January 30, 1981
The President announced today his intention to nominate Paul Craig Roberts as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy.
Dr. Roberts is currently a senior fellow in political economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University, professor of business administration and professor of economics at George Mason University, Wall Street Journal columnist for ``Political Economy,'' and contributing editor to Harper's.
In the U.S. Congress, Dr. Roberts has served in the House of Representatives as economic counsel to Representative Jack Kemp, as staff associate with the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and as chief economist with the minority staff of the Committee on the Budget. In the U.S. Senate he has served as economic counsel to Senator Orrin Hatch. He managed the tax-cut movement in Congress during 1975 - 78 and drafted the original version of the Kemp-Roth bill.
Dr. Roberts was educated at the Georgia Institute of Technology (B.S., industrial management), the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Virginia (Ph. D., economics), and Oxford University, where he was a member of Merton College.
The author of two books, Dr. Roberts has also published many articles in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Harper's as well as other publications in the United States and Europe.
Dr. Roberts is 41 years old and resides in Alexandria, Va.
Statement on the Release of the Government's Index of Leading Economic Indicators
January 30, 1981
While no one set of economic reports is conclusive, this battery of bad economic news from last year's ``inheritance'' underscores the need to turn this economy around. We must deal simultaneously with inflation and a sluggish economy, and my comprehensive package is designed to do just that.
Announcement of the Formation of a Blind Trust To Manage the President's Personal Assets
January 30, 1981
The President has formed a blind trust under the Ethics in Government Act, as amended, to handle and invest his personal assets during his Presidency.
Under the arrangements his investments, other than his ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif., and his personal residence in Pacific Palisades, Calif., have been converted to cash and will be placed in trust to be managed by an independent trustee, without his knowledge of the investments or control over them. His Pacific Palisades home has been placed on the market for sale, and it is contemplated that some or all of the proceeds from the sale of the home will also be placed in the blind trust.
The purpose for the trust is to allow an independent trustee to invest, manage, and control the President's assets without knowledge by the President of the investments of the trust, in order to avoid even the possibility of an appearance of any conflict of interest in the performance of his duties. The President will receive no information concerning the investments made by the trustee except periodic reports concerning the value of the assets in the trust and the income of the trust. The form of the trust and the selection of trustee has been approved by the Office of Government Ethics, to whom the trust agreement was submitted.
The trustee selected by the President is Raymond J. Armstrong, president of Starwood Corp., a New York-based, registered investment firm. Mr. Armstrong's firm manages investment portfolios for a variety of individuals and family groups and provides supervision and advice to charitable foundations, pension and profit-sharing plans, insurance companies, and other fiduciary accounts.
Message to the Congress Transmitting the 1982 Budget of the District of Columbia
January 30, 1981
To the Congress of the United States:
In accordance with the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, I am transmitting the 1982 Budget of the District of Columbia.
I am informed that the proposals for Federal payments to the District of Columbia reflected in this document are consistent with those shown in the 1982 Budget of the United States submitted to Congress by President Carter on January 15, 1981.
Ronald Reagan
The White House,
January 30, 1981.