    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [December 20, 2007]
    [Pages 1585-1587]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Swearing-In Ceremony for James B. Peake as Secretary of Veterans Affairs
    December 20, 2007

        The President. Thank you all. Please be seated. Good morning. Thanks
    for the warm welcome to the Department of Veterans Affairs. I am proud
    to introduce your new Secretary, Lieutenant General James Peake. And I
    am pleased to be joined by his wife Janice and
    daughter Kimberly and her husband Mack. I
    know they're proud of what Jim has accomplished during his career, and I
    thank them for supporting him in his work ahead.
        I thank the Vice President for joining me
    today. We had a long ride over here, Jim. [Laughter] Plenty of time to
    visit. [Laughter] I want to thank the Secretary for joining us--Secretary of Defense Bob Gates; honored
    you're here, sir. Appreciate Elaine Chao,
    Secretary of Labor; Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield--I'm going to say something about you here in a
    minute. I appreciate Admiral Thad Allen,
    Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, for joining us. Thanks for coming,
    Admiral; General Dick Cody, Vice Chief of
    Staff of the United States Army. I appreciate all those who wear the
    uniform who have joined us today as well.
        I want to thank Arlen Specter, United
    States Senator, for joining us. Senator, thanks for coming. And my
    Congressman, the Congressman from central Texas, Congressman Chet
    Edwards, chairman of the Military
    Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee; proud
    you're here.
        I want to thank the members of veterans service organizations who
    are with us today.
        Audience member. Hoorah! [Laughter]
        The President. Looking forward to working with you. [Laughter] And
    behave yourself. [Laughter]
        The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has one of the most important jobs
    in our Government. The Secretary leads a Department

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    of more than 240,000 employees, and I want to thank every one of them
    for serving our country; appreciate your hard work. The Secretary is
    charged with a solemn responsibility: to ensure our Nation's veterans
    receive the care and the benefits they deserve.
        Dr. Jim Peake has the skills and experience to carry out this
    mission. He is both the first physician and the first general to lead
    this Department. His 36-year medical career has taken him to military
    bases across the world. And during the opening years of the war on
    terror, he directed the Army Medical Department as Army Surgeon General.
    In that position, he led more than 55,000 medical personnel and managed
    an operating budget of nearly $5 billion. Throughout his long career,
    Dr. Peake has worked to improve the way we deliver medical care to our
    troops. And thanks to his efforts, many who once might have died on the
    battlefield have returned home to live lives of hope and promise.
        We see this hope and promise in the story of Dr. Peake's own life.
    Dr. Peake's first stay at a military hospital came years before he
    entered his--earned his medical degree at Cornell. It came as a wounded
    patient during the Vietnam war. This West Point graduate received
    several medals for his valor, including the Silver Star; he earned a
    reputation for honor and selflessness.
        Dr. Peake learned those values from his loving parents who taught
    him the meaning of service. His mother was an Army nurse. His father was
    an Army officer, who spent most of his 30-year career in the Medical
    Service Corps. And I know they both would be proud to see their oldest
    son, Jim, become the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
        Dr. Peake follows in the footsteps of another fine public servant
    and Vietnam combat veteran, Secretary Jim Nicholson. Throughout his career, Jim Nicholson has served our
    Nation with honor and integrity--as an Army Ranger, an ambassador, and
    as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Secretary Nicholson built on the fine
    record of his predecessor, Tony
    Principi--Mr. Secretary, glad you're here today--and he leaves an
    impressive legacy of his own. Under his leadership, this Department has
    worked to meet the needs of new veterans returning home from Afghanistan
    and Iraq. Secretary Nicholson also launched an effort to modernize the
    Department's information technology systems, so we can better protect
    patients' personal information. I want to thank Jim for his work on
    behalf of our Nation's veterans, and I wish him and his wife
    Suzanne all the very best.
        I also want to thank Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield. He served as the Acting Secretary for Veterans
    Affairs since October. Gordon is a retired Army officer who has
    dedicated much of his career to serving his fellow veterans. I've
    benefited from Gordon's wisdom and counsel, and he did a terrific job as
    Acting Secretary during this time of transition.
        Dr. Peake takes office at a critical moment in the history of this
    Department. Our Nation is at war, and many new veterans are leaving the
    battlefield and entering the VA system. This system provides our
    veterans with the finest care, but sometimes the bureaucracy can be
    difficult. To address these problems, our administration, along with the
    Secretary's leadership, is implementing recommendations of the Dole-Shalala
    Commission on Wounded Warriors. In other words, we're not going to
    tolerate bureaucratic delays. We want the very best for our veterans.
    Some of the Commission's recommendations require the approval of
    Congress, and Congressman and
    Senator, we're looking forward to
    working with you on those. I've sent legislation to Congress to carry
    out these additional recommendations, and Dr. Peake is going to work
    with Members from both sides of the aisle to get me a good bill that I
    can sign into law.
        Our Nation has no higher calling than to provide for those who have
    borne the

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    cost of battle, and we will honor our responsibilities. I am confident
    in the future of this Department because I have seen firsthand the
    dedication and character of the men and women who work here. And I am
    confident that you will have a worthy and strong leader in our new
    Secretary.
        Congratulations, Jim. I appreciate your willingness to serve. And
    now I ask the Vice President to administer the
    oath.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:24 a.m. at the Department of Veterans
    Affairs. In his remarks, he referred to former Sen. Robert J. Dole and
    former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala,
    Cochairs, President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded
    Warriors. The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary
    also included the remarks of Secretary Peake.