Sequestration Pain? Or Obama Administraion's Reckless Spending Habits? 25+ Examples (Video)

1. Cell phones

To back his claim that the federal government spent $2.2 billion on “free cell phones,” Duffy cited a February 2013 article in The Wall Street Journal and a 2012 Federal Communications Commission report.

The Journal revealed that the government spent $2.2 billion in 2012 on phone subsidies for the poor, but that more than 2 million people served by the Lifeline program hadn’t proved they were eligible.

Lifeline, which is funded by fees paid by all cell and landline customers, is available to low-income people, including those on Medicaid, food stamps and other assistance.

Wireless carriers often offer free phones to Lifeline customers, the FCC report says.

PolitiFact National in 2012 and PolitiFact Texas in 2013 examined similar claims about free cell phones — although those claims, unlike Duffy’s, tied the program directly to Obama.

Lifeline started in 1985 to subsidize home phone service; cell service was added in 2008 under President George W. Bush. Subsidies for cell service now make up 75 percent of the program.

However, many people end up with a free phone from a cellular carrier if they sign up for cell service with Lifeline. Assurance Wireless, for example, advertises a variety of Lifeline plans, as well as a free phone. Both the Coburn report and the FCC report also note that, to attract Lifeline customers, many carriers offer free phones.

So, most but not all of the $2.2 billion in the Lifeline program subsidizes cellular bills. And, although the program itself doesn’t give away phones, it’s common for customers to end up with a free phone as a result of Lifeline.

In 2011, the Department of Agriculture made an estimated $28 million in inappropriate farm assistance payments.