President Clinton has appointed a Utahn to become the No. 2 official at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
He nominated Orem native Jackie M. Clegg, a former aide to former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, to become first vice president and vice chairman of the bank.Currently, she is the bank's vice president for congressional and external affairs and its chief of staff.
Clinton said, "I am pleased that Jackie Clegg has agreed to continue to serve this administration at the Export-Import Bank. Her experience and in-depth knowledge of the Export-Import Bank will serve America's businesses and workers well as we seek a broader market for U.S. goods overseas."
The bank is an independent agency of the federal government that helps finance exports of U.S. goods and services. It has 400 employees, five regional offices and an annual budget of more than $800 million.
Clegg now faces Senate confirmation and should have a hearing before its Banking, House and Urban Affairs Committee, where she has served as an aide.
Also, her boyfriend of several years, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is a senior member of that committee.
Clegg worked on that panel's Subcommittee on International Finance and Monetary Policy, drafting changes to the Export Administration Act, Export Enhancement Act and the Fair Trade in Financial Services Act.
Before that, she was a legislative assistant to Garn, who was the banking committee chairman.
She joined the Export-Import Bank in 1993 as a special assistant to the chairman.
Clegg received a bachelor's degree from Southern Utah University and a master's degree in national security studies from Georgetown University.
While few natives of heavily Republican Utah served in high administration posts during President Clinton's first term, three are now awaiting confirmation.
Besides Clegg, they are Pat Shea, who Clinton announced this week he intends to nominate, as director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Elizabeth A. Moler, who sailed through a confirmation hearing this week, as the No. 2 official at the Energy Department.