Not only did Sen. J.D. Vance's (R-OH) team refuse to provide a Washington Post analyst with more information about legislation he repeatedly claims to have introduced, they wouldn't even give her the number.
That's because, according to economics columnist Catherine Rampell, it doesn't exist.
"Talk about 'Stolen Valor,'" the Washington Post writer quipped.
Rampbell Tuesday morning revealed Vance, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's running mate, has misled multiple mainstream media outlets by claiming he'd taken legislative action to help American parents with medical bills.
This has become a pet theme of Vance's as he tries to backtrack from "childless cat lady" comments by arguing Republicans' policy agenda provides more support to families than the Democrats' does, Rampbell wrote.
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Just last week, Vance (R-OH) recounted his second child's birth on ABC's Face the Nation and pointed to legislation he said he pursued, Rambell reported.
“We got these ridiculous surprise medical billings from the hospital because we had chosen an out of network provider, of course, at this most stressful of all imaginable moments,” Vance said. “I’ve actually introduced legislation to stop moms and dads from having to go through those surprise medical billings.”
Vance has made a similar claim on CNN and CBS, Rampbell reported.
"I have sponsored legislation to try to fix things like that so moms and dads don't get these surprise medical bills," Vance said on CNN.
"I've actually sponsored legislation to end that practice," he said on CBS.
"When I first heard these comments, I assumed he was referring to the No Surprises Act, a statute that limited surprise bills from out-of-network providers at otherwise in-network medical settings," Rampbell wrote. "Then I realized this (bipartisan) bill was signed into law in 2020, two years before Vance was elected to the Senate."
Vance's 2022 victory represented the first time he'd ever been elected to public office.
Rampbell decided to go directly to the source and asked Vance's Senate office to point her toward the bill.
"His spokesperson declined to speak on the record or give me the bill number for whatever legislation Vance was citing," Rampbell wrote. "Instead, I was told to read a Politico article that mentions a bill he sponsored on a different issue (related to expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) as well as another bill that’s at least on the relevant subject, but that he merely considered."
Vance cut off talks for the second bill referenced when he began auditioning to be Trump's running mate, the Washington Post reported last month.
This analysis arrives as Vance targets Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) with controversial accusations of stolen valor, a term usually reserved for those who misrepresent awards received in the armed forces.
Vance's claims are linked to Walz' recent gun control speech in which he references weapons carried into war, which veterans note has a specific meaning that does not apply directly to the Minnesota governor's 24 years with the National Guard.
Harris' campaign later said Walz never intended to mislead Americans about his service and he has since replied by saying, "I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person's service record."
Rampbell argued Tuesday, given the context of Vance's legislative record, his attacks are inappropriate.
"The actual perpetrators of 'stolen valor' in this election are Vance and his party," she wrote. "If not in the military context, then at least in the public service one."
