Quick Fact: Carlson falsely claimed Republicans were “sidelined” in health care reform debate

Written by Julie Millican

Published

On the February 9 edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Gretchen Carlson advanced the false claim that Republicans had been “sidelined through the whole” health care “discussion.” In fact, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Senate Finance Committee bills contained nearly 200 Republican amendments.

From the February 9 broadcast of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

CARLSON: I understand that the Republicans want to start over and start from scratch because they were basically sidelined through the whole discussion initially, but it is going to be a huge mistake if the Republicans don't show up at this thing. It's going to prove the president's point that they've basically been the party of no.

FACT: Senate bills included numerous GOP amendments, reflected bipartisan meetings

Senate bills had numerous GOP amendments and reflected bipartisan meetings. According to a HELP Committee document about bipartisan aspects of the health reform bill the committee passed July 15, the final bill included “161 Republican amendments,” including “several amendments from Senators [Mike] Enzi [R-WY], [Tom] Coburn [R-OK], [Pat] Roberts [R-KS] and others [that] make certain that nothing in the legislation will allow for rationing of care,” and reflected the efforts of “six bipartisan working groups” that “met a combined 72 times” in 2009 as well as “30 bipartisan hearings on health care reform” since 2007, half of which were held in 2009. And according to the Senate Finance Committee's document detailing the amendments to the Chairman's Mark considered, at least 13 amendments sponsored by one or more Republican senators were included in the bill.