Jenna Fischer Sorry for Tweet on Tax Bill

'I did not mean to spread misinformation'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2017 1:34 AM CST
Updated Dec 28, 2017 5:21 AM CST
Jenna Fischer Sorry for Tweet on Tax Bill
Jenna Fischer participates in the BUILD Speaker Series to discuss her book "The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide" at AOL Studios in New York last month.   (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Jenna Fischer won praise from Republicans on Wednesday for admitting she got her facts wrong in a tweet about the GOP tax bill. The actress, best known for her role as Pam in The Office, had said that the bill stops teachers from deducting the cost of classroom supplies they paid for, Mediaite reports. As critics pointed out after the tweet, the deduction was removed in the version of the bill the House of Representatives first approved but it was restored in the final version. "I feel genuinely bad for getting my facts wrong and I’m sorry," Fischer tweeted Wednesday. "I did not mean to spread misinformation. I was well-intentioned, but I was behind on my research."

Fischer said she was glad her original tweet, which she has now deleted, "started a great dialogue about how teachers shouldn't have to go out of pocket to pay for school supplies," but "part of having a dialogue involves listening and learning and admitting when you're wrong." Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, thanked her for the apology, the Hill reports. "Very gracious, a great example of how civil discussion can and should take place," he tweeted. In another tweet, Fischer noted that "teachers surveyed by Scholastic in 2016 personally spent an average of $530 on school supplies for students. Teachers who worked at high-poverty schools spent an average of $672. The tax deduction was capped at $250." (More Jenna Fischer stories.)

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