    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [October 14, 1999]
    [Pages 1790-1792]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Dedicating the United States Secret Service Memorial Building
    October 14, 1999

        Thank you very much, Secretary Summers, Director Stafford,
    Commissioner Peck, Monsignor Vaghi, Ms. Worley, Congressman
    Kolbe and Congressman Hoyer, Sergeant at Arms Livingood, Mr. Berger, Secretary
    Johnson. And I especially appreciate the
    presence of three former Directors of the Secret Service here today,
    Eljay Bowron and John Magaw and Stu Knight. I thank them
    for coming.
        I thank the Marines for giving us such wonderful music today. Didn't
    they do a great job? [Applause.] I think that's the only thing I'm going
    to miss more than Air Force One when I'm gone, having music everywhere I
    go, provided by the Marines. [Laughter]
        I wanted to be here for a number of reasons today. At first, I just
    wanted to look out and see some friendly faces. I just finished a press
    conference. [Laughter] It's nice to do that. I wanted to see this
    beautiful building, and I knew I would be given the experience of seeing
    this beautiful building. I want to thank Larry Cockell for letting me come in the front door today. [Laughter]
    You know, usually when I go into a building the Secret Service makes me
    go into an underground parking garage, past all the garbage--
    [laughter]--up the service elevator. You think--the last time I went to
    the Hilton here, I have been in the service entrance so much that they
    had an employee in every section of the Hilton Hotel, in every part of--
    [inaudible]--they met me when I came in, and they gave me a laminated
    employee ID card. [Laughter] Just something else I owe to the Secret
    Service.
        I also was hoping that I might get another invitation to try out
    some more of the Secret Service training that I got at Beltsville, with
    Hillary, a couple of years ago. We're still looking for that escape pod
    on Air Force One. We haven't found that yet. [Laughter]
        I want to also say how much I appreciate the leadership that
    Brian is giving to the Secret Service. The
    only apprehension I had about his

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    becoming the Director was that he wanted to extend the protection of the
    PPD to country music singers and motorcycle gangs--[laughter]--and I had
    to draw the line somewhere.
        Actually, I came here most of all to say thanks. I compliment the
    architects, the contractors, and all those involved in the construction
    of this magnificent building. And I do believe it will reinforce all the
    values and sense of community that Brian talked about.
        Harry Truman once said, the Secret Service was the only boss he had
    as President, with the exception of Mrs. Truman. And even when I don't
    like it, I have to admit that's true. And I came here to say thank you
    on behalf of Hillary and Chelsea and myself. I know Hillary wanted to be here today. I can't tell you
    how--I feel about the Secret Service the way I sometimes feel about some
    of my friends in the Congress: I like them a lot more than they like me.
        They've had to put up with me on so many different occasions, under
    such stress. You know, you wake up in the morning, and you're worried
    about something else, and you take it out by being a little short.
    You're impatient because you're tired and you've got a headache. They
    have to put up with all of it and act like you're still President, even
    when you're not acting like it; you're really being a person.
        I think of all the sacrifices that the Secret Service and the PPD
    has made. I think about all these long, exhausting trips we take. I've
    seen the worried look in the agents' eyes whenever I get out and make
    some spontaneous stop into an unmagged crowd. A lot of times at night,
    I'm working late, and I come down, and I walk in between--sometimes
    after midnight--between the office and the house, and the agents are
    always there. And I often wonder how many children they have and how
    hard it must be for them to be awake while their children are sleeping
    and sleeping while their children are awake.
        Sometimes, I just worry that they're going to have a heart attack on
    the job. I never will forget the first time--all the Secret Service who
    have been in PPD know this--there's this sort of, this elaborate little
    electronic guard system out around the White House. And if anything
    triggers the alarm, if you'll forgive me, all hell breaks loose for the
    Secret Service. You know, they're convinced that, you know, 45
    terrorists are storming the gates; they have to do it. That's why we're
    all so taken care of.
        Anything, any little old thing, can trigger that deal. And I
    remember the first time that happened. I didn't know it. I was up on the
    third floor of the White House, and the Residence is on the second
    floor, and I didn't know what happens. So what happens is, the elevator
    stops, and the SWAT team occupies the staircase with their semiautomatic
    weapons.
        So they're all looking for somebody that's invading the White House.
    I come tromping down the staircase to the third floor; this guy comes
    rushing up on the second floor. I look up, and there he is with his
    weapon pointed at me, and I thought: This would be a heck of a note for
    the Secret Service. [Laughter] ``Clinton killed by agent protecting the
    President.'' [Laughter] That poor--I think he still has nightmares about
    that. [Laughter]
        We're all laughing about it, but this is a hard job. And it's an
    important job. And it's important, the protections that are provided to
    other people and all the other things the Secret Service does, and I
    want to say more about that in a moment. But especially, I want everyone
    to know--I want Larry and Donny and all the
    people on PPD and all their predecessors to know how profoundly grateful
    I am for the way my wife and my daughter and I have been treated and
    genuinely cared for and protected, whether we like it or not. It has
    made an enormous degree of difference in the confidence with which I
    think the American people can express toward their Government, and we
    are all in your debt.
        I also want to thank you for naming this building after the 32 brave
    men and women who gave their lives in guarding our democracy and in
    whose memory the building now stands. Ten of those 32, I'm sad to say,
    lost their lives during my Presidency, including the 6 in the Oklahoma
    City bombing, one of the most difficult events in my life.
        You have honored their memory in two ways: First, by naming this
    building in their honor; and second, by using this building to continue
    your mission and their mission. Most people know the Secret Service as
    these sort of mysterious, stone-faced figures that are either steely
    eyed or masked behind sexy sunglasses, protecting Presidents and
    visiting world leaders. They don't know much about the ongoing efforts
    of the Secret Service to protect the integrity

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    of our financial system, but that's a proud history that stretches back
    130 years now.
        When our country was awash in counterfeit currency after the Civil
    War, America turned to the Secret Service. When three Presidents were
    assassinated in four decades, America turned to the Secret Service,
    broadening the mandate at the beginning of this century to include
    protective duties.
        Now, with the new challenges we face in a new and rapidly changing
    world, America still turns to the Secret Service. You are out there
    every day, fighting telecommunications fraud, credit card fraud,
    computer crimes, counterfeiting, abuses of Government programs, taking
    on your investigative and protective assignments across the country and
    all around the world.
        Regardless of the times or the tasks, there has always been a thread
    of honor and integrity, trust, and true confident performance, also, a
    remarkable ability to adapt to change and challenge. Those values are
    symbolized in this building. It is a solid, solid building, standing on
    a firm foundation but looking toward the future.
        So, today, I'm honored to join you in dedicating this building and
    honoring the memory of those who gave their lives for what you do every
    day and in saying a special, special word of profound appreciation for
    the many sacrifices so many have made for me and my family and our
    country.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 4:47 p.m. in the Conference Center. In his
    remarks, he referred to Rev. Monsignor Peter J. Vaghi, pastor, St.
    Patrick's Church, who gave the invocation; and Debra L. Worley,
    headquarters consolidation project manager, and Larry Cockell, Special
    Agent-in-Charge, Presidential Protective Division, U.S. Secret Service.