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ByMartinCrutsinger The Associated Press WASHINGTON The U.S. economy turned in the weakest performance in three years in the January- March quarter as consum- ers sharply slowed their spending. The result fell far short of President Donald Trump's ambitious growth targets and underscores the challenges of acceler- ating economic expansion. The gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, grew by just 0.7 percent in the first quarter following a gain of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the Commerce De- partment reported Friday. The slowdown primarily reflected slower consumer spending, which grew at a seasonally adjusted an- nual rate of 0.3 percent af- ter a growth rate of 3.5 per- cent in the fourth quarter. It was the poorest quar- terly showing in more than seven years. Despite the anemic first- quarter performance, the U.S. economy's prospects for the rest of the year ap- pear solid. Growth is ex- pected to be fueled by a re- vival in consumer spend- ing,supportedbycontinued strong job growth, acceler- ating wage gains and re- cord stock levels. Weakness in the first quarter followed by a stron- ger expansion in the spring has become a pattern in re- centyears.Thegovernment's difficulty with seasonal ad- justments for the first quar- ter has been a chronic prob- lem and may have shaved as much as 1 percentage point off growth this year. The sharp slowdown in consumer spending in the first quarter was attributed to a collection of temporary factors: warmer weather, which shrank spending on heating bills, a drop-off in auto sales after a strong fourth quarter and a delay in sending out tax refund checks, which also damp- ened spending. Sal Guatieri, senior econ- omist at BMO Capital Mar- kets, said he expected con- sumer and government spending to bounce back, leading to a much stronger second quarter. "Still, the report will mark a rough start to the administration's high hopes of achieving 3 per- cent or better growth, not the kind of news it was looking for to cap its first 100 days in office," Guatieri said in a note to clients. CommerceSecretaryWil- bur Ross, one of the admin- istration's top economic policymakers, said that the weak first quarter perfor- mance showed the need for thenewpoliciesTrumpisof- fering. "We need the president's tax plan, regulatory relief, trade negotiations and the unleashing of (the) Ameri- can energy sector to over- come the dismal economy inherited by the Trump ad- ministration," Ross said in a statement. He said that strong busi- ness and consumer sen- timent "must be released from the regulatory and tax shackles constraining economic growth." Averaging the two quar- ters, they forecast growth of around 2 percent for the first half of this year. That would be in line with the mediocre performance of the eight-year economic ex- pansion, when growth has averaged just 2.1 percent, the poorest showing for any recovery in the post-World War II period. Trump had repeatedly attacked the weak GDP rates during the campaign as an example of the Obama administration's failed eco- nomic policies. He said his program of tax cuts for in- dividuals and businesses, deregulation and tougher enforcement of trade agree- ments would double growth to 4 percent or better. In unveiling an outline of the administration's tax proposals on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he believed growth above 3 percent would be achievable. Many economists are more skeptical. They are forecasting growth of this year around 2.2 per- cent. That would be an im- provement from last year's 1.6 percent, the weakest showing in five years, but far below Trump's goal. Many analysts believe that the impacts of Trump's eco- nomic program will not be felt until 2018 because they are not expecting Congress to approve some version of Trump's tax program until late this year. The GDP report released Friday was the first of three estimates the government will make of first quarter growth. The 0.7 percent increase was the worst showing since GDP contracted by 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2014. In addition to weaker consumer activity, the first quarter slowdown also re- flected a cutback in re- stocking of store shelves. The slowdown in inven- tory rebuilding cut nearly a percentage point from growth in the first quar- ter. Also acting as a drag was a reduction in govern- ment spending, which fell at a 1.7 percent annual rate with both the federal gov- ernment and state and local governments seeing cuts. On the positive side, business investment rose at a 9.4 percent rate, helped by a record surge in spend- ing in the category that tracks spending in the en- ergy sector. This category had seen sharp cutbacks in recent quarters, reflect- ing reductions in explo- ration and drilling as en- ergy prices declined. Hous- ing construction was also strong, growing at a 13.7 percent rate, the fastest pace in nearly two years. TRUMP'S TARGETS US economy grew at weakest pace in 3 years EVANVUCCI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association Leadership Conference on Friday in Atlanta. By Jonathan Lemire The Associated Press ATLANTA President Don- ald Trump reaffirmed his support for gun rights Fri- day, telling attendees of a National Rifle Association convention that "the eight- year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end." Trump, the first sitting president to address the group's annual convention in more than 30 years, as- sured the audience that he would defend their right to bear arms in a campaign- like speech reminiscent of his election rallies. "You have a true friend and champion in the White House," he said. The president's trip to At- lanta also served as his first foray into a congressional race since taking office. Af- ter delivering his NRA re- marks, the president headed to a private fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate Karen Handel, who is running in a special congressional race that has become a national referen- dum on his presidency. During the speech, the president congratulated Handel and urged Republi- cans to support her. "She's totally for the NRA, and she's totally for the Second Amendment, so get out and vote," he said. Trump has been a cham- pion of gun rights and sup- portive of NRA efforts to loosen restrictions on gun ownership. During the campaign, he promised to do away with President Barack Obama's efforts to strengthen background checks and to eliminate gun-free zones at schools and military bases. The last president to ad- dress an NRA convention was Ronald Reagan, who spoke to the 1983 gather- ing, according to the pow- erful gun rights lobby. Trump's appearance in Atlanta sparked protests from people advocating for stricter gun control mea- sures. They included Steve Hagen,whocalledtheNRA's pushforfederallegislationto make any state's concealed- carry permits valid nation- wide"thedumbestthingI've ever heard." "I guess the promoters are throwing states' rights out the window," Hagen, a 68-year-old from the At- lanta suburb of Tucker. "It's just crazy." Opponents of the bill say the move would effectively turn the weakest gun stan- dards in the nation into the law of the land. The GOP- led Congress already passed a resolution to block a rule that would have kept guns out of the hands of certain people with mental disor- ders, and Trump quickly signed it. Trump, who also at- tended last year's NRA convention as a candidate, boasts of owning a pair of guns and mentioned again on Friday that his two adult sons are avid hunt- ers. He stirred controversy during the campaign when he suggested that "Second Amendment people" could stop his opponent Hillary Clinton, which some inter- preted to be a call for vio- lence against the Demo- cratic nominee. Trump dis- puted that charge. White House press sec- retary Sean Spicer said on the plane trip from Wash- ington that NRA members supported Trump dur- ing the election based on his strong commitment to gun rights. He also cited Trump's appointment of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. "I know the NRA is glad to have a justice in that seat who is such a staunch de- fender of the Constitution," he said. Kevin Michalowski, exec- utive editor of a magazine published by the United States Concealed Carry As- sociation, said seeing that a president will be address- ing the annual meeting "gives the gun industry a feeling of he's on our side." Trump tells NRA: 'You have a true friend' in White House GUN RIGHTS By Alan Fram The Associated Press WASHINGTON Congress took the easy way out to keep the government open on the eve of Don- ald Trump's 100th day in office, passing a weeklong stop-gap spending bill Fri- day that amounted to more of a defeat for the president than a victory. Lawmakers cleared the measure easily with just hours to spare before the shutdown deadline at mid- night. But with Trump marking his presidency's milestone Saturday, he did not wring any major leg- islation out of Congress, despite a renewed White House push to revive the House GOP's health care bill in time for a vote that could give him bragging rights. House leaders are still short of votes for the re- vised health bill, though they could bring it to the floor next week if they find the support they need. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the plan was to pass the bill "as soon as possible." Also next week lawmak- ers plan to pass a $1 tril- lion package financing the government through Sept. 30, the end of the 2017 fis- cal year. The temporary spending bill keeps the government functioning through next Friday, to allow lawmak- ers time to wrap up nego- tiations on the larger mea- sure. The Senate sent the stopgap bill to Trump by voice vote Friday after the House approved it by a lop- sided 382-30 margin. "Today's measure shows the American people that we are making a good-faith effort to keep our govern- ment open," said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. "While this is not ideal, I support this effort to provide our colleagues with more time to reach a final agreement on legislation to fund the government through the fiscal year." The struggle over both bills was embarrassing to the GOP, which has Trump in the White House and majorities in Congress. Yet even with unified control, it's proving an uphill fight for Republicans to make good on seven years' worth of promises to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's health care law. WASHINGTON Congress settles for stopgap to avoid shutdown Tehama Country Real Estate This Week www.redbluffdailynews.com Get Results! Suzy Noble @ (530) 737-5056 snoble@redbluffdailynews.com Gayla Eckels @ (530) 737-5044 geckels@redbluffdailynews.com RE/MAX American Dream Robert Thayer, Owner / Realtor 1704 Solano St, Corning CA, 96021 Callmeat(530)515-3367 for any information on any listing, or listing your own home/business/property. 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