[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

[[Page 1586]]

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

[[Page 1587]]

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.