South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday, positioning himself as a challenger to former President Donald Trump, who currently leads the race. In his speech, Scott criticized President Joe Biden’s leadership and outlined his vision for the country. Here’s a fact check of some of the claims he made:
Workforce Participation
Scott claimed that the percentage of working-age men choosing to work is at its lowest point in history. While the labor force participation rate for men has been on the decline for the past 75 years, it has recently rebounded from its 2020 pandemic low. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the participation rate for men older than 16 was 68.1% in April 2023, up from 66.1% in 2020. The unemployment rate for men is currently near a record low at 3.6% in the first quarter of 2023, a significant improvement from the 12% unemployment rate in 2020.
Student Loan Debt Relief
Scott suggested that under Biden’s proposed student loan debt relief plan, waitresses and mechanics would be burdened with the student loans of high-earning lawyers and doctors. However, an August 2022 analysis found that about 75% of the plan’s benefits would go to households with annual incomes of $88,000 or less. Biden’s proposal would forgive up to $20,000 in debt for Pell grant recipients and up to $10,000 for those who did not receive the grants, with income eligibility limits in place. The plan is estimated to cost as much as $519 billion over 10 years, but it currently faces administrative challenges and opposition from congressional Republicans.
Immigration and Border Security
In discussing the need for border security, Scott claimed that hundreds of people on the US terrorist watch list are crossing the border. While it is true that US Customs and Border Protection encountered hundreds of individuals on the watch list attempting to enter the country in fiscal year 2022, most of these encounters occurred at the northern border, not the southern border as Scott implied. Of the 380 encounters, 313 took place at the northern border’s ports of entry, while 67 occurred at the southwestern border’s ports of entry. Additionally, Border Patrol recorded 98 encounters with non-US citizens on the watchlist between ports of entry on the southwestern border. The total number of encounters has increased significantly from the previous fiscal year.
