House Speaker [crscore]Paul Ryan[/crscore] said the weak economic growth shown in the first quarter Department of Commerce report is unacceptable and policy changes are necessary to get the economy back to where it should be during his weekly press conference Thursday.
“Today the economy clocked in for the first quarter at .5 percent – that’s next to nothing,” he said. “This is a sign that this is not a healthy economy. This economy is far from its potential.”
Ryan argued while the House passed several bills this week aimed at helping the manufacturing sector and promoting startups, action needs to be taken in terms of deregulation and tax reform to fix the problem.
“There are only so many things we can do in a divided government, so as part of our policy agenda we are going to show the country how we can get our economy back on track,” he continued. “We don’t have to settle for .5 percent growth.”
The speaker said the policies the administration have pursued are “clearly not working: and holding the country back from its potential.”
Ryan said Republicans will offer America an alternative he believes will provide a real solution to the problem.
Despite the dismal number, the administration said stood by its policies saying the labor market “remains robust” and jobs in the private sector will continue to grow.
Follow Juliegrace Brufke on Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.