| Existing comment:
Leon Edward Panetta is a former White House Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, a former member of the United States House of Representatives, and the founder and director of the Panetta Institute. Originally a Republican, he switched to the Democratic Party in 1971, as he felt the Republican Party was moving away from the center and was working against civil rights legislation. In 1976 he was elected in California to the U.S. Congress for his first of nine terms. During his time in Congress, his work concentrated mostly on budget issues, civil rights, education, health, and environmental issues, particularly preventing oil drilling off the California coast. In 1993, Clinton chose him to be Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget. He is credited with developing the budget package which would eventually result in the balanced budget of 1998. On July 17, 1994, he was appointed White House Chief of Staff by Clinton, a position he held until January 20, 1997. |