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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 23, 1997

         PRESIDENT NAMES SAUL RAMIREZ, JR. ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
               FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AT 
           THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT

While attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors in San Francisco, California, the President announced his intent to nominate Saul Ramirez, Jr. to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mr. Ramirez of Laredo, Texas, has served as Mayor of Laredo, Texas for the last seven years. He is the recipient of many honors and accolades, most recently being named as one of the Nation's 25 Most Dynamic Mayors in the November 1996 issue of Newsweek Magazine. He has created the Laredo Affordable Housing Corporation as a vehicle to build affordable housing utilizing Community Development Block Grant funds for infrastructure construction. He also developed a partnership to provide interim financing for the Laredo Housing Authority creating additional home ownership opportunities for tenants. While Mayor, he also created housing for low and moderate income families. In addition to his duties as Mayor, Mr. Ramirez is a partner and Director of Saber Insurance Company, a family operated multi-service insurance company which he has operated for twenty years. He also serves as a Board Member for the Southwest Region of Fannie Mae which has made a $100 million commitment for affordable housing in Laredo. Mr. Ramirez began his career in local government in 1982, as a Laredo City Council Member. He served two consecutive four-year terms on the Council.

The Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development oversees major federal neighborhood revitalization, economic development, housing and homelessness programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Assistant Secretary is responsible for the oversight of important community, economic and housing rehabilitation programs such as the Community Development Block Grant, Hope for Ownership of Single Family Homes, Home Investment Partnerships, Housing for People with AIDS, as well as various other programs that provide funding for shelters, housing and support services to the homeless.

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