PAUL LEACH FILES, 1974-76

Leach was a lawyer, with a M.B.A. from Stanford University, who came to the Domestic Council from a private investment banking firm in Chicago.

Paul Leach was appointed to the Domestic Council as Associate Director for Agriculture, Economic Development, and Commerce during the reorganization of the Council in May 1975. The position that Leach assumed was created following the resignation of Norman E. Ross, who served as Assistant Director for Natural Resources. In the course of the reorganization, Leach inherited material from several Domestic Council staff members, including commerce material from Geoffrey Shepard and Richard Parsons, economic development from Tod Hullin, and agriculture from Michael Raoul-Duval and Norman Ross. Some of this material carried over from the Nixon administration.

Working with the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Agriculture, and various federal agencies, Leach's duties included policy organization, research and economic development, and tax reform. He examined new legislation and its possible effects on the areas for which he was responsible, and worked with industry leaders and members of Congress on various issues. Leach also worked on regulatory reform, primarily in the air and shipping industries, and on small business programs, especially aid for minority business, handling disaster assistance loans, and assisting applicants for small business loans.

Since his responsibilities and interests involved him in many capital market and financial institution issues, Leach represented the Domestic Council on the Treasury Department's Capital Markets Working Group, an interagency organization which studied financial legislation. Because of his responsibilities on matters dealing with agriculture, especially food production and the world food situation, Leach served as the Domestic Council's representative on the Council of Economic Advisors' Food Deputies Group and attended their weekly meetings.

The files consist of memoranda, correspondence, drafts, notes, press releases, clippings, and other printed materials, and are divided into Agriculture, Commerce and Economic Development, Regulatory Reform, and Small Business Subject Files, a General Subject File, Enrolled Bills, and a Chronological File.

Related Materials (May 1980)
Related materials include the files of Domestic Council staff members James Cannon and Norm Ross and White House Central Files Subject Files categories AG (Agriculture) and BE (Business-Economics).