Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, has announced the appointment of John E. Silvia as chief economist for the committee.

"While I am always excited to meet another economist to swap theories with, I am particularly pleased that Dr. Silvia is joining the staff of the Banking Committee," Gramm said.

"Since I become chairman a year ago, one of my priorities has been restoring the committee's role as the leader on economic issues in the Senate," Gramm said. "Dr. Silvia's expertise will be a tremendous help as the committee fulfills its responsibility on the forefront of assessing and setting economic policy for the Senate."

Silvia, 51, holds a Ph.D. and a bachelor's degree in economics from Northeastern University in Boston. He holds a master's degree in economics from Brown University in Providence, R.I.

Silvia comes to the Banking Committee from Scudder Kemper Investments Inc. in Chicago. Silvia joined the firm in 1983 and became its chief economist in 1987. He was named managing director in January 1998.

Prior to joining Scudder Kemper, Silvia was an economic research officer at Harris Bank in Chicago and an assistant professor in the economics department of Indiana University in Indianapolis.

Silvia has served on advisory committees to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Public Securities Association. He is a member of the American Economic Association and an adjunct professor of economics at Northwestern University. He previously served on the board of the National Association for Business Economics.