Sen. Hatch accuses media fact-checkers of spinning Obama's welfare policy

By Elise Viebeck - 09/19/12 01:08 PM ET

In his strongest remarks yet, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) denounced the media and its fact-checking groups for dismissing criticism of President Obama's welfare waivers.

Hatch addressed the divisive policy in a speech at the Heritage Foundation, where he strongly defended Republicans' sense that the waivers will end welfare's work requirement and slammed would-be political arbiters who disagree.

"The fact checkers, in many instances, failed to do their due diligence on the administration's actions," Hatch told the crowd.

"These supposedly objective analysts were too quick to lean on partisan talking points … The motives of the Obama administration have been unexamined. The language they have used to describe their waiver scheme has been taken at face value."

At the heart of the debate is the 1996 welfare reform law, which mandated that some people receiving government assistance have jobs.

This summer, the Obama administration announced it would issue waivers for some provisions of the law, with the goal of letting states test new approaches to finding work for welfare applicants.

Republicans immediately called foul, questioning the administration's motives and arguing the policy was a covert plan to "gut" welfare's work requirement.

The issue soon became a flashpoint in the presidential race, with Mitt Romney implying that Obama wants to make welfare a way of life.

Under Obama, "you wouldn't have to work, and wouldn't have to train for a job" to receive a welfare check, said one Romney ad.

As debate mounted, however, media-linked fact checkers generally weighed in against the GOP.

One, the Tampa Bay Times's "Politifact," said Romney's claims "drastically distort the planned changes" to welfare.

"By granting waivers to states, the Obama administration is seeking to make welfare-to-work efforts more successful, not end them," Politifact wrote.

Other fact-checking memos cited Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said that states receiving waivers must move 20 percent more people from welfare to work.

Sebelius also denied that states would be able to count activities such as bed rest, journaling and massage as work — another charge from Republicans.

On Wednesday, Hatch blasted journalists as credulous for taking administration language "at face value."

"I am not aware of a single fact checker who as bothered to inquire what the motivation is behind this administrative action," Hatch said at Heritage.

"There seems to be little desire on the part of the fact checkers to determine whether the president has said or done anything in the past indicating a personal preference for weakening welfare work requirements."

Hatch went on to cite Obama's comment in 1998, as a state senator, that he would have opposed the 1996 welfare-to-work law.

Hatch also accused Obama wanting to make massage and exercise count as work when he was a member of the Senate.

"Now, I'm no fact checker myself," he said. "But if I was, that might be some interesting background material that could be used in interpreting the intent of this administration's policy."

A request for comment was not immediately returned from HHS.

Hatch has introduced a Senate bill to block the welfare waivers. The House will vote Thursday on a companion measure from Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.).