[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 39 (Monday, October 2, 1995)]
[Pages 1713-1714]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Swearing-In of Mark Gearan as Director of the Peace Corps

September 26, 1995

    Well, Mark, congratulations to you and your family; to all the 
Members of Congress who are here and other former Peace Corps volunteers 
and others.
    I have always been impressed by many things about the Peace Corps, 
one of which is the contributions made by Peace Corps volunteers after 
they come home. Senator Dodd was a member of the Peace Corps. 
Congressman Farr was a member of the Peace Corps. Donna Shalala served 
in the Peace Corps. The Vice President's beloved sister, Nancy Gore 
Hunger, was one of the first two people to join the Peace Corps, working 
with Sarge Shriver, all those years ago.
    And it is a remarkable tradition that emphasizes that our country is 
about more than power and wealth. It is also about the power of our 
values and the power of a helping hand, and the ethic of service, and 
the understanding that we have an obligation not only to our own people 
but to people around the world to help them make the most of their own 
lives, and that the best guarantee of peace and freedom and democracy is 
the ability of people, freely, to develop their God-given capacities to 
strengthen their families and see their communities succeed. That's 
really what the Peace Corps is all about.

[[Page 1714]]

    It is the symbol of everything that got my generation into public 
service. And it has animated a whole generation of people. It is the 
inspiration for so much of the service that goes on today, whether it is 
in the AmeriCorps program that was started in our administration or--I 
just came from taping a public service announcement for Nickelodeon, the 
children's television network. One year ago this week, I asked the 
children in Nickelodeon to volunteer to do community service. And 5 
million-plus of them did so by telephone. They called in and actually 
served. And so this year, we're trying to increase. These are grade-
school children by and large.
    So this whole ethic of service that has spread across our country in 
part is inspired by and defined by the work that was begun so many years 
ago by President Kennedy and by Sargent Shriver. I think it's really 
fitting that Mark Gearan should be here in this program inspired by 
President Kennedy. I mean, look around at this family, and notice that 
Father Leo O'Donovan--operative word, O'Donovan--the president of 
Georgetown is here. Notice--I was wondering how Mark got so much 
bipartisan support. Look at the chairman of the committee, Chairman 
Callahan--[laughter]--and Peter King--King, in this case, is a very 
Irish name. [Laughter]
    As a matter of fact, Mark said, ``Mr. President, I love the Peace 
Corps just the way it is. I only have one serious change I want to make. 
I think we should send 6,500 of the 7,000 volunteers to Ireland.'' 
[Laughter]
    Congressman Moran, we're glad you're here. And Congresswoman Pelosi, 
we're certainly glad you're here to show that we're not trying to 
ethnically purify the Peace Corps here. [Laughter]
    The Peace Corps is really the reflection of our better selves, isn't 
it? And one of the reasons we're all so happy to see Mark Gearan become 
the Director of it is that, on most days, he is the reflection of our 
better selves. We wish him well. We love him. We respect him, and we 
know that he will do great honor to this very important position for the 
United States and for all the good-hearted people of the entire world.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 3:20 p.m. in the Indian 
Treaty Room of the Old Executive Office Building.