A truth test for Jim Matheson and Mia Love: Digging into the political claims

During the KSL debate, Love hit Matheson for his support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, saying the stimulus package was a failure. Matheson responded by saying Love's opposition to the stimulus is hypocritical, because Saratoga Springs took stimulus money.

According to Recovery.gov, Saratoga Springs was awarded $10,000 from funds that were originally sent to the state of Utah and then distributed. The funds were in the form of a JAG-ARRA grant, which allocated funding to units of state and local government along with private providers of criminal justice services.

The claim: Love wants to privatize Medicare and create vouchers for seniors

A Daily Kos article accuses Love of wanting to privatize Social Security and wanting to end Medicare as people know it. Matheson has repeated similar accusations during debates with Love, saying she wants to put Social Security money at risk in the stock market and hand seniors a voucher, only to tell them they're on their own if prices go up. During one of the candidates' debates, Love said she is looking at the Paul Ryan plan, which would privatize Medicare and turn Medicaid and other programs into block grant programs to the states. It would not change Medicare for those currently on the program.

According to Love's proposed cuts, she suggests repealing the 2010 health care law, block-granting Medicaid and freezing spending, cutting non-Medicaid state/local grants by 50 percent, cutting the Medicare payment error rate by 50 percent and enacting tort reform.