It is often said that facts can be twisted to support any argument. These recent examples from the Bush administration should prompt lawmakers to step up their scrutiny of the proposals and policy changes advocated by the White House.

In mocking those who oppose making his tax cuts permanent, President Bush, in his State of the Union speech, quipped: “Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to the 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800.”

Not exactly, according to the Tax Policy Center. The median household would pay about $800 more in taxes in 2011 if the president’s tax cuts lapse. The wealthiest 1 percent of households would pay an average of $64,000 in additional taxes annually, according to the center.

President Bush also failed to mention that extending the tax cuts would significantly add to the budget deficit.

In his annual address to Congress, the president touted an “Iraqi surge” of 80,000 citizens and 100,000 new soldiers and police. Military officials in Iraq say the country’s forces total about 60,000 and a report by retired Gen. James Jones found that they would not be capable of taking over internal security within 12 to 18 months. The citizens are paid by the U.S. government and are mostly Sunnis unable to join the Shiite-dominated police or military.

In announcing a new rule requiring Americans crossing the border from Canada to show a driver’s license plus proof of citizenship (a birth certificate, for most), Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff offered worrisome statistics about the number of people making false citizenship claims. In response to concerns raised by lawmakers about the new requirements at the Canadian border, Mr. Chertoff wrote that in the past three months, more than 1,500 false claims had been made.

Later, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that only 20 of those cases were at the Canadian border; the other 99 percent were at the border with Mexico.

On the same issue, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department said the new rules were necessary because “this department cannot ignore the lessons that we learned from Sept. 11, 2001.” None of the Sept. 11 terrorists entered the United States through Canada or Mexico and all had visas to be here. The lessons would seem to be that the visa process – many of the men were on terrorism watch lists but still allowed to enter the country – needs to be tightened, not that people who routinely cross the border need to show a birth certificate to do so.

No matter the source, “facts” such as these need to be measured against reality. Often they come up short.