Washington, D.C.—Today, Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement in response to widespread warnings by prominent economists that record-high GDP growth in the third quarter may paint a misleading picture of the state of the U.S. economy. The third quarter GDP report will be released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
“It has widely been shown that even record-breaking GDP growth as high as 35% would suggest a lackluster recovery. The figure will be extremely high only because last quarter it was extremely low. Total output will be much smaller than in the beginning of the year. The president could find this out with a simple Google search. He will have no excuse if he claims an economic miracle—it will be a calculated attempt to mislead.
“Americans should just look around—do they see a red-hot economy? Has the coronavirus been contained so businesses can hire and people can go back to work? Or is the virus spreading, putting their lives and livelihoods at risk?”
Today, Vice Chair Beyer released an issue brief explaining why the third quarter GDP numbers likely will make the U.S. economy look much stronger than it is. Prominent economists have reached similar conclusions, including economists Jay Shambaugh, Jason Furman, Jared Bernstein and Dean Baker, as well as national publications including The New York Times, Vox, Bloomberg News, NBC News, Politico and National Public Radio.
About Congressman Beyer
Congressman Don Beyer is currently serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital. In addition to his role as Vice Chair of the JEC, Beyer serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Previously, Beyer served as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and Ambassador to Switzerland, and built a successful family business over the course of four decades.
About the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee is Congress’s bicameral economic think tank. It was created when Congress passed the Employment Act of 1946. Under this Act, Congress established two advisory panels: the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) and the JEC. Their primary tasks are to review economic conditions and to recommend improvements in economic policy. Chairmanship of the JEC alternates between the Senate and House every Congress. Currently, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is the Chair and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) is Vice Chair.
