    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [October 30, 2007]
    [Pages 1396-1398]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Nomination of James B. Peake
    To Be Secretary of Veterans Affairs
    October 30, 2007

        The President. Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome. Caring for
    our military veterans is a solemn responsibility of the Federal
    Government. It is our enduring pledge to every man and woman who puts on
    our Nation's uniform. And it is the daily work of the Department of
    Veterans Affairs. I am pleased to announce my nomination of an Army
    doctor and combat veteran who will be a strong new leader for this
    Department, Lieutenant General James Peake.
        Public service is a family commitment, and I'm especially grateful
    to Dr. Peake's wife Janice--a fellow Texan--who
    is with us today. I appreciate you supporting Jim once again as he does
    the Nation's work. I'm also proud to welcome Kimberly and Thomas. Thank you all
    for coming. We just met in the Oval Office, and there's no question in
    my mind, they're certainly proud of their dad.
        Dr. Peake grew up in a home where service to country was a way of
    life. His father started out as an enlisted man in the Army and became
    an officer who spent most of his 30-year career in the Medical Service
    Corps. Doctor Peake's mom was an Army nurse. His brother was a naval
    aviator. And as a young man of 18, he set upon his own lifetime of
    service when he arrived at the United States Military Academy.
        After graduating from West Point in 1966, Second Lieutenant James
    Peake was sent to Vietnam with the 101st Airborne. There he served as a
    platoon leader. He led men in combat and earned several medals for his
    courage, including the Silver Star. One of those who knows him best
    described his leadership this way: ``End of a chow line officer--
    everyone else first.''
        In Vietnam, he also earned two Purple Hearts. While in the hospital
    recovering from his second wound, he learned that he had been accepted
    to medical school. After completing his medical studies at Cornell
    University, he devoted his career as an Army doctor to improving care
    for our wounded service men and women. Long before the global war on
    terror began, Dr. Peake was changing the way we deliver medical care to
    our troops. As a result of his reforms, many who once might have died on
    the battlefield, now they come home to be productive, and they're having
    fulfilling lives.
        As a medical officer and combat vet who was wounded in action, Dr.
    Peake understands the view from both sides of the hospital bed: the
    doctor's and the patient's. He brought that understanding to many jobs.
    These include command surgeon in the Army hospitals, commanding general
    of the largest medical training facility in the world, and Army Surgeon
    General, where he commanded more than 50,000 medical personnel, oversaw
    16 hospitals across the world, and managed an operating budget of nearly
    $5 billion.
        Since leaving the Army, he is--served as executive vice president
    and chief operating officer of Project HOPE. There he helped one Navy
    hospital ship respond to the victims of the Asian tsunami and another
    that was sent to care for those hit by Hurricane Katrina. Most recently,
    he has served as chief medical director and chief operating officer with
    QTC Management, which provides military veterans with timely medical
    examinations as well as electronic medical record services.
        When confirmed by the Senate, Dr. Peake will bring his unique set of
    skills and experiences to the Department of Veterans Affairs. He will be
    the first physician and the first general to serve as Secretary. He will
    apply his decades of expertise in

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    combat medicine and health care management to improve the veterans'
    health system. He will insist on the highest level of care for every
    American veteran.
        One of Dr. Peake's first tasks as Secretary will be to continue to
    implement the recommendations of the Dole-
    Shalala Commission on Wounded Warriors. And
    Senator, thank you for joining us. Some of their recommendations are the
    responsibility of the executive branch, and Dr. Peake will be a leader
    in carrying them out. Others require the approval of the United States
    Congress, and that's why this month, I sent a bill to Capitol Hill that
    will make those recommendations the law of the land.
        As Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doctor Peake will be a powerful
    advocate for the prompt enactment and implementation of this vital
    legislation. And he will work tirelessly to eliminate backlogs and
    ensure that our veterans receive the benefits they need to lead lives of
    dignity and purpose.
        In all these ways, Dr. Peake will build on the fine records of
    Secretary Jim Nicholson and Secretary
    Tony Principi. Jim is a West Point man
    who knows the meaning of duty, honor, and country. He's a Vietnam vet
    and a former Ambassador and a good friend. I thank him for his service,
    and I thank his wife Suzanne as well,
    and wish them all the very best.
        Principi is with us. It's good to
    see you, friend, thanks for coming. He's a graduate of one of our
    military academies, although it's not West Point, it was the Naval
    Academy. Like the other two men here
    today, he is a combat veteran of Vietnam. And like the other two, he has
    served our veterans with dignity and integrity. And I appreciate your
    service.
        Jim and Tony can be proud of their record at the Department of Veterans
    Affairs. Under their leadership, Federal spending for veterans increased
    by more than two-thirds. We extended treatment to a million additional
    veterans, including hundreds of thousands returning from Iraq and
    Afghanistan. We expanded grants to help homeless veterans across the
    country. These men have worked well with the VSOs, and I thank the
    leaders for joining us here today. Dr. Peake is going to work well with
    you too.
        And speaking of working well, it's time for the Congress to do its
    job for the veterans. Congress needs to send me a clean VA
    appropriations bill that I can sign into law by Veterans Day.
        I want to thank Acting Secretary Gordon Mansfield for leading the Department these last few weeks. He's done
    a fine job. He's earned the respect of all those who've worked under
    him. He's earned the gratitude of our Nation's vets.
        I appreciate Dr. Peake's willingness to step forward at this
    important time for the Department. He's a man who's been tested in
    battle. He has proved himself as a soldier, as a physician, as a leader,
    and as a good family man. He will be a superb Secretary of Veterans
    Affairs, and the United States Senate should promptly confirm him.
        Doctor, I appreciate you stepping up again. On behalf of the United
    States of America, congratulations.

    [At this point, Secretary-designate Peake made brief remarks.]

        The President. Yes, sir. Good job. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:09 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to former Sen. Robert J. Dole,
    Cochair, President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded
    Warriors; and former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi.
    The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also
    included the remarks of Secretary-designate Peake.

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