PolitiFact recently looked at the relationship between steel imports and national security, since that was the basis of President Trump's new tariffs on steel and aluminum. We also checked a claim by Sen. Ted Cruz on the Obama administration cutting money for school safety; and one by Rep. John Faso of New York about where criminals get the guns they use. Here are summaries of our findings. Full versions can be found at www.politifact.com.
American aluminum and steel “are vital to our national security. … They are the bedrock of our defense industrial base.”
— President Donald Trump on Thursday, March 8, 2018 in remarks before a Cabinet meeting
In an undated but recent memo, Defense Secretary James Mattis acknowledged concerns about "unfair trade practices," but emphasized "the U.S. military requirements for steel and aluminum each only represent about 3 percent of U.S. production." In other words, production in the United States is more than 30 times the amount required to satisfy Defense Department needs.
However, the decision to impose tariffs for steel and aluminum imports was based on a different argument by the Commerce Department, which, in a pair of January 2018 reports, concluded that imports were "weakening our internal economy." It noted that the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 requires the president to recognize "the impact of foreign competition on the economic welfare of individual domestic industries" and consider whether "excessive imports" weaken the economy and thus "impair the national security."
Our ruling
Military purchases account for a small fraction of U.S. production of steel and aluminum, but the 1962 law used as justification for the tariffs allows a more expansive definition of national security.
Because this claim needs so much additional context, we rate the statement Half True.
“The Obama administration had cut $300 million from school safety.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 in an interview on CNN’s “New Day”
President Barack Obama called for eliminating the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants program as part of his budget request in 2013, saving $294 million. Congress went along. So that's about $300 million. But there's more to this story than just the dollar figure.
After the killings of elementary schoolers and their teachers in Newtown, Conn., Obama rolled out a plan including an assault weapon ban and changes to the background check system, and $385 million in new spending for schools. It offered "$150 million to school districts and law enforcement agencies to hire school resource officers, school psychologists, social workers, and counselors." There were $30 million for schools to design emergency management plans, and $40 million "to help districts work with law enforcement and other local agencies to coordinate services for students who demonstrate need." There were at least $75 million aimed at boosting mental health interventions at schools.
Our ruling
Cruz's statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False.
“The vast majority of crime that is gun related is committed by people who illegally are possessing that firearm.”
— Rep. John Faso, R-N.Y., on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 in an interview on C-SPAN
The last time the government tracked this kind of data was in 2004 when the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics surveyed inmates in federal and state prisons about where they had gotten the guns used in their crimes. That was the only analysis of federal data we could find, and experts were not aware of another.
In the 13 states with the fewest restrictions on gun ownership, 40 percent of inmates illegally obtained the gun. Only about 13 percent purchased it from a store or pawn shop. In the other 37 states, including New York, 60 percent of inmates illegally procured the gun they used.
Regional studies have found that a higher share of criminals did not legally possess a gun when they committed their crimes.
Our ruling
People can differ on what constitutes a “vast majority.” What’s more, illegal gun crime is not well researched in the U.S. The latest data is more than a decade old. One analysis of the data showed Faso’s claim is not true in some states while true in others. But experts say most gun crime is likely committed by those who illegally possess guns.
His statement is accurate but needed additional information. We rate it Mostly True.
