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WASHINGTON - Belpre High School graduate Zach Klein said he is cherishing every day he works in the White House.

Klein, 30, is deputy director of administration for the office of the U.S. vice president.

He admits it has been a "steep learning curve" in the position he accepted in January.

Klein said his main responsibilities are to manage Vice President Joe Biden's operational budget, make travel preparations for the vice president's advance team, work with the vice president's legal counsel on developing travel policies for the office of the vice president and work on day-to-day operations in the office of Moe Vela (Klein's boss), director of administration for the office of the U.S. vice president.

Vela is a former adviser to Al Gore, when he was vice president.

Klein rode with Biden on Air Force 2 to Toledo last month where the vice president toured Willard & Kelsey Solar Group of Perrysburg, which plans to manufacture solar panels. The vice president noted green jobs in wind, solar and biotech industries are the wave of the future in the manufacturing sector.

While on the Ohio trip, Klein spent time with Gov. Ted Strickland and his staff.

"It was an honor to accompany the vice president back to Ohio," Klein said. Klein has a home in Columbus and returns to the Buckeye state every weekend to be with his wife, Jennie Persichetti, a native of the Columbus area.

Klein said Biden travels once or twice a week, visiting two or three cities each day to discuss economic issues in these difficult times. "I am in constant contact with the advance and scheduling offices to ensure that funding for the vice president's domestic travel is in order," Klein wrote in an e-mail.

There are more than 80 people working in the vice president's office. "We have a great staff. Things are running smoothly and efficiently," said Klein, who is second in charge of management and administration in the vice president's office.

His office is in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the West Wing of the White House.

Klein, a 1997 graduate of Belpre High School, graduated from Ohio State University in 2001. He graduated from Capital University Law School in 2004 and was a clerk for a federal district court judge and federal magistrate judge in Columbus.

He worked on the election campaign for Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray last year and planned to work in Cordray's office until he got a call to serve in the vice president's office.

He is the son of John and Theresa Klein, formerly of Belpre and now of Columbus.