In December 1996, President Clinton named Gene Sperling Director of the National Economic Council [NEC.] As National Economic Advisor, Mr. Sperling is responsible for coordinating the Clinton Administration's economic policy. Before his appointment, Mr . Sperling served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy from January 20, 1993 to last December. In that capacity, Mr. Sperling has served as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council under Robert Rubin (1993-1995) and Dr. Laura D'Andrea Tyson (1995-1996).
As the Director of the NEC, Mr. Sperling coordinates the development of the President's economic agenda and functions as an honest-broker representing the President's interests in the interagency development of economic policy. During the President's fir st term, Mr. Sperling was central to the development and passage of the 1993 deficit reduction plan, the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the establishment of both the Direct Student Loan Program and the President's Empowerment Zones initiat ive . His responsibilities included major budget issues, developing and defending the President's balanced budget proposal, education and training initiatives, tax policy, health care, and urban issues. Most recently, he has played a leading role in the development of the President's new policy initiatives such as the "America Reads" child literacy initiative, the Welfare-to-Work initiative, School Construction, Education Technology, and HOPE Scholarships college tuition tax cuts.
Prior to joining the White House, Mr. Sperling served Governor Clinton in 1992 as the Economic Policy Director of the Clinton-Gore Presidential campaign in Little Rock, Arkansas. Following the 1992 election, he was named Deputy Director of Economic Polic y for the Presidential Transition. From 1990 to 1992, he served as an economic advisor to Governor Mario Cuomo of New York. Prior to that, he was a policy consultant, lawyer dealing with appellate constitutional issues, and economic advisor for Democratic officials.
He has published in the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Pennsylvania Law Review, as well as the Atlantic Monthly, Washington Post, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and the American Prospect.
Mr. Sperling graduated from the University of Minnesota and Yale Law School, and attended Wharton Business School. At Yale Law School he was Senior Editor of the Yale Law Journal. He is a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan where his parents still live today.
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