George W. Bush · 2001–2009 / The evidence register

The claim.
The record.
The result.

The same standard applied to a completed term. Read the administration’s own account of its record beside the official statistics and public laws that test it.

Browse all 8 claims Open the source register

Dated sources. Visible limits. Independent assessment.

Reading the recordThree separate questions

The claim
Who said it, and what was claimed?
The official record
Check the original source, date and scope.
The outcome
Check measured results and their limits.

01 / Explore by subject

Every claim. Its evidence.

Open the source register

8selected claims
3 subject areas

8 selected major claims from the Bush White House fact sheet accompanying the President's Farewell Address (January 15, 2009), part of the archived "The Bush Record" collection; this is not an exhaustive inventory of every item in that fact sheet.

Status labels describe the documentary stage, not success scores or proof of presidential causation. Favorable results, unverified parts and evidence limits appear together.

Economy and finance

All subjects

Published statistics#01

Job growth streak

Administration’s claim

The record says tax relief helped fuel six years of uninterrupted economic growth and 52 consecutive months of job growth.

What the record establishes

In current BLS estimates, total nonfarm employment rose for 46 consecutive months, September 2003 through June 2007, then dipped in July 2007, so the 52-month streak is not reproduced in the current benchmark vintage. Employment peaked at 138.4 million in December 2007 and was 134.1 million in January 2009, 1.4 million above January 2001. Unemployment was 4.2% in January 2001, rose to 6.3% in June 2003, fell to 4.4% in late 2006 and 2007, and was 7.8% in January 2009. The six-year growth claim and the link to tax relief were not tested for this edition.

Official evidence · 3 sources

Official sourceBush White House archive: Fact Sheet: President Bush: Farewell Address to the Nation January 15, 2009 · read November 4, 2026 · The administration's own summary of its record, with supporting facts and data, preserved by the National Archives.

Official sourceBLS: All employees, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted (CES0000000001) Data extracted November 4, 2026 · Monthly levels in thousands, January 2001 through January 2009, in the current benchmark vintage.

Official sourceBLS: Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted (LNS14000000) Series used in this site's labor extract · Monthly U-3 rates for January 2001 through January 2009.

Law enacted#02

Tax relief laws

Administration’s claim

The record says the President provided tax relief to every American who pays income taxes, reduced rates, doubled the child tax credit, created a new 10 percent bracket and began a phase-out of the estate tax.

What the record establishes

Public Law 107–16 (approved June 7, 2001) and Public Law 108–27 (approved May 28, 2003) enacted the tax relief. Under the 2001 law the per-child credit was $600 for 2001–2004, rising in steps to $1,000 for 2010; the 2003 law set it at $1,000 for 2003 and 2004. The statement that every income-tax payer received relief, and the laws' revenue and distributional effects, were not tested for this edition.

Official evidence · 3 sources

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 107–16, Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 Approved June 7, 2001 · H.R. 1836; 115 Stat. 38. Section 201 sets the per-child credit at $600 for 2001–2004, rising in steps to $1,000 for 2010 and after.

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 108–27, Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 Approved May 28, 2003 · H.R. 2; 117 Stat. 752. Section 101 sets the per-child credit at $1,000 for 2003 and 2004.

Published statistics#03

Financial rescue

Administration’s claim

The record says the President led the passage and implementation of a rescue plan that helped address the root of the financial crisis and helped keep credit available to individuals and families.

What the record establishes

Public Law 110–343, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, was approved October 3, 2008, authorizing troubled-asset purchases in stages up to $700 billion. Treasury's final accounting shows $443.5 billion disbursed across all TARP programs and $425.5 billion collected, for a lifetime cost of $31.1 billion including interest expense. Many programs were carried out under the next administration. The record's statement that the toll would otherwise have been far worse is a counterfactual and was not tested.

Official evidence · 3 sources

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 110–343, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 Approved October 3, 2008 · H.R. 1424; 122 Stat. 3765. Section 115 limits troubled-asset purchase authority in stages up to $700 billion outstanding.

Official sourceTreasury: Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Final accounting as of September 30, 2023 · read November 4, 2026 · Total disbursed, total collected, interest expense and lifetime cost of all TARP programs.

Education and health

All subjects

Law enacted#04

No Child Left Behind

Administration’s claim

The record says No Child Left Behind held schools accountable, that test scores have risen since it took effect, and that the achievement gap between white and minority students has begun to close.

What the record establishes

Public Law 107–110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, was approved January 8, 2002. NCES reports that in 2007 fourth- and eighth-graders, and White, Black and Hispanic students at both grades, scored higher in mathematics than in all previous assessment years. It also reports that improvements for minority students did not always narrow gaps: since 1990 only the grade-4 White–Black gap narrowed, and the grade-8 White–Black gap narrowed between 2005 and 2007. These results do not isolate the law's effect.

Official evidence · 3 sources

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 107–110, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Approved January 8, 2002 · H.R. 1; 115 Stat. 1425.

Official sourceNCES: The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2007 — Executive Summary September 2007 · National average scores and White–Black and White–Hispanic score gaps at grades 4 and 8, compared with earlier assessment years.

Law enacted#05

Medicare prescription drug benefit

Administration’s claim

The record says the President provided more than 40 million Americans with better access to prescription drugs through the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit.

What the record establishes

Public Law 108–173, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, was approved December 8, 2003. The 40 million figure was not reviewed against CMS enrollment data for this edition.

Official evidence · 2 sources

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 108–173, Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 Approved December 8, 2003 · H.R. 1; 117 Stat. 2066.

Law enacted#06

Global AIDS relief (PEPFAR)

Administration’s claim

The record says the President's Emergency Plan supported life-saving treatment for more than 2.1 million people and care for more than 10 million people around the world.

What the record establishes

Public Law 108–25, which authorized the program, was approved May 27, 2003. The program's 2008 results report was located only in a non-government web-archive copy of pepfar.gov, not on a government host, so the 2.1 million and 10 million figures are not verified in this edition.

Official evidence · 2 sources

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 108–25, United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 Approved May 27, 2003 · H.R. 1298; 117 Stat. 711.

Security and diplomacy

All subjects

Law enacted#07

Department of Homeland Security

Administration’s claim

The record says the President consolidated 22 agencies and 180,000 employees under one agency, the Department of Homeland Security.

What the record establishes

Public Law 107–296, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, was approved November 25, 2002. DHS states that it was created by combining all or part of 22 federal departments and agencies, matching the record. The 180,000-employee figure was not reviewed for this edition.

Official evidence · 3 sources

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 107–296, Homeland Security Act of 2002 Approved November 25, 2002 · H.R. 5005; 116 Stat. 2135.

Official sourceDHS: Creation of the Department of Homeland Security Read November 4, 2026 · States that DHS was created by combining all or part of 22 federal departments and agencies.

Agreement / commitment#08

Iraq agreements

Administration’s claim

The record says the administration negotiated a Strategic Framework Agreement and a Security Agreement with Iraq that establish a path for U.S. forces to reduce their presence and return home.

What the record establishes

The Bush White House's December 4, 2008 fact sheet states that the Security Agreement set June 30, 2009 for U.S. combat forces to be out of major populated areas and December 31, 2011 for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces. On December 14, 2011, the next President marked the end of the war and said the last American troops would cross the border out of Iraq. Whether the agreements strengthened the bilateral relationship, as the record says, was not tested.

Official evidence · 3 sources

Official sourceBush White House archive: Fact Sheet: The Strategic Framework Agreement and the Security Agreement with Iraq December 4, 2008 · U.S. combat forces out of major populated areas by June 30, 2009; December 31, 2011 set for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces.

Official sourceObama White House archive: Remarks by the President and First Lady on the End of the War in Iraq December 14, 2011 · Marks the end of the war and states that the last American troops will cross the border out of Iraq.

02 / Coverage & sources

The publications behind this edition.

The Bush White House fact sheet for the President’s Farewell Address, January 15, 2009, defines which claims are included. Statistical agencies, public-law records and agency statements test the claims. Parts of a claim that could not be checked against an official source are marked as not verified rather than removed. Reviewed November 4, 2026.

Official sourceBLS: Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted (LNS14000000) Series used in this site's labor extract · Monthly U-3 rates for January 2001 through January 2009.

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 107–110, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Approved January 8, 2002 · H.R. 1; 115 Stat. 1425.

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 108–173, Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 Approved December 8, 2003 · H.R. 1; 117 Stat. 2066.

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 108–25, United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 Approved May 27, 2003 · H.R. 1298; 117 Stat. 711.

Official sourceGovInfo: Public Law 107–296, Homeland Security Act of 2002 Approved November 25, 2002 · H.R. 5005; 116 Stat. 2135.

Official sourceDHS: Creation of the Department of Homeland Security Read November 4, 2026 · States that DHS was created by combining all or part of 22 federal departments and agencies.

Read the coverage rules

The claim.The record.The result.

Every claim. Its evidence.

Economy and finance

Job growth streak

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

Tax relief laws

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

Financial rescue

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

Education and health

No Child Left Behind

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

Medicare prescription drug benefit

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

Global AIDS relief (PEPFAR)

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

Security and diplomacy

Department of Homeland Security

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

Iraq agreements

Administration’s claim

What the record establishes

The publications behind this edition.

The claim.
The record.
The result.