Pence, Harris face off in VP debate with diverging views of America

PENCE'S CLAIM: "It's probably why Newsweek magazine said that Kamala Harris was the most liberal member of the United States Senate in 2019, more liberal than Bernie Sanders, more liberal than any of the others in the United States Senate." 

FACT CHECK: Harris certainly has a very liberal Senate voting record, and an analysis cited by Newsweek in 2019 did find her to be the most liberal in the U.S. Senate.

However, that particular analysis does not consider some important caveats, the founder of the organization who conducted it told ABC News. 

Harris certainly has one of the more liberal voting records in the Senate: She has voted to increase gun control and block conservative judicial nominees, for instance. 

But there are nuances that the organization's founder, Jonathan Tauberer, said GovTrack's model doesn't account for, like the complexity of Harris' political views, the distinctions between different wings within each major political party, the specific approach Harris might take to achieve her desired outcome, or the unwillingness of Republicans to work with Harris during a presidential year.

--ABC News' Allison Pecorin

PENCE’S CLAIM: “Sen. Harris is denying the fact that they're going to raise taxes on every American.”

FACT CHECK: Biden has insisted that his administration would only seek to raise taxes on companies and individuals making more than $400,000 a year. Tax experts largely agree that under his plan a broad swath of American households could also see a very small increase in their taxes.
 This is due to a number of factors, such as Biden’s proposed corporate tax hike. Many models assume at least part of that burden would be borne by lower-wage workers. But according to an analysis by the independent nonprofit Tax Policy Foundation, 93% of the increases would be shouldered by the top quintile of taxpayers. 

 According to that analysis, that would mean the middle-income quintile (those with income between about $52,000 and $93,000) would experience an average tax increase of $260 per year. Taxpayers in the bottom quintile (those with income less than $26,000) would see an average tax increase of only $30.

Biden has also said he would reinstate the individual mandate -- the penalty for not having health insurance created by the Affordable Care Act -- that was eliminated by the 2017 tax cuts.

However, Biden says he also aims to reduce some taxes. He said he would repeal the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction instituted by the 2017 bill, which primarily impacts high-income households in areas with high state taxes, like California and New York.

He also plans to offer tax credits aimed at accomplishing different policy goals -- such as reinstating or expanding incentives intended to reduce carbon emissions and helping low- and middle-income families offset the costs of home buying.

--ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Beatrice Peterson

ABC News Chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl said both candidates showed their differences from Trump on the stage in terms of their demeanor, noting Pence started off by commending Harris for making history on the ticket. 

But Karl also said there were missed opportunities to press the candidates for follow-up questions when, at times, they skirted around giving direct answers.

"It was also somewhat maddening at times to see both of them avoid answering basic questions and not really seeing enough of a follow up, but especially Mike Pence," Karl said. "Mike Pence has an amazing ability not to answer a direct question, and you really have to press, and there was no real opportunity to do it here."

Harris dodged a question from Pence earlier on packing the Supreme Court, while Pence would not answer whether he believes in man-made climate change, among other questions.

PENCE'S CLAIM: "President Trump and I have a plan to improve health care and protect -- to protect preexisting conditions for every American."

FACT CHECK: Trump has promised throughout his first term in office to lay out a comprehensive health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

But despite repeatedly claiming one would be coming in a few "weeks," the Trump administration has failed to produce one -- with less than a month to go until Election Day.

Trump is also currently suing to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees coverage for preexisting conditions, and has still not proposed an alternative.

In June 2019, Trump told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos that he would be releasing a "phenomenal" new health care plan within the next two months.

"If we win back the House, we're going to produce phenomenal health care. And we already have the concept of the plan, but it'll be less expensive than Obamacare by a lot," Trump said then.

Over a year later, the president still hasn't released a plan.

Trump also told Fox News' Chris Wallace over the summer that he would be releasing a health care plan in a matter of "weeks" -- but never did.

Meanwhile, as Trump and Republicans have repeatedly insisted on protecting preexisting conditions, the Trump administration is currently in court seeking to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees coverage for Americans with preexisting medical conditions. 

Trump did lay out health care goals at a campaign event in late September. But it was light on details and even Trump's own campaign called it his "vision" for health care, not a concrete plan.

--ABC News' Will Steakin