    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [September 26, 1995]
    [Pages 1492-1493]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Swearing-In of Mark Gearan as Director of the
    Peace Corps
    September 26, 1995

        Well, Mark, congratulations to you and your family, to all the
    Members of Congress who are here and other former Peace Corps volunteers
    and others.
        I have always been impressed by many things about the Peace Corps,
    one of which is the contributions made by Peace Corps volunteers after
    they come home. Senator Dodd was a member of the Peace Corps.
    Congressman Farr was a member of the Peace Corps. Donna Shalala served
    in the Peace Corps. The Vice President's beloved sister, Nancy Gore
    Hunger, was one of the first two people to join the Peace Corps, working
    with Sarge Shriver, all those years ago.
        And it is a remarkable tradition that emphasizes that our country is
    about more than power and wealth. It is also about the power of our
    values and the power of a helping hand and the ethic of service and the
    understanding that we have an obligation not only to our own people but
    to people around the world to help

    [[Page 1493]]

    them make the most of their own lives, and that the best guarantee of
    peace and freedom and democracy is the ability of people freely to
    develop their God-given capacities to strengthen their families and see
    their communities succeed. That's really what the Peace Corps is all
    about.
        It is the symbol of everything that got my generation into public
    service. And it has animated a whole generation of people. It is the
    inspiration for so much of the service that goes on today, whether it is
    in the AmeriCorps program that was started in our administration or--I
    just came from taping a public service announcement for Nickelodeon, the
    children's television network. One year ago this week, I asked the
    children in Nickelodeon to volunteer to do community service. And 5
    million-plus of them did so by telephone. They called in and actually
    served. And so this year, we're trying to increase. These are grade-
    school children by and large.
        So this whole ethic of service that has spread across our country in
    part is inspired by and defined by the work that was begun so many years
    ago by President Kennedy and by Sargent Shriver. I think it's really
    fitting that Mark Gearan should be here in this program inspired by
    President Kennedy. I mean, look around at this family and notice that
    Father Leo O'Donovan--operative word, O'Donovan--the president of
    Georgetown, is here. Notice--I was wondering how Mark got so much
    bipartisan support. Look at the chairman of the committee, Chairman
    Callahan--[Laughter]--and Peter King--King, in this case, is a very
    Irish name. [Laughter] As a matter of fact, Mark said, ``Mr. President,
    I love the Peace Corps just the way it is. I only have one serious
    change I want to make. I think we should send 6,500 of the 7,000
    volunteers to Ireland.'' [Laughter]
        Congressman Moran, we're glad you're here. And Congresswoman Pelosi,
    we're certainly glad you're here to show that we're not trying to
    ethnically purify the Peace Corps here. [Laughter]
        The Peace Corps is really the reflection of our better selves, isn't
    it? And one of the reasons we're all so happy to see Mark Gearan become
    the Director of it is that, on most days, he is the reflection of our
    better selves. We wish him well. We love him, we respect him, and we
    know that he will do great honor to this very important position for the
    United States and for all the good-hearted people of the entire world.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at approximately 3:20 p.m. in the Indian
    Treaty Room of the Old Executive Office Building.