[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 37 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[Pages 1754-1755]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Swearing-In Ceremony for AmeriCorps Volunteers

September 12, 1994

    The President. Good afternoon. In just a moment, I'll speak to 
thousands of you young people and those of you who are young in spirit 
around the country about our national service program, AmeriCorps. But 
before I do, let me say just a few words about what occurred here this 
morning.
    As you know, a plane came down here early this morning, and the 
pilot lost his life. An investigation is taking place that will 
determine how and why this happened. We take this incident seriously 
because the White House is the people's house. And it is the job of 
every President who lives here to keep it safe and secure.
    On his second night in the White House, our second President, John 
Adams, wrote: ``I pray heaven to bestow the best blessings on this house 
and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it.'' That prayer has been 
answered. In times of war and peace, in hard times and good, the White 
House is an enduring symbol of our democracy. It tells our people and 
those around the world that the mission of America continues, as it does 
on this happy and important day. So let me assure all Americans, the 
people's house will be kept safe, it will be kept open, and the people's 
business will go on.
    We stand at the start of America's new season of service. For 20,000 
Americans this year all over our great land, this moment marks the 
beginning of a journey that will change their lives forever. For our 
Nation, the moments of service that will follow will change our lives 
for many seasons to come.
    Service is never a simple act, it's about sacrifice for others and 
about accomplishment for ourselves, about reaching out, one person to 
another, about all our choices gathered together as a country to reach 
across all our divides. It's about you and me and all of us together, 
who we are as individuals and what we are as a nation.
    Service is a spark to rekindle the spirit of democracy in an age of 
uncertainty. We hear a great deal about values now. I encourage America 
in that conversation. But all the lofty talk comes down to three simple 
questions: What is right? What is wrong? And what are we going to do 
about it?
    Today we're doing what is right. Just look around you. You're what 
is right with America. Twenty thousand of you this year and 100,000 over 
the next 3 years will be getting things done in hundreds of places 
around the country. You will be saving babies in south Texas, walking 
the police beat in Brooklyn. You will work on boats to reclaim the 
Chesapeake Bay and work on new housing to rebuild parts of Roxbury. You 
will take seniors safely to the doctor in St. Louis and teach children 
in Sacramento to read.
    Every generation in our history has learned to take responsibility 
for our future, and your generation is no exception. We look at you now, 
and we know you are no generation of slackers. Instead, you are a 
generation of doers. And you want to give something back to the country 
that has given so much to you. The only limit to our future is what

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we're willing to demand of ourselves today. Generations of Americans 
before us have done the groundwork. Now it falls to all of us to build 
on their foundations.
    In just a minute, I'll lead nearly 20,000 AmeriCorps members 
gathered across America in a pledge. I ask all Americans to reflect on 
the words they will say, because with words like ``action'' and 
``commitment,'' ``community'' and ``common ground,'' this is much more 
than a pledge of service. It's a creed for America as we move forward to 
renew our great country. And to all of you who will help to lead us in 
that journey, I say God bless you, and thank you from the bottom of my 
heart.
    And now it's my great pleasure to swear in the first members of 
AmeriCorps around the Nation, including these fine young people who are 
here with me. Would you all raise your right hand and repeat after me: I 
will get things done for America to make our people safer, smarter, and 
healthier. I will bring Americans together to strengthen our 
communities. Faced with apathy, I will take action. Faced with conflict, 
I will seek common ground. Faced with adversity, I will persevere. I 
will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond. I am an 
AmeriCorps member, and I am going to get things done.

[The AmeriCorps volunteers repeated the pledge line by line after the 
President.]

    The President. Thank you, and good luck.

Note: The President spoke via satellite at 2:46 p.m. from the Oval 
Office at the White House.