The Clinton administration, the Republican congressional leadership and the financial services industry all seem to agree on the Gramm-Leach Act. If it becomes law, the legislation would abolish restrictions on banks, securities firms and insurance companies instituted in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Critics charge that — like the Telecommunications Act of 1996 — it will not provide the promised benefits to consumers, but will result in massive mergers and inadequate regulation. Among those available for interviews are: RALPH NADER Consumer advocate Ralph Nader called the proposed legislation “anti-competitive, anti-consumer and anti-community. It creates new risks for the nation’s…

WASHINGTON — While the White House and Congress struggle over the federal budget, some policy analysts are questioning key assumptions in the debate. Sociologist Abby Scher and economist Jared Bernstein are available for interviews to discuss underlying issues: ABBY SCHER “Since the late 1970s, Congress has directed more of the federal budget away from social investment,” Scher says. “The 1997 budget caps and current negotiations are only accelerating that trend. Corporations, meanwhile, will continue to receive their welfare payments in this budget.” Scher is co-editor of Dollars and Sense magazine. More Information JARED BERNSTEIN “In an ideal world, the debate…

Wall Street is continuing a downward slide this fall, and some economists believe that policymakers in Washington are remaining unrealistically upbeat. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Dole’s withdrawal from the GOP presidential race has sparked more debate on campaign finance issues. The following policy analysts are available for interviews. Wall Street: Realism Needed DEAN BAKER “The stock market has been hugely overvalued since 1996,” said Baker, an economist and senior research fellow at the Preamble Center in Washington, D.C. “At its peak earlier this year it may have been overvalued by more than 50 percent. To make this determination it is only necessary…

Speaking at a news conference this afternoon, President Clinton said that he is not concerned about the massive protests planned for the World Trade Organization global summit when it convenes in Seattle in late November. The following policy analysts who support those protests are available for comment: SARAH ANDERSON “It’s great that he’s welcoming protesters outside the ministerial meeting, but it would be more meaningful for him to actually push for civil society to have a place inside, at the negotiating table,” said Sarah Anderson, an economic analyst and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. She…

GORDON S. CLARK The executive director of the grassroots American organization Peace Action, Clark said Wednesday: “The military coup in Pakistan dramatically underscores the need for the nuclear test ban treaty. Will we be more secure or less secure with countries like Pakistan developing nuclear weapons? Because that is exactly what is going to happen if the U.S. rejects this treaty, and this treaty is only the beginning for the Republicans. George W. Bush, among others, has already said he favors abandoning the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which would without question cause Russia to increase its reliance on nuclear weapons. Is…

TED TAYLOR Former deputy director of the Defense Atomic Support Agency in the Pentagon, an architect for decades of the U.S. nuclear program and now an independent consultant on nuclear issues and critic of U.S. nuclear policy, Taylor said: “I’m strongly in favor of the treaty, but not the Clinton administration interpretation of what it allows. The administration views the treaty as a way to stop other countries from doing what we did: develop a nuclear arsenal by depending on full-scale nuclear tests. The administration is trying to get around the comprehensive nature of the treaty by claiming that its…

JAMES LOVE Director of the Consumer Project on Technology, Love said: “The merger is an attempt to avoid competition. Sprint plays an important role in servicing resellers in the long distance market, smaller companies that buy bandwidth from the big three. For twenty years, you’ve had these three major players. Prices have gone down because there has been competition in the long distance market. This merger is good for the shareholders of the long distance industry, but bad for consumers because it will reduce competition.” More Information DEBBIE GOLDMAN Research economist with the Communication Workers of America, Goldman said: “When…

QUENTIN YOUNG, M.D. The national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program, which today released an analysis of Census data figures, Young said: “The number of uninsured climbed by 833,000 to 44.3 million in 1998, according to data released by the Census Bureau. Though the Census Bureau claimed that children’s health coverage had not deteriorated, an analysis by PNHP reveals that the number of uninsured children rose by 330,300 in 1998, following rises of 188,000 in 1997 and 755,000 in 1996. Overall, the data show a clear and significant trend of deteriorating coverage among children. Since 1992, when President…

DEAN BAKER “The public debate over the budget has almost completely missed the real issues,” said Baker, an economist at the Preamble Center. “The debate has been portrayed as a dispute over whether to spend the surplus on social programs or whether to pay it out in tax cuts. In reality, the projected surplus is based on the assumption that social programs will be cut in real terms over the next decade. The issue between the President and Congress is actually about how much these programs will be cut. Of course the even bigger deception is that we are making…

As congressional hearings on the Russian financial scandal continue, the following analysts are available for interviews: JANINE WEDEL Author of Collision and Collusion: The Strange Case of Western Aid to Eastern Europe and associate professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, Wedel said: “As more becomes known about Western participation in the laundering of Russian money, the Washington establishment will likely try to hide behind stories of faraway organized crime and distance itself from any culpability. But U.S. policy toward Russia has contributed to that country’s sorry condition. Among those under investigation…