[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.