WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement after the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2012, far less than the 3.5 percent growth rate in 2010 when President Obama insisted that stopping the looming tax hikes was necessary to “help the economy”:

“Today’s GDP report is a troubling sign for the future of our economy, and it underscores the need to stop all of the looming tax hikes that will weaken it further.  In 2010, when economic growth was more robust than it is today, President Obama said stopping the looming tax hikes was necessary to ‘help the economy.’  Now, he is inexplicably determined to raise taxes on small businesses, and destroy more than 700,000 American jobs, when many are struggling to survive this weak economy.

“Next week, the House will vote to stop President Obama’s small business tax hike while laying the groundwork for pro-growth tax reform that will help employers keep jobs in America, and bring some jobs back to America that have gone overseas.  If the president is serious about helping rebuild this economy, he will work with Republicans to stop these tax hikes and reform the tax code to create a better environment for private-sector job creation.”

# # # # #