THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                   

________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  February 23, 1994


			PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES 
	 RUDY DE LEON AIR FORCE UNDER SECRETARY AND JEFFREY K. 
	    HARRIS AIR FORCE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SPACE 


     President Clinton today announced his intention to nominate Rudy
de Leon Undersecretary of the Air Force, the number two civilian
position in that branch, and Jeffrey K. Harris Assistant Secretary of
the Air Force for Space.
     
     "These two individuals have each given almost two decades of
substantial service to their country," the President said. "I am
confident their experience and commitment will serve them well in
their important new roles."

      de Leon, a native of California, has eighteen years of
experience in government service. Most recently, he served as chief of
staff to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. Prior to his
assignment in the Pentagon, de Leon was Staff Director of the House
Armed Services Committee and directed the committee's 1992 review
"Defense for a New Era, Lessons of the Persian Gulf War."

     As Undersecretary of the Air Force, de Leon will be chief deputy
to Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall.

     Harris has more than 18 years of experience with the Central
Intelligence Agency, where he held a variety of key policy-making
positions. Harris received a B.S. from Rochester Institute of
Technology.

     As the Air Force Assistant Secretary for Space, Harris will be
responsible for all space matters and will serve as the director of
the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) - the organization which
buys and operates our national space-based reconnaissance and
intelligence systems.

     
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