Paul Ryan defends Jeb Bush's work comments

Paul Ryan, the Republican Party’s ranking financial guru, defended Jeb Bush’s recent comments that “people should work longer hours” in order to improve the American economy.

“What I think he’s getting at is we have a problem in our economy in that too many people have part-time work when they want full-time work,” the House Ways and Means committee chairman told POLITICO’s Ben White at a Morning Money breakfast Thursday. He pointed to the current historically low labor participation rate as a problem that “Jeb, in particular, and some of our other candidates” are wrestling with on the campaign trail.


Ryan admitted, though, that he didn’t know the exact context for Bush’s remarks.

When asked about Bush’s prediction that, should he win the presidency, the country will see 4 percent annual economic growth “as far as the eye can see,” Ryan again defended his fellow Republican.

“Absolutely, we can deliver 4 percent growth if we get the fundamentals right,” Ryan said. He listed tax reform, regulatory reform, health care reform, and the federal debt as the “basics and fundamentals” that could achieve unprecedented levels of growth well into the 21st century.

The former vice presidential nominee spread the love around the Republican 2016 field, at one point praising Marco Rubio’s tax plan.

Asked what specifically in Rubio’s plan he supports, Ryan set the bar low.

“That he has one, number one,” the Wisconsin Republican responded. “Number two, that it goes to a couple principles. Lower tax rates across the board, and that he attempts to tax income once at its source.”

Ryan said that he has not yet read Sen. Rand Paul’s flat-tax plan but offered praise for any Republican willing to stick his or her neck out with specific proposals.

Ryan declined to weigh in on what his preferred proposal would look like, however, citing his leadership role in Congress and the national Republican Party.

“What I choose and try not to do as chairman of the Ways and Means committee is to be sort of the referee of these [tax plans] and to say what’s good and what’s bad in these things. I don’t want to play that role because I want to encourage a good debate.”

“I shouldn’t be trying to douse the enthusiasm for people putting plans out there,” he said.

In response to a question about which candidates he consults with, Ryan was similarly non-committal.

“I speak to whichever candidate wants to talk, whoever’s advisers. We all know each other pretty well.”

“I’m pretty much Switzerland on all this,” Ryan added. “Neutral.”

But there was one 2016 GOP candidate that Paul Ryan was willing to criticize: Donald Trump.

The Wisconsin congressman refused to say whether or not RNC chairman Reince Priebus should bar Trump from presidential debates, but he did say that his views should not be considered mainstream.

“He doesn’t speak for the Republican Party and I think his comments were extremely disrespectful and I don’t think that’s the way to have an immigration conversation,” Ryan said.