Washington D.C.-Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Vice Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, called today’s Bureau of Economic Analysis report that real GDP increased at an annual rate of 1.5% during the second quarter of this year “troubling.”

“Today’s report is another indictment of President Obama’s economic policies,” Brady declared.  “His policies produced the weakest recovery since World War II.  If the President insists on piling on more regulatory red tape and driving the economy off the tax cliff at the end of the year, the situation will only get worse.”

Since the recession ended three years ago, the economy has only grown by a total of 6.7%, less than half the average 15.2% of the other nine post-World War II recoveries and significantly less than the 18.5% the economy grew during the comparable period of the Reagan recovery.

“As disturbing as today’s topline number is, the downgrading of the recovery helps to explain why job growth is near stall speed,” Brady explained. “What’s missing from this recovery is strong growth in private sector investment.  Even though private investment is the lifeblood of economic growth and job creation, President Obama wants to punish the job creators that make the investments needed to create jobs for American workers.”

Brady said that he hoped the Federal Reserve does not respond to today’s news by printing more money. “Chairman Bernanke needs to look the President and the Congress in the eye and say, ‘It’s up to you to do your jobs.  Don’t drive the economy off the tax cliff.’”