4,000 a year: Partly true, but needs context
Vice President Kamala Harris: “[Trump] “Congress intends to implement what is effectively a national sales tax, let’s call it a 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 if former President Donald Trump were to impose tariffs on imported goods. Trump advocated imposing tariffs of at least 10% on most imports and at least 60% on Chinese imports.
Estimates of the potential costs and likely magnitude of the tariffs vary. An analysis by the Center for American Progress Action, a progressive think tank, estimates that a 20% tariff on most imports, combined with a 60% tax on Chinese goods, would amount to a tax increase of about $3,900 per year for middle-income families.
The Tax Policy Center (TPC), a nonpartisan think tank, estimates that a 10% global tariff and a 60% tariff on Chinese goods would reduce average after-tax income by about $1,800 in 2025.
Economists said According to CBS News, ordinary consumers would bear the brunt of higher import tariffs by raising the prices of goods, effectively taxing 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, suggested that the burden on American households could be offset by tax cuts.
By Emma Li
Fact Check: Harris’ Claim That Trump Would Give Billionaires More Tax Breaks That Would Add $5 Trillion to Debt: Misleading
Harris: “[Trump] “The fact is, Trump is not fighting for the middle class. He’s fighting for himself and his billionaire friends. And he’s going to give them a new round of tax breaks that will add $5 trillion to the national debt.”
Details:Trump proposed large-scale tax cuts during his presidential campaign, benefiting high-income earners and other taxpayers.
In 2017, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which permanently cut corporate tax rates and lowered individual tax rates for most households.
Estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation and the Tax Policy Center found that the majority of people would benefit from these tax cuts.
Trump has said he would extend the personal tax rate cuts before they expire in 2025, a move that the Congressional Budget Office estimates could cost $4.6 trillion over the next decade.
The Biden-Harris administration has propose extend some of the Trump-era tax cuts for families earning less than $400,000 a year.
Trump also called for other tax cuts, including elimination of tip taxesa political proposal as well supported by Harris.
By Laura Doan
Fact-checking Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey’s claim that Democrats capped insulin costs for millions of Americans: It’s true, but it needs context
Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania: “When big pharma raised the price of insulin, we passed a law to stop them. Today, for millions of Americans, the price is capped at $35 a month.”
Details: In 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, requiring all Medicare Part D and Part B plans to cap monthly costs of covered insulin products at $35.
The Trump administration had already 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 per month. The health policy research site KFF noted that less than half of all Part D plans participated in the Trump program. More than 800,000 insulin users had access to the $35 cap under the Trump-era program in 2022, but after Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, many more Medicare Part D insulin users — 3.4 million — saw their insulin costs capped in 2023, according to estimates from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
By Emma Li, Laura Doan and Amelia Donhauser
