[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 44 (Monday, November 5, 2007)]
[Pages 1424-1426]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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

[[Page 1425]]

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 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. 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 Senator Bob Dole,

[[Page 1426]]

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.