Alexander Hamilton Award for Laurence N. Woodworth Remarks of the President and Secretary of the Treasury Blumenthal at the Presentation Ceremony

THE PRESIDENT. As I mentioned earlier as I signed the tax message, there was a special feeling in the minds and hearts of everyone who knew Larry Woodworth that he exemplified every attribute of what a public servant should be.

He occupied a position with the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee where he worked closely with both groups, and he had such a high integrity and such superb professional competence that his word was accepted in the most detailed and controversial issues facing our Nation's tax decisions. I don't know of another public servant, a professional, who can equal the esteem with which Larry Woodworth was known.

I got to know Larry Woodworth before I became President. He came down to Plains to describe to me some of the questions, some of the problems, some of the opportunities with the tax structures of our Nation. He was the first Assistant Secretary that I was privileged to appoint. And as he moved from the legislative into the executive branch of Government, the move was an uninterrupted means for him to continue to contribute.

This is the highest award that the Treasury Department can give, the Alexander Hamilton Award, for outstanding service to a man who was not only outstanding in his professional life but also in his private life. He was a deeply religious man, and the morality that permeated his activities and his attitudes was an inspiration to all who knew him.

He was a Sunday school teacher. He was a good family man. And his loss, which was quite unexpected, came in the service of his Nation. And I know that Secretary Blumenthal, who is the one who grants this award, would like to add a word to what I've said about Larry Woodworth.

I wish he was here to accept the award in person, but his wife is here, Mrs. Woodworth.

Mr. Secretary, I'll give the award to you now for presentation.

SECRETARY BLUMENTHAL. Thank you, Mr. President. I merely wish to echo what you have said about Larry Woodworth and to say that his expertise and his professionalism were a great inspiration to all of us in the Treasury and, particularly, I learned a great deal from him.

I came very quickly to admire him and to rely on his judgment and to follow his advice. He had more to do than any single person in helping the President shape this program, which he's sending to the Congress today, and virtually every page of that document and every recommendation that the President is making, in one way or another, has the stamp and the flavor of Larry Woodworth printed on it.

So, this is a very special day for all of us. I therefore would like to present to you the Alexander Hamilton Award, Mrs. Woodworth, for Larry, together with the certificate and the citation.

THE PRESIDENT. He was also a good guy and a good friend. There was a personal thing about Larry, a warmth that just made everybody care for him.

MRS. WOODWORTH. Well, he thought very highly of you, as you know. And I always thought that we should have a double Sunday school lesson sometime. [Laughter]

THE PRESIDENT. Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody.