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News Releases

  • Social Security: “Shortfall” Warnings Distort Reality, Critics Charge

    WASHINGTON — Hours after an influential think tank released a report Monday warning of a multi-trillion-dollar “shortfall” for Social Security, several economists and policy analysts denounced the report as a misleading effort to promote privatization of the federal program. The report, issued by the Heritage Foundation, claims that Social Security “is a very bad deal for younger workers” and that “the Social Security system is bankrupt.” But specialists associated with the Institute for Public Accuracy, a national consortium of policy researchers, blasted the report as a “misleading analysis” based on “inaccuracies” and “half-truths.” Among those available for comment are: ROGER…

  • Context for Clinton Trip to China

    WASHINGTON — As President Clinton prepares for the summit in China, think tanks in the United States are churning out media releases on U.S.-China relations. But some scholars associated with the Institute for Public Accuracy, a nationwide consortium of policy researchers, contend that key aspects of the summit’s economic context are being overlooked. Among those available for interviews on underlying economic issues of the upcoming China summit are: RADHIKA BALAKRISHNAN An economics professor at Marymount Manhattan College who specializes in trade and Third World development, Balakrishnan says: “It’s a good thing that President Clinton is going to China. Opening up…

  • U.S. Foreign Aid: Should It Buy Support?

    WASHINGTON — With Congress now at work on proposals to fund U.S. foreign aid programs for fiscal year 1999, analysts are debating the merits of such assistance. Today, the Heritage Foundation released a policy paper claiming that the largest portion of Washington’s foreign aid budget “goes to many countries that seldom support U.S. foreign policy initiatives.” The think tank cited voting records at the United Nations and declared that “most recipients of U.S. foreign aid vote against the United States more often than they vote with it.” But researchers associated with the Institute for Public Accuracy quickly challenged the spin…

  • Election Analysts See Opportunity, Challenge

    WASHINGTON — While think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute are showcasing their analysts for the 1998 elections, many political researchers say the greatest concerns of most Americans will remain on the back burner. Issues such as education, the distribution of prosperity and the relationship between money and political access are addressed by the Institute for Public Accuracy, a national consortium of policy analysts. Among those available for comment are: LARRY AGRAN Former mayor of Irvine, Calif., attorney and founder of CityVote, Agran said: “Washington-based, millionaire celebrity analysts continue ignoring what should be the country’s top priority: closing the…

  • Military Spending Claims Draw Fire

    WASHINGTON — Projections for the Pentagon budget by one of the nation’s most prominent think tanks drew criticism today from several specialists in military spending. The Heritage Foundation’s new report, “Current Budget Priorities May Have Serious Defense Consequences,” was faulted for its claim that by 2020, “the downward trend in defense would result in the virtual elimination of defense spending.” Among those available for comment are: WILLIAM D. HARTUNG A Senior Fellow of the World Policy Institute at the New School for Social Research, Hartung said: “A similar projection based on the first four years of the Reagan military buildup…

  • Whitewash of IMF Role Charged

    WASHINGTON — A new report on the Asian economic crisis, put out by Washington’s best-known think tank on international economic issues, is drawing fire for its favorable assessment of the International Monetary Fund. Released by the Institute for International Economics, the report is titled “The Asian Financial Crisis: Causes, Cures, and Systemic Implications.” It has come under swift attack from economists who question why IMF bailout policies — including high interest rates, spending cuts, and mass layoffs — were let off the hook in the report. Among those available for comment are: MARK WEISBROT Research Director of the Preamble Center…

  • Debate Heats up on Social Security and Savings

    WASHINGTON — On the eve of the National Summit on Retirement Savings, some analysts are denouncing new efforts to tilt the debate on savings and Social Security. The Heritage Foundation released a report Tuesday, entitled “How Government Policies Discourage Savings,” calling for privatization of Social Security. But scholars and other researchers said today that such policy prescriptions would do irreparable damage to Social Security rather than save it. Among those available for interviews are: JANE D’ARISTA A lecturer in the International Banking and Financial Law Studies Program at Boston University School of Law, D’Arista said: “We have a dual system,…

  • Arms Experts Warn Against Missile Defense Push

    India-Pakistan Nuclear Escalation Deemed No Excuse for New SDI WASHINGTON — Some arms experts expressed concern today over efforts to revive a new version of the Strategic Defense Initiative promoted during the 1980s by the Reagan administration. A recent report from the Heritage Foundation following nuclear tests in South Asia declared that President Clinton “should respond immediately by committing the United States to the development of an emergency missile defense program and to early deployment of a global missile defense system.” But a variety of policy analysts said that such “missile defense systems” are dubious at best. Among those available…

  • Pakistan’s N-Tests Heighten Concerns of U.S. Nuclear Survivors

    Atomic Veterans and Downwinders Speaking Out on Pakistani Blasts After today’s nuclear detonations by Pakistan, some Americans who have experienced atomic testing firsthand are stepping up their efforts to warn against fueling a nuclear arms race. While commentators from think tanks join with U.S. government officials in assessing the Pakistani tests, more acute concerns are being expressed by Americans who have seen mushroom clouds rise. Among those available for interviews are: WILLIAM BIRES In 1951, Bires — then a 22-year-old private in the U.S. Army — witnessed several aboveground nuclear bomb tests at close range in Nevada. Now, Bires expresses…

  • Supporters of Test Ban Denounce Efforts to Stall Treaty

    India’s Nuclear Blasts Being Used as Excuse, Critics Charge WASHINGTON — Efforts are underway to scuttle the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty under the guise of urging a go-slow approach by the Senate in the wake of India’s nuclear tests, some experts said Friday. Citing a new statement from the Heritage Foundation titled “India’s Nuclear Tests Show Folly of Rushing Test Ban Treaty,” critics said that such declarations are part of an emerging effort to kill the test ban on Capitol Hill. Among those available for comment are: SAM DAY Day, former editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said:…

  • Billions More for Israel as It Attacks West Bank

    Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said: “Members of Congress should understand that approving more military aid could subject them to personal liability for aiding and abetting an ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

  • International Civilian Aid Flotilla to “Break the Siege of Gaza”

    The International Freedom Flotilla Coalition recently released a statement: “International Civilian Aid Flotilla to Break the Siege of Gaza” that it “will sail in mid April with multiple vessels, carrying 5,500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international human rights observers to challenge the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. This is…

  • Race-Based Kidney Tests

    Medical school activists are sounding the alarm over the EDUCATE Act, a bill that aims to remove Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion curricula and ban race-based admission mandates at medical schools.

  • Government Compelling Private Universities to “Pledge of Allegiance” to Israel; Universities Disciplined Students for Rallies

    “What we are seeing now is only the latest manifestation of a longstanding campaign to try to redefine the term ‘anti-Semitism’ — to take it away from the dictionary meaning that worked very well for a long time, and to turn it into something else. Under the new definition, anti-Semitism includes criticism of Zionism and…

  • “Terrifying” “Make Everyone A Spy” Amendment Provokes Outrage

    “As we have said for months, the Make Everyone A Spy provision is recklessly broad and a threat to democracy itself. It is simply stunning that the administration and House Intelligence Committee do not have a single answer for how frighteningly broad this provision is. While the Department of Justice wants us to believe that…

  • NSA, Palantir “Feed Israel’s Killing Machine in Gaza”

    “Now, with Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, critical information from NSA continues to be used by Unit 8200, according to a number of sources, to target tens of thousands of Palestinians for death — often with U.S.-supplied 2,000-pound bombs and other weapons. And it is extremely powerful data-mining software, such as that from Palantir, that…

  • “Iran’s Attack and Prospects for Regional War”

    “Yesterday’s attack failed to inflict any serious damage on Israel. This was no accident. Iran expected this result. It warned the U.S. in advance of its plans. Unlike Israel, [the Iranian government] exercised calculated restraint.” The Iranian government told the U.S. government “through back-channels what it intended. It negotiated an understanding with the U.S. about what the…

  • Potential Medicaid Cuts in New York State Budget

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed major Medicaid cuts to this year’s state budget that would impact the state’s Health Homes program.

  • Hamas: A “Golem” that Emerged from Israel’s “Divide and Rule” Strategy

    The first Intifada, which began in 1987, avoided the use of firearms but was ultimately crushed. Hamas was formed shortly thereafter with its initial charter, which had a “scrambled mixture of the Brotherhood’s socially puritanical version of Islam, several concessions to the nationalism espoused by the PLO, and a superficial rehash of Euro-centric antisemitism.” (Hamas…

  • Is Air Force Hunger Striker Forced Back to Base After Confronting Top Brass About Illegal Policies?

    Hebert asked Gen. David W. Allvin on Capitol Hill about the U.S. government’s backing of Israel after Allvin testified before Congress: “I would just like to know why we’re committing a genocide and why we’re breaking U.S. and international law. Why are we allowed to do this?”  Hebert’s hunger strike has been covered by outlets…

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