News Releases

  • Peace Groups Call on UN to Impose Arms Embargo on Israel

    They call on members states to “embargo arms, oil and tech on Israel to stop settler terrorism and destruction in the West Bank and Israeli military genocide in Gaza.”


  • New Census Data on Poverty

    Census data on poverty rates from 2023 were just released. The data shows the consequences of failing to apply lessons from the pandemic’s anti-poverty measures. Poverty rates remain high relative to the progress made in 2021.


  • Uninsured Numbers Grew Under Trump

    The number of U.S. residents without health insurance rose by 2 million during Donald Trump’s presidency and fell by 3.3 million under Joe Biden’s. That decrease led to the lowest rate of residents without health insurance in U.S. history. Under Trump, meanwhile, 39 states saw increases in their uninsured rates. 


  • Undebatable: What Harris and Trump Could Not Say About Israel and Gaza

    “What Kamala Harris and Donald Trump said about Israel and Gaza in their debate was predictable. Even more certain was what they absolutely would not say — with silences speaking loudest of all.”


  • Antidote for Trump-Harris Debate Rhetoric: Reality from Doctor Back from Gaza

    “Former President Donald Trump, with his typical level of restraint, recently stated that Israel will cease to exist if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected President in November. The real question is whether the Palestinians of Gaza will survive under either a Trump or Harris presidency.”


  • How Many Civilians Did “Mass Hannibal” Directive Kill?

    The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports in “Israeli forces accused of killing their own citizens under the ‘Hannibal Directive’ during October 7 chaos,” that the “Israeli military is coming under increasing pressure to reveal just how many of their own citizens were killed by Israeli soldiers, pilots and police in the confusion of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities. Survivors and relatives have been asking not just ‘what went wrong,’ but whether the military invoked the controversial — and supposedly rescinded — ‘Hannibal Directive.’” In July, Haaretz reported: “IDF Ordered Hannibal Directive on October 7 to Prevent Hamas Taking Soldiers…


  • Israeli Army Kills U.S. Citizen During Demonstration in Beita, Nablus

    “This is just another example of the decades of impunity granted to the Israeli government and army, bolstered by the support of the U.S. and European governments, who are complicit in enabling genocide in Gaza.”


  • Expanded Child Tax Credit in the 2024 Election

    Study after study has demonstrated that providing parents with a guaranteed basic income both helps them and pulls children out of poverty. Yet an expanded Child Tax Credit, which removed millions of children from poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic, has not been restored since Congress allowed it to expire at the end of 2021. The current CTC provides $2,000 per eligible child.


  • Gaza Protests and Repression on Campuses

    “Bans on encampments, temporary structures, amplified sound, chalking, freestanding signs, flyering, outdoor displays, and event tables are among the measures introduced to curtail political expression. …


  • Israel Lays Siege to Jenin Hospitals and Water Networks

    “For nearly a week, the Israeli military has been laying siege to hospitals in Jenin and other cities in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, severely restricting access to medical care, targeting medical workers and ambulances, and cutting off water and electricity, as part of a massive military offensive in the occupied West Bank, the largest operation  in the Palestinian territory in over two decades.”


  • Egyptair Crash: Interviews Available

    PAUL HUDSON Paul Hudson is executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action Project, which last week issued a statement entitled “Skies Less Safe” accusing the FAA and DOT of “actively engag[ing] in major programs and actions aimed at reducing existing levels of safety and security.” That statement specifically cited “FAA failure to act to eliminate…

  • “Banking Reform”?

    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 —…

  • Behind the Budget Battles: Probing Basic Assumptions

    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…

  • Money on Wall Street, Money in Politics

    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…

  • Responses Available From Supporters of WTO Protests Wecomed by Clinton

    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…

  • Coup in Pakistan and Nuclear Test Ban

    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…

  • Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Hope or Sham?

    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…

  • MCI-Sprint Merger

    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…

  • Health Care: More Uninsured

    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…

  • Budget Battle?

    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…

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