WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairman and Financial Services Committee Vice Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today regarding the Commerce Department’s report on the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2011. 

“While the news that our GDP grew in the year’s first quarter is welcome, our economy’s rate of growth is disappointingly slow and far too many Americans still can’t find work. Our fiscal woes may not have begun under President Obama, but his administration is making matters worse, not better. His failed policies reduced economic growth from 3.1 percent in the last quarter of 2010 to 1.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. Such slow rates will not lift this economy into recovery and will not create enough jobs for the 13 million Americans currently unemployed.

“The President’s plan for higher taxes, out of control spending, and more regulation has created vast uncertainty for job creators and is keeping investors on the sidelines. Employers are rightly aware that historic spending leads to historic debt, which will inevitably lead to historic taxation. The only way to restore certainty to our economy and enable a real recovery is to place the nation on a fiscally sustainable course for the future.

“The House-passed ‘Path to Prosperity’ budget leads the way to ending our spending-driven debt crisis while creating jobs for the American people. In the crucial debates ahead, Republicans will continue to fight for policies that cut spending and encourage—not hamper—private sector growth.

“In order to stop borrowing 42 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese, and sending the bill to our children and grandchildren, President Obama and Congressional Democrats must follow our lead and put people before politics. Americans are depending on serious leadership in Washington that will stop spending money we don’t have. That is the only way we can grow our economy, create jobs, and save future generations from bankruptcy.”